Home|Sports|Harris wins Hillshire Farms OpenSports
He comes out on top in his second straight BPGT event
Simba FrenchSend an emailOctober 11, 2022 234 3 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email
For a second consecutive Bahamas Professional Golf Tour (BPGT) event, David Harris came out on top. This time it was at the Hillshire Farm Open on Sunday, taking place on the Royal Blue Golf Course at Baha Mar.
The Houston, Texas native was in action in August at the BPGT’s Bahamas Waste Open and emerged victorious. On Sunday, he shot a three-under par 69 to improve on his performance from August where he shot an even par 72.
“I just came to play golf,” Harris said. “I came to have fun and support the event. It is good that they have something where pros here in The Bahamas can play and continue to hone their skills. The course was in great condition and it was good competition.”
Harris has a goal of playing on the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) Champions Tour in 2024.
Finishing behind him on Sunday was Keno Turnquest who scored an even par 72. Tour Founder and Director Riccardo Davis finished third after scoring a three-over par 75.
Harris said it was a tough front nine for him as he had two bogies but was able to salvage it by hitting a birdie on the ninth hole. He then went on to hit back-to-back birdies on holes 10 and 11 to gain some ground on the field. Birdies on holes 15 and 17 helped him to shoot five under on the back nine where he also did not have any bogeys.
“I have been working on my game over the last six weeks or so. I expected to play well. The plan was to just come out and beat the course. I am not trying to beat anyone else, but I am trying to beat the golf course,” Harris said.
Harris said he appreciates Davis and his team’s effort in hosting competitive events for pro golfers. On a weekly basis, Harris assists junior golfers locally along with his wife pro Bahamian golfer Georgette Harris, formerly Georgette Rolle, at Fourteen Clubs Golf Academy.
Davis said he was happy to see the players come out on Sunday and put on a show.
“We had a good turnout. We had almost all the top players in The Bahamas here with the exception of two who are off the island. We had a great and strong field,” Davis said. He also spoke about his round and how he looks to finish higher in the rankings.
“I have not been able to practice the way that I need to. Like the last event, I came in a little shaky because I was not able to hit balls in practice like I need to. For the next event, I will be practicing because I cannot finish third and shoot the same score again,” Davis said.
After the one round event, the BPGT made a presentation to Resources and Education for Autism and related Challenges (REACH) to help with the work of the organization.
“We want to help the golfers, but we also want to help a cause that is dear to our hearts because we have family members with autism. We know that it is overlooked as something that is not important, but it is important to us, and we are going to continue to donate to them every single month once we have the event,” Davis stated.
A board member from REACH, Greer Symonette-Bain, said they are happy to receive the assistance as they will use it to help with the work they are doing. It is a parent organization that is active in providing support to parents and resources to children.
“It will be used to provide services and resources for children who are on the spectrum and come to REACH weekly. We have children who we give speech therapy services to and parent support for parents whose children are on the spectrum,” Symonette-Bain said.
Davis and his team are looking at putting on the next BPGT event closer to the end of November. They will finalize the course and dates in short order.