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Els could be invited back to defend title

David Charles, the PGA's senior director, speaks during a press conference held at the Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton yesterday.

If the PGA of America and Tourism Minister Patrice Minors have their way then Bermuda could be hosting the Grand Slam of Golf until 2018 and beyond.The new two year deal to keep the tournament at Port Royal until 2012 means that the Island will have hosted the event for six years, but that’s still some way short of the 13 consecutive years that the event was held in Hawaii.However, Minors hinted yesterday that she’d like to keep the event on a regular basis, but only if the price was right. And David Charles, the PGA’s Senior Director of Championships didn’t seem opposed to the idea either.“The six years that we will have here in Bermuda puts the Island on track to join Hawaii, which had 13 Grand Slams in a row,” said Charles. “We’ve enjoyed four years, and are greatly looking forward to two more.”There have been suggestions in some quarters that the $1.5 million the Bermuda Government spends on securing the rights to host the event could be better used elsewhere.With a television ad campaign likely to reach as many as TNT’s two-day coverage of the tournament does, for far less.Minors though pointed to the legacy that the event brought, as opposed to a television commercial. There is also the near-$1m that the PGA ploughed back into the Island’s economy through their use of local goods and services.“I think this tournament will have a greater longevity than a $1.5m commercial,” said Minors. “We want people to see the course that the champions play on and want to come and take a stab at it.“The Grand Slam has proven successful in the past and I think we need to continue in that vein, and if we can go beyond the Hawaii 13 years then we’ll take it, as long as the financial commitment doesn’t go too much over what we are already paying.“I think we have proven ourselves as being an ideal destination. I think with all the effort that has gone into making the event a success, the PGA has obviously been pleased with what we’ve done.”No matter how long the Grand Slam stays in Bermuda, the make-up of this year’s event could be something of a first for the competition.Previously when one of the year’s major winners has pulled out, a replacement has been selected from past major winners determined by their performance in major championships.Now though the first invitation will be sent to the defending champion, in this case Ernie Els.“What’s different to most tournaments is that the defending champion never has an opportunity to return to defend his title,” said Charles. “So we have taken one step to get closer to that opportunity, and we have made an adjustment to our alternate system. We have changed our eligibility and the first invite will go to the defending champion.“If Ernie wins a major, or we have multiple major champions beyond Ernie, then we will go to our standard points list that we have been using for a number of years now.”What won’t happen is the PGA extending an invitation to the players that finish second in any of the year’s four premier events, The Masters, The Open, The US Open, and the PGA Championship.“The formula for our major champions points list is designed to reward major champions, and it’s a very prestigious club,” said Charles. “There are only around 200 major champions in the history of golf. It’s a very prestigious club and bringing somebody here to play who has never won a major or felt that thrill of doing so, it’s not something we are going to do.“We are staying with the defending champion, we like our major champions, we are going to keep them coming back rather than someone who finishes second place.”