Serious business for Slam quartet
Anyone expecting a friendly two days of golf at the Grand Slam at Port Royal next week might want to think again.Keegan Bradley is back to defend his title and with Ernie Els, The Open champion and 2010 Grand Slam winner, also in the field, the competition is likely to be ramped up several notches.Doubters only need to look at the performance Bradley and his team-mates, Bubba Watson, and Webb Simpson, produced at last month’s Ryder Cup, or in winning their major titles to see that they give no quarter. Els as been a tough competitor for years, and David Charles, Senior Director, PGA Championships, isn’t expecting anything other than a full-bloodied contest.“Keegan Bradley, as good as he played (in) only losing the one point in the (Ryder Cup) singles, he paired up really well with Phil Mickelson and it really showed his competitive nature. That goes hand in hand with how competitive he was last year at the Grand Slam to come from behind to beat Rory McIlroy,” said Charles.“We like to see that drive in Keegan Bradley, especially as our PGA Champion from Atlanta (2011). Having the defending champion compete for the first time in Bermuda under our new replacement system, we’re very excited to have him.“Obviously there will be a bit of a Ryder Cup hangover for everybody, but the three guys (Bradley, Simpson and Watson) all played well, and are playing really well.”While Port Royal will be unable to produce the wave of noise that greeted the players at every tee at Medina Country Club, the cheerleading antics of Bradley and Watson should ensure a different atmosphere to the normally sedate one experienced by Grand Slam crowds.And if Watson wants noise when he tees off then Charles is more than happy to let him get the crowd involved.“Bubba got the fans riled up (in Medina), cheering and chanting and making as much noise as possible,” said Charles. “We probably can’t replicate that at Port Royal, we don’t have the big grandstands to make that much noise. But Bubba is an exciting player and the fans should be looking forward to seeing him.“He should be very exciting to watch. If Bubba wants to get the crowd going we’ll let him start that, it was quite entertaining to see him do it at Medina.”n The PGA have extended their two-for-one ticket offer for next week’s event. Spectators can pay $20 for a day pass and get one day free, now until Sunday, while a three day pass is $50. Tickets will be on sale in Washington Mall today between 11.30am and 2pm, and at Port Royal Golf Course.