Efforts to transform Bermuda into a major golfing destination received another huge boost yesterday when it was revealed that the first ever World Amateur Strokeplay Championships will be played here in October.

Speaking exclusively to , Bermuda Golf Association president Bob Legere said his plan to invite 40 of the world?s best male and female amateur golfers for a prestigious four-round tournament was now certain to become a reality after months of behind-the-scenes preparations.

While a world amateur team championships already exists ? the last of which was held in South Africa this past October ? there has never been an individual strokeplay event on offer to the top amateur players, with the British and US Amateur championships both being matchplay competitions.

?The idea came to me early last year when I was trying to work out how the BGA could invest more of its time into the promotion of amateur golf instead of concentrating most of our efforts on organising the Bermuda Open, our national championships,? Legere explained.

?And it suddenly occurred to me that while there was a world team event, there was no and had never been a strokeplay event anywhere, which in my view and in the view of others was a huge oversight. As anybody who plays golf should know, you do not necessarily have to play your best golf to win a match but you certainly to win a strokeplay tournament.

?Last October, we had an opportunity while accompanying the Bermuda team to South Africa, to present the idea to the International Golf Federation (IGF) to which all national golfing bodies must belong.

?The response we received in South Africa was extremely positive and gave us even greater confidence to go ahead with it.?

With rumours circulating that Port Royal would be closing for nine months starting at the end of last year, the BGA planned to run the event on three different courses ? the Mid-Ocean Club, Tucker?s Point and Belmont Hills ? and have decided not to alter that plan now it has been confirmed Port Royal will not shut down until early 2008.

But while the vast majority of the golfing community were celebrating the news that the Grand Slam of Golf would be hosted by Mid Ocean in early November, Premier Ewart Brown?s announcement has actually given Legere and the BGA significant headaches over the last few weeks.

While stressing he is an enthusiastic supporter of the Grand Slam project, Legere admitted he was worried about his event?s proximity to it and the fact that the BGA and the Department of Tourism may end up competing against each other in the hunt for corporate sponsorship.

The proposed size of the world amateur field has also had to be scaled back in light of the Grand Slam?s dates, as Mid-Ocean have proven reluctant to flood their course with dozens of players only weeks before it is to be showcased before a massive television audience.

?We had heard rumours, but the Grand Slam of Golf didn?t really show up on our radar until around June last year,? Legere said.

?We were a little anxious to say the least, particularly as we had made the Department of Tourism aware of our plans well before bringing the Grand Slam here had even been thought of.

?But we are very hopeful that we don?t end up competing with Government for sponsorship ? I really hope we can work together on this. We will now have to sit down with Tourism again and discuss the situation because we believe that it is in both our interests to make our inaugural event a big success.

?We will certainly be relying on Government for certain services such as transportation and security while we shall also be soliciting funds from them as well ? though we?re hopeful that the majority of the money we raise will come from the corporate sector.?

Legere added that he?s had a number of conversations with the Golf Channel about the possibility of televising the tournament, while many of the world?s top golf publications have also expressed interest in profiling it.

Should the first year go well, the long-term plan is to make Bermuda the official home of the event, but to maintain its global profile by allowing other venues to host it on a cyclical basis.

?We?re very excited about it and the potential benefits it will give Bermuda golf,? he said.

?The standard of golfer we intend to bring here will be phenomenal ? most if not all of them will be top-ranking professionals within the next two years while some could even be household names.

?Golf is a powerful marketing tool for the Island and we believe our event offers an extremely good opportunity to boost Bermuda tourism and our global profile in the long-term.?