A FEW of Bermuda golf professionals have decided not to play in this month's Bermuda Open while one veteran pro and a former three-time winner vowed to support the island's premier tournament and be on the first tee when the 72-hole competition tees off at Port Royal on October 21.

Brian Morris, head of the Bermuda Professional Golf Association along with Darren Swan and Twilton Smith, will be flying out to compete in the Azores Open instead of playing in the Bermuda Open later month.

Meanwhile Kim Swan, who has in the past hit out over the lack of decent prize money and the hefty entry fee for the Bermuda Open, said he will definitely be supporting the island's national championship.

"I feel that it is only right that I support our national championship. After all it was the Bermuda Open which opened so many doors for me in my professional golf career," said a now slimmed-down Swan who is excited about making a strong return to the game.

"I am not knocking Brian or Darren (Swan's brother) for going to the Azores. They have to do what they think is right. But I have offered to help in any way to try and boost the Bermuda Open. But I do feel there are a number of things we can do to improve it."

The Bermuda Golf Association have also just gone through a recent change with Mike Branco stepping down as secretary and Rick Bartlett coming in. Bartlett, who has only been in the job for a month, said this week: "It certainly is a hectic time to start." Morris, who is the head pro at Belmont Hills, said this will be the fourth year he has competed in the Azores Open (October 19-21) and he felt that although some people in the community had the impression that the Azores was a "backward" country compared to Bermuda, "when it comes to the Azores Open they knock us right out".

He said: "They are very, very organised over there and the prize money is good and the competition is very high."

Bob Legere, head of the BGA which runs the Bermuda Open, said that the Department of Tourism has come in this year for the first time to help with some prize money and ACE has also lent a financial hand.

And the BGA will really be pulling out all the stops for next year's Open, promised Legere. "We are going to do a number of things," he said. "We will definitely be changing the dates of the Open. Right now it conflicts with the PGA Qualifying School (in the US) and also it conflicts with the Azores Open. There are a number of things we will be doing to improve the tournament."

Bartlett said that the purse for this year's Open is $20,000 ? with the winner getting $5500 ? although they are still try to get more funds. Prize money for first place in the Azores Open is 12,500 Euros ? nearly three times the amount the Bermuda Open offers.

Morris said this week: "Bermudians have always gone to the Azores Open. If you get some amateurs the pros travel free. I get the entry fee, airline hotel ? everything paid for. I only pay for my ticket to Boston if I take three or four amateurs along.

"I really don't have too many good things to say about the Bermuda Open. The Azores, for a supposed backward country, blows Bermuda Open out of the water ? it is not even close. It is good competition and socially it is great. You get guys there who are on the brink of the European Tour and other professional tours."

Morris, who said he believed the BPGA and BGA should join together and run the Bermuda Open, added that the Azores Open gets about 60 pros playing.

"There will be about 15 Bermudians going over. Twilton Smith (fellow pro at Belmont Hills) is going as well. It is a shame to opt out of your own Open but the reality is that it costs me $375 (entry fee) to go to Port Royal for the Bermuda Open while it costs me $350 (for the ticket to Boston) to go to the Azores Open. And at the end of the day the Azores Open it a better run tournament ? by far."

Morris, who won the pro-am at the Azores Open last year, that if the Bermuda Open was to get better and not only attract good players from abroad but also the island's pros, there needs to be a vast improvement in the way it is run.

"We should have the Open take place in March when the tournament schedule is lighter ? they really have to change the date because the (US) Q school is going on.

"And the basic organisation needs to be better here. In the Azores they have a lot of volunteers who just do the simple things ? but those things are so important."

The BPGA chief said that if more local pros could go to the Azores, they would. "Guys who will be playing in our Open are playing here only because they can't make it to the Azores," he said.

And the deal is great for the amateurs he will be taking to the Azores. "They (the amateurs) pay a fee of $1400. With that they get their ticket from Boston (round trip), six nights hotel, five rounds of golf, breakfast, a rental car and cocktail party and final banquet. That is why they get 200 people over there every year.

"Bermuda is supposed to be one of the richest countries in the world. In Azores they still ride Mobylettes up the hill with pigs under their arms ? they are riding donkeys! But when it comes to running their Open they are very professional. The golf courses are excellent ? very tough. The field is always getting better ? the prize money is going up and everyone is going there. In Bermuda no one wants to step up to the plate. We have to sort this out in Bermuda. We always wait until the last minute and we always ask the same people every time. That is why the Bermuda Open is in the state it is right now. It is a shame."

Kim Swan said of the Bermuda Open: "I am going to play. I have only played once in the last six years ? and that was because I had just lost my job at St. George's (Golf Club). I haven't played seriously in six years."

Swan, though, didn't knock the Bermudians for skipping their own Open. "My brother Darren is going to the Azores. Everyone has to make their own decisions. It is an opportunity for them to broaden their horizons and I understand that.

"But I am one who feels that every effort should be made for our national championships to have a suitable prize money. I am playing because I believe in my national Open. I find it very difficult to not play in the Bermuda Open. The only times I haven't played was when I boycotted it because the hike in entry fees.

"However I owe my golf career to the Bermuda Open. I won in 1978 as an amateur and then won it again in 1983 and '84."

Swan added: "I respect my national championship and yearn for the day when there will be better prize money. I feel it is my duty to play in my national championships.

"At 19 years old the Bermuda Open opened up the world of gold for me. In 1978 I was exempt for the final qualifying for the US Open. I was exempt for the the European Tour and the Canadian Tour. The prestige the Bermuda Open held back then was a vehicle for any young Bermudian to access the world of golf. That was the type of prestige connected with our national Open. I would like to see it get that prestige back again."

And Swan said one of the main ideas to better the Bermuda Open ? besides having better prize money ? would be if it could align itself with another tour.

"I feel it can be improved by aligning our Bermuda Open with a tour ? either the Canadian Tour which I tried to do 10 or 12 years ago ? or the Tour las Americas which Michael Sims is a member of and which is aligned with the European Challenge Tour.

"The minute you start aligning yourself with a recognised tour you automatically get better players who will come. Sponsors will also sign on ? it starts to look attractive for sponsors."

And Swan is also getting his competitive juices back for golf. Recently he finished in third place in the lobster Pot Matchplay Championships at Belmont Hills, and he said: "I have lost 80 pounds ? I was about 275 pounds. I feel a lot stronger and I go to the gym and watch what I eat. I am also practising a lot. I am making a conscious effort to make golf a major part of my life again and I have been able to do that by losing eight. Losing all that weight makes one more confident. You get a better perspective of things. I feel better about myself. When I practise I am more reminded of myself when I was a teenager. It has encouraged me to practise even harder. I am starting to hit some shots and for me it is exciting."