Brian Gay has overcome a couple of setbacks out of his control, but now the Butterfield Bermuda Championship defending champion is ready to put his title on the line at Port Royal during an anticipated four days of exciting golf, starting today.

Gay and his wife were bumped off a flight from Charlotte on Monday because the plane was too heavy, forcing him to arrive a day later than planned, ahead of today’s opening round.

“We got to the gate and they wouldn’t let 10 or 15 of us on because they said the plane was too heavy,” Gay explained in a press conference yesterday at Port Royal.

The ordeal was posted on the Golf Channel but Gay took it all in his stride, no doubt happy to arrive in Bermuda with enough time to settle in.

“They left some people behind and we had to wait anther day to catch the next flight over,” he said. “We finally made it yesterday.”

After arriving on Tuesday, Gay’s preparation – and that of the other golfers in the field – was hampered by heavy early morning rain the last two days which forced yesterday’s Pro-Am event to be cancelled.

Gay managed to get in some practice yesterday afternoon and is now looking forward to defending a title he won last year in an exciting play-off against Wyndham Clark, his first victory on the PGA Tour in seven years.

Gay is making his third appearance in the event, after finishing n a tie for third place two years ago. He admits to feeling at home on the Port Royal course.

“I think it is a combination of the weather, not too dissimilar to Florida, I don’t mind the wind and I grew up on Bermuda grass,” Gay said in response to a question about the course.

“There are plenty of birdie opportunities. Hopefully I get to hit a few balls this afternoon, since they opened the course. It’s been a few days so I’ll try to shake off some rust ahead of my morning start.

“I was practising some at home, we had some bad weather in Orlando the day before I left. It’s been four or five days since I have hit a ball which isn’t normal for starting a tournament.”

Windy conditions is bound to present a challenge for the golfers, as was seen during the recent local qualifier.

“We had a couple of windy days last year, in fact I remember it blowing in a few different directions during the tournament,” Gay said. “It gets windy in Florida sometimes.”

The 126 players in the field will play their opening rounds today. Brendon Todd, the inaugural winner in 2019, withdrew from the tournament last week while Clark, who almost pulled off victory last year, is also absent.