When the Grant Thornton Invitational begins Friday morning in Florida, World No. 1 Nelly Korda will be sporting a last-minute replacement teammate.
The PGA Tour released a statement Wednesday evening announcing that Tony Finau, Korda’s original partner for the mixed-team event, was forced to withdraw from the event less than 48 hours before it begins due to recovery from an injury.
Finau also withdrew late from last week’s Hero World Challenge, which inspired wild speculation that he was leaving the PGA Tour to sign with LIV Golf, rumors he eventually refuted, revealing that he recently had surgery on his left knee.
Perhaps to prevent more rumors, the PGA Tour’s announcement included a statement from Finau explaining his decision to withdraw due to the continued recovery from his knee injury. Finau also noted that “playing with Nelly [Korda] in 2023 was one of the highlights of my year,” and thanked her for understanding why he had to withdraw.
He finished with a note stating that he looks forward to “returning to competition in the new year.”
You can read Finau’s statement in full below.
“I am disappointed to have to withdraw from the Grant Thornton Invitational as I continue to recover from my knee injury. Playing with Nelly in 2023 was one of the highlights of my year. I look forward to cheering her on this week and am thankful for her support and understanding as I work on getting fully healthy. I’m grateful to my partner in Grant Thornton for their support and for diversifying our game by bringing the PGA Tour and LPGA together in Naples. I look forward to returning to competition in the new year.”
Korda and Finau finished T4 in the inaugural Grant Thornton last year with a total score of 23 under, three off the winning score of Lydia Ko and Jason Day.
PGA Tour veteran Daniel Berger will take Finau’s place as Korda’s teammate.
