professional golfing tour next summer because of `belt-tightening' by Government.

But while Assistant Director of Activities, Randy Horton has not ruled out pursuing the idea again in 1994, the main mover behind the tournament idea, local pro Kim Swan, yesterday expressed disappointment that the tournament won't be coming to Bermuda next fall.

"It is something that's not going to happen this coming fiscal year,'' Horton said. "What we're going to do is look and see whether we can do it the following fiscal year.'' Swan was the man who started the ball rolling, having invited Canadian Tour commissioner Bob Beauchemin to meet with Tourism officials in October.

"It may be on Tourism's back burner but it's still remains in the forefront of my mind,'' said the St. George's Golf Club professional.

Plans to host one of the Canadian tour events were first reported by The Royal Gazette exactly two months ago after Swan bounced the idea off Beauchemin while playing three events on the Canadian Tour this summer.

"It would have been great to have found support from Tourism, but apparently the recession means that money is difficult to come by,'' said Swan who stressed that he is not putting the blame solely on Government.

If the tournament had gone ahead it would have been the first Tour event held outside of Canada. This year the Tour had 14 tournaments offering a total of $1.5 million in prize money and the plan was for Government to hold the tournament at one of their own courses, Port Royal.

The major obstacle has been the funding for such an event. The minimum prize money on the Canadian Tour is $100,000, but to attract a strong field to Bermuda it was suggested by Beauchemin that the prize money should be between $125,000 and $150,000, with another $200,000 needed to co-ordinate and promote the tournament. He also called on the business sector to support the idea, rather than Government underwriting the cost totally.

"It was a question of finances, with the budget being as tight as it was this year,'' said Horton.

"We haven't ruled out the possibility of it being held in the next fiscal year, '94-95. For the total event we were probably looking at $350,000 to $400,000 and that's difficult in the present financial climate.'' Just last week Jamaica got tremendous mileage from the exposure given to their $2.5 million Johnnie Walker World Championships. That is the sort of exposure Swan thinks Bermuda could be getting from staging a tournament of the magnitude of the Canadian event.

"Having played the Canadian Tour this year I realised Canada is a place with a lot of golf fanatics,'' said Swan.

"We could have launched ourselves back in the minds of Canadians sitting at home in the snow watching Bermuda on TV. Government and businesses need to work hand in hand to put Bermuda back on the map.

"It would do Bermuda no harm to spend $200,000 to bring a big tournament here. Jamaica has held an LPGA event, the Johnnie Walker and the Jamaican Open, which was worth $100,000 this year. Those type of events are keeping Jamaica in the golfing public's eye.

"We have eight golf courses occupying this country and golf is a major marketing tool and is one of the reasons why so many people come to this island,'' said Swan. "I don't believe in waiting for something to happen, I believe in making it happen.'' The Canadian Tour attracts an international field of golfers. Many are former US collegians hoping to some day play on the PGA Tour, while other regulars on the tour hail from Australia, New Zealand, England, Mexico and Venezuela. Just two years ago the Department of Tourism, in a joint effort with Mid Ocean Club, tried to bring the 1992 World Amateur Team Championships to Bermuda.

The event went to Vancouver, Canada, instead.