The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

IT’S not everyday that visiting sporting personalities get to relax and enjoy the amenities that the Bahamas has to offer away from the playing field.

Here to help promote the return of the Ladies Professional Golf Association’s Pure Silk Bahamas Classic, LPGA golfers Gerina Piller and Kim Kaufman got a chance to take in some of the scenic views of New Providence on Monday and today they will be taking a trip to Exuma.

Their experience was courtesy of the Ministry of Tourism and “Golden Girl” Eldece Clarke from the Sports Division said it was a pleasure to take them to the Ardastra Gardens and the Junkanoo Museum where they got a “real good old Bahamian style of culture” during yesterday’s tour.

After lunch at Frankie Gone Bananas Restaurant where they got a demonstration on the making of conch salad, they went to Graycliff to view the Chocolate Factory and John Watling’s Distillery. With this being the fourth year that the LPGA is coming to the Bahamas, Clarke said the ministry wanted to do its part to ensure that the players keep coming back.

For both players, whose trip was arranged by Emily Norell of the LPGA, it was indeed fun for them to be back in the Bahamas.

“We started our season here last year, so it is always a good place to come,” said Kaufman, who is coming off her first pro season after her rookie year in 2014 out of Texas Tech. “Atlantis is pretty famous and the golf course is one of the best in the world, so I really enjoyed it.”

After missing the cut for the final round in her debut by one shot last year, Kaufman said she’s eager to compete again when the tournament is staged from January 25-31 at the Ocean Club on Paradise Island. She noted that if she can get into the top 10, it will be a great improvement for her, considering the way she played this year.

“I played in the CME Group Tour Championship and the Toto Japan Classic, which was good,” Kaufman said. “But I would love to come back here to do very well here because this place is so awesome. There is so many things to do. It’s a really cool place and I hope that we can do a lot more than we didn’t do when the tournament is being played.”

Having dined at the Poop Deck on Sunday night, the Floridian feels as if she’s getting to be Bahamian and she’s looking forward to telling others about the experience she had this week, especially eating “conch salad.”

Now ranked at No. 84 in the Rolex Ranking and No.55 on the money list, Kaufman said she’s just waiting to make her breakthrough with her first professional victory after coming so close with her second place tie at the Blue Bay LPGA on October 29.

“I think Atlantis is right up there with some of the golf courses that we play on,” Kaufman said. “There’s the ocean and the sun is shinning. There’s not much more that you could ask for. We had to learn to play a lot in the wind because we had a bad storm that came through. So I want to be ready this year. I might just come over a little early so that I can get some practice so that I can be ready to go when everybody else comes for the tournament.”

While here during the tournament, Kaufman said she is also looking forward to participating once again in the clinic for the juniors at the Ocean Club. She did it last year and was really thrilled to watch the youngsters, who were right around her age when she got started at the age of four.

“Although they are already playing, we try to give them a good sense of how they can play the game even better, so it’s something that we all look forward to, not just in the Bahamas, but wherever we go to play,” she said. “But I like the way the players have responded to the lessons that we teach them here.”

This is the fourth trip here for Piller, who credits the “people, who are so awesome and nice and welcoming,” as well as being a “nice place to relax” as some of the reasons that keep her coming back.

“This is close to going to China and Hawaii,” said Piller. “It ranks right up there with those places. But I actually love the course here. I’ve had some success here in the past and although it gets pretty windy, it’s also in pretty good shape to play on.”

Last year, she finished in the top 10, but when she comes back next year, Piller said she feels she will be prepared “to play in the wind, which is something a lot of the girls don’t like to do. But being a tropical place like this, you have to get accustomed to it. It’s early in the year, so it’s just a great place to start the season.”

From the tournament this year, Piller went on to post some respectable performances in the other tournaments she played in, finishing off the year tied for second at the CME Group Tour Championship. She is now No.30 in the Rolex Ranking and ninth on the CME money list.

“It’s always nice to go out on a good note,” said Piller, who lost the title by one stroke. “So I’m just looking forward to improving on what I did this year and hopefully I can get my first big win next year. I wouldn’t mind if I can do it here in the Bahamas.”

While here now, Piller said she can actually feel like a tourist because “I don’t have to carry my golf clubs, so I’m definitely going to be telling everybody about it.”

Although she’s not much of a seafood lover, Piller said she got to taste a little of everything and she certainly got her appetite wet.

“Of all the seafood and fish I’ve tried, it was definitely the best that I had,” she stated. “I love Mexican food, so it was similar to that with the way they prepared it.”

Married to Martin Piller, a pro golfer, Piller said she’s looking forward to returning for another stop on the LPGA Tour in the Bahamas and she hopes that she can leave her impression on the Pure Silk Tournament when she leaves. But for now, she said she’s enjoying herself with Kaufman and the rest of the entourage that is accompanying them.