CHEROKEE SOUND, Abaco The Bahamas – The 2017 Bahamas Great Abaco Classic, the second Web.com Tour event of the season, launches on Sunday at The Abaco Club on Winding Bay with 14 players who have won on the PGA Tour including one major champion in the field of 132. bd Global, a Lexington-based sports marketing firm, is managing the event which includes six players with Kentucky ties:
- Matt Adkins, Owensboro native and South Carolina-Aiken graduate who turned pro in 2013 and is in his third year on the Web.com Tour
- Kent Bulle, Glasgow native and Middle Tennessee State grad who played his first season on the Web.com Tour in 2016 after turning pro in 2010
- Rick Cochran, Paducah native and MTSU grad who turned pro in 2009; nephew of former PGA TOUR-star Russ Cochran
- Chase Parker, Augusta, Ga. native and Kentucky grad just earned his Web.com card at Q school in December after turning pro in 2014
- Josh Teater, Danville native and Morehead State grad who has won almost $5 million since turning pro in 2001; just missed earning his PGA TOUR card after finishing 29th in the 2016 Web.com Tour playoffs (Top-25 graduate to the TOUR)
- Kyle Wilshire, Georgetown native and Central Florida grad who turned pro in 2010 and spent the past two years playing professionally in Canada before earning status this year on the Web.com Tour
Bulle, who lost his card heading into the 2017 season, used a sponsor exemption into the Web.com Tour’s Great Exuma Classic two weeks ago and battled extreme windy conditions to finished T13th. His Top-25 finish earned him a spot in this week’s tournament. Teater finished T17th in Exuma while Parker finished 28th. The other three Kentuckians missed the cut.
“When you consider what JB Holmes has done on the TOUR and Ryder Cup and then Justin Thomas’s three wins in five starts this season, I don’t think there’s any question that Kentucky produces outstanding golf talent,” Bulle said. “And there’s six of us here this week that want to use this Tour to join them in the near future.”
The Web.com Tour fashions itself as the path to the PGA TOUR. Former members have gone on to win more than 450 tournaments on the PGA TOUR, including 22 major championships.
bd Global, founded by Lexington-native Brooks Downing in 2012, is the host organization for both Web.com Tour events in the Bahamas. The company currently manages numerous college basketball events across North America. 2017 marks its first entry into golf tournament management.
“We have been working with Bahamas Tourism to find sports content that will showcase the ‘true’ Bahamas,” said Downing, who also serves as the chairman of the Bluegrass Sports Commission in Central Kentucky. “We were very blessed to have an opportunity to secure two Web.com Tour events here, but even more excited to be able to provide additional opportunities for Kentucky golfers to play on the professional stage.”
In addition to the six golfers from the Bluegrass State, the 14 PGA TOUR winners includes Robert Allenby, Erik Compton and Jonathan Byrd, along with major-winner Shaun Micheel, who captured the 2003 PGA Championship.
The tournament, which boasts a $600,000 purse, will be broadcast live on the Golf Channel, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, and 3-5 p.m. Monday through Wednesday. The unique TV schedule, combined with the challenging playing conditions in Exuma, propelled the Web.com Tour to a 15% growth in all digital media during the four-day tournament. The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay also set records for the third-highest average round (80.5 1st Rd), hardest hole (5.1 strokes on Par 4 12th) and highest cut in the 28-year history of the Tour (+11). Kyle Thompson (-2) won the event.