Eighteen-year-old Blades Brown fired a 4-under 66 in the opening round of The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club, positioning himself for a potential eight straight days of competition across two tours. The Korn Ferry Tour event was suspended due to darkness, with Brown tied for sixth at 4 under. He eyes a sponsor exemption at next week's PGA Tour American Express after a private jet flight from the Bahamas.
The first round of The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club on the Korn Ferry Tour was suspended due to darkness at 5:31 p.m. ET on Sunday, January 18, 2026, with 36 players still to finish. Play resumes Monday at 7 a.m. ET, and second-round tee times are delayed by 30 minutes.
Blades Brown, an 18-year-old professional who earned full 2026 Korn Ferry Tour status with a No. 68 finish on the 2025 points list, started strong with a 4-under 68. He made six birdies but overcame a double bogey at the par-4 12th hole. This marks his 10th start on the circuit, and his performance keeps alive an ambitious plan to play back-to-back events on the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour.
Brown teed off at 5:50 a.m. ET (6:50 a.m. local) and could hop a OneFlight private jet—earned via a top-50 finish at last May's OneFlight Myrtle Beach Classic on the PGA Tour—directly to Palm Springs for the American Express, a roughly five-hour flight covering 3,000 miles. He needs to make the cut, expected Monday evening, to play all four rounds here before traveling. An afternoon tee time Thursday at the AmEx would be ideal after his early start.
Meanwhile, Ben Taylor holds a one-stroke lead at 6 under through 15 holes, following a 2-under 34 on the front nine and four straight birdies on the back. Barend Botha, Nick Gabrelcik, Doc Redman, and Hayden Buckley are tied for second at 5 under, each carding 67s. Botha and Gabrelcik went bogey-free, while Redman endured a double bogey on 18. Taylor Dickson, a three-time winner, sits at 1 under after his 87-hole bogey-free streak ended on the 16th. Defending champion Brandon Harkins opened at 2 under.
This Sunday-to-Wednesday format aligns with the AmEx starting Thursday, enabling Brown's dual-tour bid.
