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Rickie Fowler gets Lexi Thompson as new partner for mixed event at Grant Thornton Invitational

A big life change for six-time LPGA Tour winner Jessica Korda is shaking up the team pairings for the Grant Thornton Invitational.

The 30-year-old Korda committed last February to play in the mixed-team event with partner Rickie Fowler. However, in August, she announced she was expecting her first child with her husband, Johnny DelPrete. With the baby due in February, the pro golfer is pulling out of the Grant Thornton, which is set for Dec. 8-10 at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples.

Fowler will now team with Lexi Thompson, an 11-time winner on the LPGA Tour, as one of the 16 teams competing for the event’s $4 million purse.

The Grant Thornton, which replaces the QBE Shootout, will consist of three distinct playing formats when it debuts as part of the Challenge Season: scramble, foursome and modified four-ball.

Fowler and Thompson are the fourth team pairing confirmed for the Grant Thornton Invitational, joining Nelly Korda and Tony Finau, Sahith Theegala and Rose Zhang and Canadian golfers Corey Conners and Brooke Henderson.

Last year, Thompson joined Nelly Korda as the only women competing in the 2022 QBE Shootout. Korda tied for fifth with her partner Denny McCarthy while Thompson and Maverick McNealy tied for 10th. Theegala teamed with Tom Hoge to win last year’s QBE, coming from two down in the final round to edge Ryan Palmer and Charley Hoffman.