Bermuda - Activities

By winning the 91st PGA Championship today, YE Yang of South Korea qualified for the final spot in the 27th PGA Grand Slam of Golf at the Port Royal Golf Course October 19th to October 21st, 2009. The Grand Slam is the world’s most difficult tournament to qualify for because invitations are guaranteed only to the winners of the year’s four major championships.

“Today’s developments remind us just how difficult it is for the world’s best players to get into this tournament,” Premier Brown said. “YE Yang has certainly earned his spot having beaten Tiger Woods, the world’s number one player, in a face-to-face final round match-up. It was exciting golf and we look for much of the same here in Bermuda in October.”

Mr. Yang is set to play in Bermuda alongside Open Champion Stewart Cink, U.S. Open Champion Lucas Glover and Masters Champion Angel Cabrera. Mr. Cabrera won the Bermuda Grand Slam pink jacket in 2007 when the tournament was hosted at the Mid Ocean Club.

This year the tournament moves to the Port Royal Golf Course for the first time – one of Bermuda’s public golf courses. Port Royal was officially re-opened last month after a multimillion dollar reconstruction project.

Premier Brown said: “With the eyes of the golfing world on Bermuda for two days in October, we hope the new Port Royal makes the same impression on all of them that it has made on all of us. Port Royal is now a world-class golf course and one of the finest public courses on the planet. I can’t wait to see how she looks on television – particularly in Asia where I expect many will be watching Mr. Yang.”

The PGA Grand Slam of Golf is broadcast around the world on television in 100 countries.

The Bermuda Department of Tourism is a sponsor of the PGA Grand Slam of Golf.

Should a qualifier decline to attend the Grand Slam the foursome will be completed through the Major Champions Points List composed of past major Champions who compete in the current year’s majors.

Tickets and corporate hospitality for the 27th PGA Grand Slam of Golf may be purchased by calling either 800-PGA-GOLF (800-742-4653) or (561) 624-7601.

The Port Royal Golf Course was officially reopened by Premier Ewart Brown last night. The course has recently undergone a major upgrade in preparation for the 2009 PGA Grand Slam of Golf.

Guests at the ceremony included David Charles of the PGA, retired quarterback Boomer Esiason, and former basketball players Julias Erving (aka Dr J) and Bill Russell.

A round of golf at Port Royal, a government-run club, currently costs $165 for tourists and $133 for residents.

Cup Match, Bermuda’s famous 2-day cricket match, will take place on July 30 and 31 2009 at St George’s Cricket Club (Wellington Oval, Wellington Slip Road, St George’s Parish).

Admission is $15 ($5 for children aged 5 – 12, free for children under 5 and senior citizens with ID) and tickets are available on the door.

There will be a special seating section for tourists with guides offering an insight into the game.

Premier Ewart Brown announced today that the PGA Grand Slam of Golf will be held in Bermuda in 2009 and 2010.

The 2009 event will be held at the Port Royal Golf Course October 19 to 21, currently undergoing renovations and expected to open in January next year.

Premier Brown said, ‘We are so proud to extend our valued partnership with the PGA of America and the PGA Grand Slam of Golf. We’re especially proud to have an event as prestigious as the Grand Slam at Port Royal – a spectacular public golf course that belongs to the people of Bermuda and speaks loudly to our country’s commitment to the game.’

For the last 2 years the event has been held at the Mid Ocean Club.

Tiger Woods will not play in the 2008 PGA Grand Slam of Golf in Bermuda after being forced to withdraw from the remainder of the PGA Tour season. Just days after winning the US Open and qualifying for the tournament, Woods announced that he will shortly be undergoing reconstructive knee surgery and will be need time for rehabilitation.

The news comes as a big blow for Bermuda who had hoped to bring the star to the island. Woods qualified for the event last year, the first time it had been held in Bermuda, but withdrew for personal reasons.

The PGA Grand Slam of Golf tournament will be held at the Mid Ocean Club in Bermuda on October 14 – 15 2008. Tickets are available from www.pga.com.

Government have announced that the St George’s Golf Course is set to close because it is losing too much money. The public course will close in August, despite the fact that Port Royal, another public course, is not reopening until January 2009.

It is anticipated that the land will be used for a new course that will be part of the Park Hyatt hotel, set to open in 2011.

The PGA of American has confirmed that the PGA Grand Slam of Golf will return to Bermuda in 2008. It will be held at the Mid Ocean Club on October 14 and 15. The off-season tournament brings together the winners of the four major men’s tournaments and will be broadcast live on TNT television.

Visitors with out tickets to this month’s PGA Grand Slam of Golf will be able to watch the event for free on a giant screen in Hamilton. On October 17, the final day of the tournament, coverage of the event will be shown live on a 30-foot projection screen at Barrs Bay Park, Hamilton Harbour.

Tiger Woods has pulled out of next month’s PGA Grand Slam of Golf at Bermuda’s Mid Ocean Club. A statement on his website said, ‘Qualifying for the PGA Grand Slam of Golf is very meaningful to me because it signifies you have won a major championship. As much as I would enjoy going to Bermuda, I have played a lot of golf late in the year and need to shut it down for a while. Hopefully, I’ll qualify again and I look forward to competing again in the future.’

Defending champion Woods will be replaced by Jim Furyk.

NCL has announced the launch of its new Golf Bermuda program that will offer its passengers advanced tee time bookings on Bermuda’s golf courses, club rental, and transportation to and from the course.

The company is also offering its guests tickets for the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, to be held at the Mid Ocean Club on October 16-17 2007. They are available from their website until September 14.