The 2026 Korn Ferry Tour season opens with The Bahamas Golf Classic at Atlantis Paradise Island, the first of the Tour's 25-event schedule.

This will be the ninth playing of The Bahamas Golf Classic at Atlantis Paradise Island, and the second at the Ocean Club Golf Course at Atlantis.

How to follow (all times ET):

Television:

• Sunday: 2-5 pm (Golf Channel)
• Monday: 2-5 pm (Golf Channel)
• Tuesday: 2-5 pm (Golf Channel)
• Wednesday: 1-4 pm (Golf Channel)

Notables in the field

• Blades Brown, 18, who began the 2025 season with no status on any PGA TOUR-sanctioned circuit, collected four top-25 finishes with two top 10s in 14 Korn Ferry Tour starts last season. He went on to finish No. 68 on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, securing fully exempt status for the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour season.

• At No. 174 in the Official World Golf Ranking, class of 2022 Korn Ferry Tour graduate Carson Young is the highest-ranked player in this week's field. In 2025, Young made 27 starts on the PGA TOUR, logging five top-25 finishes with three top 10s en route to a No. 129 finish in the FedExCup Fall.
• Fourth-year member Mitchell Meisner enters the 2026 campaign coming off his best season on the Korn Ferry Tour. He recorded a career high 13 top-25 finishes with seven top 10s, leading to a No. 21 finish on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, one position out of earning a PGA TOUR card (top 20).
• Jay Card III finished No. 2 on the 2025 PGA TOUR Americas Points List, granting him membership for the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour season. In 16 starts, Card earned two victories with an additional two top-10 finishes. He joined Michael Brennan (three) as the only multiple-time winner on PGA TOUR Americas last season.
• Class of 2024 Korn Ferry Tour graduate Jeremy Paul is the only past champion in this week's field. Paul earned his first career victory at the event in 2024, leading him to a No. 21 finish on the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Points List and his first PGA TOUR card (top 30). Last season on TOUR, Paul collected six top-25 finishes with a top 10 in 26 starts.

Tournament notes

• The field includes 12 PGA TOUR winners with 26 total victories, led by Camilo Villegas with five wins.
• The field includes 56 Korn Ferry Tour winners — including eight from the 2025 season — with 84 career victories, led by Ben Kohles and Robby Shelton with four wins each.
• Four players in the field stand inside the top 200 of the Official World Golf Ranking: Carson Young (No. 174), Taylor Montgomery (No. 191), Barend Botha (No. 197) and Harry Higgs (No.200).
• The field includes 11 first-time members, with six making their Korn Ferry Tour debut, including Tyler Leach, who makes his Korn Ferry Tour debut after securing membership via medalist honors at Second Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry. Leach advanced through each stage of PGA TOUR Q-School, beginning at Pre-Qualifying.
• Last year, Hank Lebioda defeated S.H. Kim with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff (No. 18) to capture his first career Korn FerryTour victory at the 2025 The Bahamas Golf Classic at Atlantis Paradise Island. Lebioda's season-opening victory set the foundation for his return to the PGA TOUR, and he collected an additional six top-10 finishes en route to a No. 6 finish on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List. Lebioda became the third consecutive player to win the season-opening event and go on to earn a PGA TOUR card at season's end, joining Chandler Phillips (2023) and Jeremy Paul (2024).
• In total, five of the eight winners of The Bahamas Golf Classic at Atlantis Paradise Island have gone on to earn their TOUR card at season's end since the event became the Tour's season opener in 2017.

Key 2026 storylines

• The 2026 Korn Ferry Tour season, the 36th in the Tour's history, will feature 25 events across seven countries and 15 states. There will be 10 televised events throughout the season, beginning with this week's The Bahamas Golf Classic at Atlantis Paradise Island.
• At the conclusion of the 25-event Korn Ferry Tour season, the top 20 players on the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour Points List will be awarded PGA TOUR cards (I.e. membership) for the 2027 season. Additionally, the No. 1 finisher will earn exemptions for the 2027 THE PLAYERS Championship and 2027 U.S. Open.
• Following the Compliance Solutions Championship, the third of four Korn Ferry Tour Finals events, the top 60 players on the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour Points List will advance to the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by Virginia's Richmond Region at The Federal Club in Glen Allen, Virginia. Those 60 players will earn fully exempt status for the 2027 Korn Ferry Tour season.

Tournament facts

• Course: Ocean Club Golf Course at Atlantis, par 72, 7,159 yards
• Field: 132 players
• 2025 champion: Hank Lebioda
• Purse: $1,000,000 ($180,000/winner)