Premier Ewart Brown last night said he was rooting for Tiger Woods to win the PGA Championship this weekend to earn a place in October's Grand Slam of Golf in Bermuda.

Dr. Brown was speaking from the Southern Hills Country Club course in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he joined spectators following Tiger Woods around for the first ten holes of his outing in yesterday's second round.

Asked if he thought Woods was going to win the last major of 2007, Dr. Brown said: "Yes, and I think that more so today (Friday) than yesterday (Thursday), as he's playing well and looking confident."

Woods completed the round with a course record-equalling 63 to lead the tournament by two strokes.

The winners of golf's four majors - the Masters, the US Open, the British Open and the PGA Championship - are the players who qualify for the PGA of America's Grand Slam of Golf, which will be held at the Mid Ocean Club over two days in October.

The first three majors were won by Zach Johnson, Angel Cabrera and Padraig Harrington, but should in-form Woods triumph this weekend, it will give the Grand Slam the huge boost of featuring the biggest name in world golf.

The Premier said he believed most Bermudians were pulling for Woods to win the final slot and he added: "They should be if they know what it could do for the Island."

The Ministry of Tourism is backing the Grand Slam to the tune of $1.5 million, in the hope that the TV exposure of the tournament will attract more visitors. And Dr. Brown said the PGA was doing a "great job" of providing publicity for the Bermuda tournament.

"I spent this morning with David Charles, the executive director for the Grand Slam," Dr. Brown said. "We talked about everything, the course itself, the merchandising, the catering, all of it.

"Norman Furtado, the superintendent of the Mid Ocean Club, is also here."

Dr. Brown was enthused about what the Grand Slam could do for Bermuda.

"We are hoping to turn Bermuda on," he said. "This tournament means so much to the whole Island and we are hoping to extend it beyond the boundaries of the Mid Ocean Club."