The Tribune

Professional golfers Paige Mackenzie and Belen Mozo were on course yesterday to promote the upcoming Pure Silk-Bahamas Ladies Professional Golf Association Classic.

They both got an opportunity to play at The One & Only Ocean Club Golf Course that will host the competition for four days in May.

144 players from around the world are set to compete in the event, which has attracted some of the top names in the sport and carries a total prize purse of $1.3 million. The classic is the first in a series of new 2013 tournaments to be hosted by the LPGA. The best female player locally will be awarded with a Bahamian invitation to compete in the tournament.

Yesterday, Paige and Belen also visited the Junkanoo museum and Graycliff’s cigar factory before The One & Only Ocean Club hosted a cocktail reception for golfers set to play in the event.

Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcome had said he hopes this major professional golf tournament will showcase the country on a global scale.

LPGA tournaments average around 50,000 spectators, according to chief marketing officer Jon Podany, and Mr Wilchcombe said the event is predicted to attract a “tremendous amount of supporters flying in to the Bahamas” with 4,000 room bookings for the country’s hotels.

“We want this to become one of the most significant signature events in our Commonwealth,” the minister said.

“I think you would appreciate that we have golf courses throughout the Bahamas but we are seeking to reintroduce the Bahamas as a wonderful place for sports tourism and to appeal to the sector of individuals, globally, who participate in the game of golf.”

Mr Podany said: “This is very much a global tour. Not only will this tournament be broadcast around the world, but we have websites in Chinese language, in Korean language, in Japanese language and our players come from around the world.

“Right now the top 20 ranked players in the world represent nine different countries, so it truly is a melting pot of the world and you’re going to see people from Korea and Taiwan and Japan and Canada and the US and Europe - you’re going to see people from all over the world coming to your great island.”