European Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington has been honoured on his return to Bermuda in teeing-up first later today (THU) in the Bermuda Championship.
It’s been eight years since Harrington last competed on the Atlantic island nation in capturing the 2012 Grand Slam of Golf, a four-man event featuring the four annual major champions.
Harrington had replaced then Open champ Ernie Els who was forced to withdraw and with Harrington taking home a cool $US 600,000.
And despite some uncertainty in travelling long-haul from Ireland to Bermuda, Harrington joins his 2016 Olympic Games team-mate Seamus Power in the $4m event, and where the winner earns an invitation to the 2021 Masters.
Harrington will tee-up at 10.35am (7.35am Bermuda time) and with Power at 3.05pm (Irish time)
Power is returning to the PGA Tour for a first occasion in six weeks since contesting the opening two events of the 2020/21 wraparound schedule – the Safeway Open and Corales Puntacana Championship – where he missed the halfway cut in each event.
Though the West Waterford golfer is no stranger to the Bermuda event having teed-up a year ago and capped his week with a closing round 66 to finish T31st on the Royal Blue course located in the virtual middle of the ‘hook’ of the fish-hook shaped Atlantic Ocean island.
Also, in the field is newly-married Harold Varner 111 though the 30-year old admits he’s like a fish out of water in what to do with his wedding ring.
“I’m just figuring out how to wear the ring and play golf at the same time,” said Varner 111.
“I sent the guy the measurement of my ring finger but it didn’t come out great.
“I went to sleep with the ring on and it cut-off the circulation in my finer so that wasn’t a great idea. You deal with it and it’s all part of life, so it’s better to keep in on. If I don’t keep it on I’ll lose it.”
Some 8,700 kilometres miles away on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus and Clandeboye’s Jonathan Caldwell looks to edge closer to a maiden European Tour victory at the inaugural Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Open.
Caldwell finished T7th and a then career best in last fortnight’s Scottish Championship and went two places better a week ago with a T5th in the Italian Open.
Joining Caldwell is Ardglass Cormac Sharvin
