Bermuda golfers hoping to play in the Bacardi National Par 3 Championship will have to qualify for January’s tournament.

The field will be limited to the top ten and ties in each division, with players having until January 1 to post a score at Turtle Hill Golf Club.

Organisers, who have dropped the entry fee, have changed the entry requirements so that playing in the Bacardi event will be considered “an achievement”.

“The idea was to make the qualifying a little bit more open, and to encourage more people to play in it,” Paul Adams, the director of golf at Turtle Hill, said. “If you can post a score that’s good enough, you can play in the tournament.

“Hopefully it will improve the quality of golf in Bermuda. If you shoot 72 and that’s not good enough, hopefully you’re going to come back, you’re going to take lessons, and try and shoot a better score. Rather than being content with the 72 which you might ordinarily be happy with.”

Those players that win their respective division at the tournament on January 9 and 10 will qualify for the Grey Goose World Par 3 Championship in March.

The four divisions for the Bacardi Par 3 are: men 18-54; men 54 and over; women 18 and over; and professionals.

A scoreboard has been kept at Turtle Hill since September, with Ryan Roberts leading the professional division, Oscar Riley the 18-54 division, Dan Partlan the 54 and over division, and Katina Rabain the women’s division.

• The deadline to enter the Gosling’s Invitational is November 13. The tournament will run from November 29 to December 3 at Belmont Hills Golf Club and costs $675 for professionals and $550 for amateurs.

Information on the event, and entry forms can be found at www.goslingsrum.com/sport.