Four!

The PGA Grand Slam returns to Bermuda this week, once again at the Port Royal Golf Club, which is now handily situated just around the corner from our house.

The PGA Grand Slam of Golf is designed for the season’s four major winners (the Masters, the U.S. Open, The Open Championship and the PGA Championship) but never have all four winners appeared for the season’s finale. This year sadly only two are here – Graham McDowell and Martin Kaymer, and they are joined by Ernie Els in for the otherwise engaged Phil Mickleson and David Toms, a late replacement for the injured South African Luis Oosthuizen.

Mickelson would have been a crowd puller and also I expect have attracted strong American interest but like Tiger before him he didn’t fancy it or the $1,350,000 of prize money for two rounds of golf.

This is the 3rd year that Bermuda has hosted the Grand Slam. It was previously held in Hawaii and the switch at the time was a real coup for the island but sadly it has been poorly attended mostly due to the lack of ‘star pulling-power’ but this time around entrance has been priced very sensibly ($20 and under 17’s free with an adult) plus with McDowell and Kaymer here one would hope it gets a positive knock effect from the recent Ryder Cup.

Today is the pro-am with the actual tournament taking place tomorrow and Wednesday. I will be at the beautiful Port Royal course on Wednesday with camera and will report back.