“These gals are good.”
That’s not a line intended to be insulting or patronizing. It’s not some chauvinist pat on the head to the female athletes who descended on Nassau this week for the PureSilk Bahamas LPGA Classic.
The phrase is the truth and a direct play on one of golf’s standing social media hashtags, #theseguysaregood. Watching the play here at the stunning Ocean Club Golf Course, you quickly remember the ladies have every bit of the skill and dedication as their admittedly more famous male counterparts.
At first glance, it would seem a LPGA tournament in the midst of high season would have a tough time making a dent in the January life of the Bahamas. There is ample competition for the amusement time of travelers and locals, but the LPGA event here held an importance for the island nation that reached beyond the respectable galleries the tournament drew on its final day.
Tournament Director Jeff Raedle of GlobalGolf Management says the Bahamas wants the LPGA to consider it the home of their tour’s kickoff event every year — just as the PGA sends the men to Hawaii for the equivalent. So, it’s important for the entire island that the tournament come off well.
“We want the LPGA to look good, PureSilk to look good and the Bahamas to look good,” Raedle said. “Tourism is obviously the life’s blood of the Bahamas, and that can be a cut-throat business with so much competition down here. This tournament is one more chance to show how beautiful (the Bahamas) are.”
Dr. Danny Johnson, Bahamas’ Minister for Youth Sports and Culture, confirmed that the LPGA agreed to open its season in the Bahamas through 2018, laying the foundation for making the island kick-off a tradition.
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“Our weather here presents a very strong competitive advantage during January and February,” Johnson explains. “That positions us perfectly as an early season launch point for multiple international sports.”
“So, we’re pleased this LPGA tournament can play an important role in that. Our longterm goal is to have any sport that cannot operate in North American or Europe during the winter to look to the Bahamas first.”
According to Joy Jibrilu, Director General of the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, that trend is already well underway: “From the Battle for Atlantis NCAA Basketball tournament in November to Tiger Woods’ Heroes Challenge golf event in December, we’re seeing the calendar of events grow.”
While the current strategy is to build on the Bahamas’ perfect winter season weather to draw sporting events, Jibrilu believes year-round events are possible as the right mix could flourish even amidst the close heat of summer.
But, this day was about the LPGA and the best lady golfers in the world. PureSilk’s trophy went to South Korea’s second year pro Hyo Joo Kim, who shot a 67 and won by a comfortable two stroke margin over world #3 Stacy Lewis.
The final day might’ve been somewhat of an anti-climax, but the tournament did see sports history as 23-year-old Ha Na Jang made a third round hole-in-one on the 218 yard, par 4 eighth hole. That’s the first Albatross (3 under par on a single hole) in LPGA event history. So maybe we should try out: #theseladiesaregood.
While Kim scooped up the winner’s purse and Ocean Club crew began cleaning up the course, it’s safe to say the mind’s behind the Bahamian quest to dominate warm weather winter sports were already busy looking to the future.
