According to the PGA Tour catchphrase 'these guys are good'.

What members of Mid Ocean Club watching the first round of the Grand Slam yesterday might have been wondering was, just how good?

A struggling Zach Johnson, this year's Masters champion, bogeyed four of the first five holes.

The huge gallery, estimated at 5,000 or more, didn't witness the day's first birdie until the fifth hole when both Padraig Harrington and Angel Cabrera picked up a shot at what is regarded as not only the course's most difficult hole (rated handicap one on the scorecard) but also the signature hole.

Of course, Johnson, Harrington, Cabrera and Jim Furyk all eventually returned impressive scores.

As they should. All are incredibly talented and showed off that talent with a variety of spectacular shots.

But what emerged above all else in this first round was that Bermuda, and Mid Ocean Club in particular, can hold its own against any country in the world when it comes to hosting first class sporting events.

And those who have long advocated that the Island could very well become a permanent venue for a regular PGA Tour event, have been consistently shot down by critics who argue that Mid Ocean is too short and not sufficiently challenging for the world's elite players, can add more fuel to that debate.

What the tournament showed in the opening few holes is that despite its lack of yardage, Mid Ocean's slick and wonderfully contoured greens are enough to give some of the best in the game a monumental headache.

What members will tell you, it could have been a whole lot worse. Had the wind blown, it would have become a whole different ball game. It's almost always the elements that make Mid Ocean the course that it is.

Yesterday our PGA stars were greeted by a gentle breeze, warm sunshine - as benign conditions as one could expect at this time of year.

They got Tucker's Town at its best. Hopefully, the wind will pick up for today's second and final round and Mid Ocean will get chance to bear its teeth.

Premier Ewart Brown, who has a knack of bringing big events to the Island, did us proud by snatching this gem of a tournament out of the hands of Hawaii, where it's been held for the last decade or more.

Perhaps his next challenge should be to negotiate making Bermuda a permanent stop on the PGA Tour (regular, Champions or even Nationwide).

And if they still aren't interested, he might try their counterparts across the other side of the pond.

The increasingly prestigious European Tour has in recent years widened its net to take in events all around the globe, in the Far East and the Middle East in particular.

If their executives happen to have taken in the magnificent TV coverage, to which Mid Ocean lends itself, and which has been shown throughout Europe via Sky TV, they might be tempted to add another 'exotic' location to their ever-expanding schedule.

If yesterday was any indication, we'd be happy to accommodate them.