More than 70 pro golfers live near these Florida, Georgia communities

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…