They’re some of the best golfers in the world and they call the First Coast and Georgia’s Golden Isles home. Nearly six dozen, some natives of both areas, some transplants from other states as far away as California, Washington and New England and others from other nations such as Australia, Sweden, Fiji, Belgium, Colombia, Mexico, Scotland and China reside in the area. But they’ve all made the same decision — either move to the First Coast or the Golden Isles to take advantage of the world-class golf courses, practice facilities such as the PGA Tour Academy and the Sea Island Resort Performance Center — or stay exactly where they were brought up. Here’s the comprehensive list, based on the biographical information they have released to their respective tours. We’ve also included area natives who have moved elsewhere and are still active players. And if you bump into them at a convenience store or in the grocery aisle, say hi.
PGA Tour
- Tyson Alexander, Jacksonville Beach, Florida: The former Gator All-American battled until he was 34 years old to get to the PGA Tour and made it in 2022, then retained his card last season by finishing 102nd on the FedEx Cup points list.
- Jonas Blixt, Jacksonville Beach, Florida: A native of Sweden and a former Florida State player, Blixt has won three times on the PGA Tour, including the Zurich Classic in 2017 when he played with 2022 Players champion Cameron Smith.
- Jonathan Byrd, St. Simons Island, Georgia: He was the first four-time All-ACC player at Clemson and has won five times on the PGA Tour, plus the 2017 Korn Ferry Tour Championship at the Atlantic Beach Country Club. Byrd is noted for winning the 2010 Shriners Hospital for Children in Las Vegas with a walkoff hole-in-one in a playoff.
- Bud Cauley, Jacksonville, Florida, native: Now living in the Palm Beach area, Cauley was one of the top junior golfers in First Coast history and got his PGA Tour card in one summer of sponsor invitations, which he turned into top 10 finishes, which led to his card. Had to recover from a serious car accident in Columbus, Ohio, in 2018 in which he was the passenger and is playing on a medical exemption.
- Adrien Dumont de Chassart, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida: The native of Belgium played at Illinois, then won his professional debut in 2023 at the Korn Ferry Tour BMW Charity Pro-Am. He added another victory later in the year to ensure his PGA Tour card for 2024.
- Nico Echavarria, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida: The younger of the two Echavarria brothers from Colombia reached the PGA Tour last year through the Korn Ferry Tour, then won the Puerto Rico Open to earn a two-year exemption.
- Harris English, St. Simons Island, Georgia: The University of Georgia graduate won the Korn Ferry Tour’s event at the UGA golf course as an amateur in 2011, added two more Korn Ferry titles, and then four PGA Tour victories. He’s finished among the top 10 in three of the last four U.S. Opens and in March tied for 19th at The Players.
- Matt Every, Jacksonville Beach, Florida: A Daytona Beach native and four-time All-American at the University of Florida, Every won the Arnold Palmer Invitational in back-to-back years in 2014-15 before losing his fully exempt Tour status.
- Brian Harman, St. Simons Island, Georgia: Another in a long line of University of Georgia players, the Savannah native has won three PGA Tour titles, capped by last year’s Open Championship, through sheer work and determination.
- Billy Horschel, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida: After a successful college career at Florida, Horschel has carved out a respectable record on the PGA Tour that has been highlighted so far by his FedEx Cup championship in 2014. He won his eighth PGA Tour title on April 21 in the Dominican Republic.
- Will Gordon, St. Simons Island, Georgia: The Vanderbilt graduate is struggling this season after finishing 98th in 2022-23 on the FedEx Cup.
- Ben Griffin, St. Simons Island, Georgia: A former University of North Carolina star who has a fallback position should he leave pro golf — he has an economics degree and has worked as a loan officer with a mortgage company.
- Lanto Griffin, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida: Griffin won the 2020 Houston Open but has struggled since then, finishing 201st on the FedEx Cup last season and is outside the top 125 so far this season.
- Zach Johnson, St. Simons Island, Georgia: The pride of Drake University has done more through hard work and doggedness than almost any modern player. Johnson’s 2007 Masters title and 2015 Open Championship highlight a career in which he’s won 12 PGA Tour titles. He was the Korn Ferry Tour player of the year in 2004.
- Patton Kizzire, St. Simons Island, Georgia: The Auburn graduate is a past Korn Ferry Tour player of the year and has won twice on the PGA Tour, both times in 2018 at the Sony Open and Mayakoba, Mexico.
- Ben Kohles, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida: He’s had two two-victory seasons on the Korn Ferry Tour 11 years apart, in 2012 and 2023 and posted his best PGA Tour finish with a solo fifth last fall at the RSM Classic.
- David Lingmerth, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida: The native of Sweden and former Arkansas player had a career resurgence last season by posting a finish of 80th on the FedEx Cup, his best since 2016. His season was highlighted by a tie for sixth at The Players, his second top 10 in the tournament. His only PGA Tour title was a big one: the 2015 Memorial.
- Ryan McCormick, Jacksonville, Florida: He earned Tour status by finishing 27th on the Korn Ferry Tour points list last season. McCormick played college golf at St. Johns.
- Tyler McCumber, Jacksonville Beach, Florida: A graduate of Nease and Florida, the son of 1988 Players champion Mark McCumber is battling a shoulder injury. With the merging of the PGA Tour’s development circuits in Canada and Latin America, McCumber will be the only player in history to earn Korn Ferry Tour status by winning the money titles on each of those tours and a total of six titles.
- Keith Mitchell, St. Simons Island, Georgia: The 2019 winner of the Cognizant Classic has been a steady performer, on his way to a seventh season of making the FedEx Cup playoffs. Need to find a good restaurant at a PGA Tour stop? Players know to hit up Mitchell, who prides himself on knowing the best places.
- Philip Knowles, Jacksonville, Florida: Knowles is the first UNF player to earn his PGA Tour card, off the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour. He’s playing on a medical exemption after a freak accident last year in which he cut his hand severely on a can lid. He was tied for the lead through 54 holes at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Savannah event and finished in a tie for fourth.
- Russell Knox, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida: The former JU star has been a winner at every level — college, the Hooters Tour, the Korn Ferry Tour and twice on the PGA Tour. He has a 59 on the Korn Ferry Tour and is battling his way back through that circuit.
- Andrew Novak, St. Simons Island, Georgia: One of the best players to come out of the Southern Conference, he was won four times at Wofford and was the SoCon player of the year in 2017. Finished 68th on the FedEx Cup points list last season.
- Raul Pereda, Jacksonville, Florida: The JU graduate finally reaped the fruits of years on international tours when he earned his card at PGA Tour Q School last December at the TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley Course and the Sawgrass Country Club. He carries two ball markers: one for short putts and one for long putts.
- J.T. Poston, St. Simons Island, Georgia: The best PGA Tour player to ever come out of Western Carolina University. He won the 2019 Wyndham Championship and the 2022 John Deere Classic.
- Sam Ryder, Atlantic Beach, Florida: He’s no relation to Samuel Ryder, the English businessman who donated the trophy for the competition that became…
