The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic Is for Dreamers

There’s much to love about the season opener on the Korn Ferry Tour, the Bahamas Great Exuma Classic: crystal-clear turquoise water, white sandy beaches, smells of fried conch and ceviche from every kitchen, the tournament finishing on a Wednesday, and, of course, cutting winds that bend flagsticks to the ground and send golf balls to the bottom of Emerald Bay. 

With overcast skies and light breezes in Round 1 on Sunday at Sandals Emerald Bay Golf Club, it was a shootout. Chandler Blanchet and KK Limbhasut cruised to bogey-free, 8-under 64s. Limbhasut played on development circuits around Asia last season after losing his KFT status at the end of 2022. In Round 1, he spent much of the day admiring the serene views and appreciating the opportunity. His silky tempo thrived in the relaxed Bahamian setting. A dozen players shot five under or better.

The opening tournament of a KFT season is so full of optimism and hope. Players are only one step away from realizing a dream. And what better place to dream? The Exuma island chain is the largest of the Bahamas, complete with cute pigs that swim. The expanse of endless sandbars is stunning, and it appears you could snorkel in the transparent waters without a mask. But the promise of an island paradise can turn quickly in Exuma. 

I remember watching Golf Channel coverage in 2020 after I finished my round, with Greg Norman in the booth talking about his course design at the Sandals Resort. (That’s right, the Shark hosted this tournament once upon a time.) Drone footage of the landscape and of boats sailing on the horizon was cut between images of professional golfers hitting shots and praying. Some of the fairways would be considered narrow on a calm day, and when the wind blows – and it can howl – hitting some of them feels like a miracle. As players struggled to control their ball in the wind, Norman mentioned the course was more enjoyable after a couple shots of tequila. 

Much of the island outside the resorts looks like the developing world. Electricity in our rental houses was never reliable, and the sand flies were ravenous. My caddie was alarmed one year when he was walking on a dock, only to be warned by a fisherman of a lurking hammerhead shark. The contrast between locals and tourists is stark, and the locals I encountered were always friendly. Only a par-5 away from the tournament course is the site of the infamous Fyre Festival, which did far more harm to the locals than to the rich kids who paid vast sums to spend a night in a FEMA tent. 

During a practice round at Emerald Bay Golf Course in 2018, I walked past mangroves on the last hole, breathing in the tropical air, and casually mentioned to my playing partner that I was done with mini-tour golf. I wasn’t going back. 

I navigated the opening rounds easily while paired with Willy Wilcox. His ball-striking was legendary, and he pierced his ball through some gusty winds. In the second round, Wilcox and I were near the cut line when his ball came to rest in a thick bush at eye level. From there, he played an impressive trick shot and made the cut. It was bold creativity that lifted him to a weekend tee time with Sung-jae Im, who would go on to win the tournament. That weekend pairing undoubtedly left an impression and helped Wilcox secure his current job: caddying for Im. 

My confidence was short-lived. In the third round, I was paired with Max Homa when I felt the first signs of disharmony. Homa shot 67 and beat me by 10, perhaps foreshadowing our divergent paths in the professional ranks. Homa picked apart the course like a great strategist, while I was trying to avoid embarrassment. 

There were plenty of scores in the high 70s and more than usual in the low 80s that year, but it was a meditative walk in the park compared to the previous year.

The back nine at Emerald Bay is played on the ocean and the wind can make golf balls move like kites. The 40 mph winds in 2017 made some of the holes virtually unplayable, and the scoring average across four rounds was 76.14, more than 4 over par. Raindrops landed like needles fired from a BB gun. 

Kyle Thompson was the only player under par after four rounds at 2 under, and with that remarkable achievement came the trophy. Multiple holes on the back nine played a full stroke over par. The 12th hole is a long par-4 with the bay left of the fairway and out of bounds lining the right side. In a gale force left-to-right wind, any ball not hit out of the center of a clubface was most likely flying out of play. Huge waves crashed over the rocks protecting the fairway and green. Horror stories of double-digit scores were told in practice rounds for years to come. No stranger to playing in the wind, Dallas resident Conrad Shindler, who earned his PGA Tour card the following season, made a 12 on 12. 

Sepp Straka is now the 17th-ranked player in the world, but back then he was an inexperienced player looking for a breakthrough when he posted 29 over par in the first two rounds, missing the cut by 18 shots. Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey, who would win the event three years later, was at 27 over after posting 87-84. (Gainey opened with a 68 this year.) PGA Tour member Brendon De Jonge shot 89-79. Andrew Landry, who has won twice on the PGA Tour, shot 20 over across 36 holes.

The Great Exuma Classic creates interesting storylines, even if the wind doesn’t blow. Some may recall Marty Dou becoming the first player to make a tournament-winning putt with the pin in after the rule had changed. Who can forget Two Gloves’ life-altering win in 2020? Akshay Bhatia ignited a love story in his 2022 victory with new girlfriend Presleigh Schultz – to whom he is now engaged – on the bag. Chandler Phillips stole the show with his handlebar mustache as he cruised to a two-shot win last year, after spending 2022 without any status. 

Fortunately for these KFT players, this year’s opening round was relatively calm, but in Exuma, peril and excitement are never far away.