@$:BYLINE-FRANK:By KYLEHUNTERSports EditorBODY-FRANK:WILLSergio Garcia make it a hat-trick for Spain this summer when the Open championship comes to a close on Sunday evening? Withworld number one Tiger Woods sitting out the rest of the year, this weekend's Open is up for grabs ¿ with the winner coming to Bermuda in October for the PGAGrand Slam of Golf.BODY-FRANK-2:Garcia, who will be trying to follow in the footsteps of Spain's victorious Euro 2008 football team and Rafa Nadal who beat Roger Federer at Wimbledon, is the bookies' favourite to win this weekend and David Ezekiel is not going against the grain with that pick.Ezekiel, the PGA Grand Slam of Golf general chairman and who is also the club captain of Mid Ocean where the Grand Slam will be played later this year, will be one of many in Bermuda who will be glued to their TVsets this weekend watching the Open which is being played at Royal Birkdale in Lancashire, England, ¿ a course Ezekiel played only last year during a golfing trip to the UK."Garcia is driving the ball better than anyone in the world right now ¿ no one is driving the ball better than Garcia at the moment," said Ezekiel who added that he would be thrilled if the Spaniard won and booked his ticket to Bermuda to join Masters winner Trevor Immelman from South Africa.Woods, who won the USOpen recently, will definitely not be making the trip to Bermuda for the 36-hole 26th PGA Grand Slam of Golf tournament from October 13-15 as he is recovering from surgery and is taking the rest of the year off.But just because Woods is not playing this week, Ezekiel said it did not diminish the tournament.In fact he said:"I think you will get a lot of guys playing with renewed vigor because Tiger is not there. And you have some who have been playing very well lately ¿ players like Lee Westwood (the European Ryder Cup points leader). While I think Garcia could do it I also think players like (European number one) Justin Rose could be in there. He is playing well and of course this was the course where he played so well 10 years ago when he was a 17-year-old amateur and chipped in on the 18th on the final day to tie for fourth."Ezekiel was saddened to hear about Luke Donald's injury ¿ a player many would have guessed to feature this week. "It is a shame he will not be there and perhaps not even be ready for the Ryder Cup," he said.Defending Open champion Irishman Padraig Harrington, who played in last year's PGAGrand Slam of Golf at Mid Ocean, has been suffering a wrist injury this week but teed off yesterday.Ezekiel said players like Harrington really made the Grand Slam special. "We certainly would not mind seeing Harrington back because he was tremendous to have. He made so much time to sign autographs and interact with the fans. Even someone like a Rocco Mediate (who pushed Woods to the limit at the USOpen) would be fantastic. Players like that are great ¿ especially for things like the Pro/Am when there is a lot more mixing with the crowd. Rocco is tremendous in that way. Actually all of them last year were great but Harrington was by far the best with interacting with the fans. But when he got his game face on he was a totally different guy ¿ he got really focussed."Even if we get someone like the rising stars it would be great for the young fans out there. Last year we came very close to getting (Argentina's) Andreas Romero ¿ he hits the ball wonderfully well. Even someone like one of the young British guys coming up like Nick Dougherty ¿ they add a little bit of buzz. I certainly will be watching in anticipation of who wins."One player who has not been on form is South Africa's Trevor Immelman. "He seems to have not figured since he won the Masters ¿ it happened a bit to Zach Johnson after he won the Masters last year." Immelman said this week that he had sought out several leading players for their advice on handling his hectic schedule after winning the Masters."I've spoken to guys like Zach Johnson and Retief (Goosen) and Nick Faldo and Ernie (Els), just trying to figure out how they went about it," he said. "Since the Masters, just going to hit a few balls is probably going to take me 15 minutes to get to the range and 15 minutes to get back to the clubhouse so those are things I've had to start figuring in that I never had to. You've got to formulate the strategy which works for you so that you can give enough time to the fans and to the media and still be able to prepare yourself properly. I think I am getting better at it. l have had to learn really quickly."One player who will not be playing and who is one of the hottest in the world now is Kenny Perry.Ezekiel said: "That was a real surprise. But then again I think he was quoted as saying that his average score at the open was 76 and that is not good. But he is hitting the ball so solid." Of Royal Birkdale Ezekiel said:"It is a very much a links course ¿ and it is very tough. It is narrow and it will test you. If you stray off the fairway it can be a monster. But it is a lovely club so having played I am really looking forward to watching it (on TV).With Woods not coming to Bermuda in October as the USOpen winner, one of the three players will be racing to fill his spot. But that player will definitely have his 'major' credentials. "It is a table which only consists of past major winners. It is the performance of the past major winners in this year's majors. No one else is allowed to get on the chart," said Ezekiel.Right now Phil Mickelson, winner of the 2005 PGA Championship and the 2004 and 2006 Masters, currently leads the Major Champions Points List to fill Woods' vacancy with 126.8 total points. Retief Goosen, winner of the 2001 and 2004 US Open, is next with 114.5, followed by Mike Weir, the 2003 Masters Champion, with 108.5. Mickelson moved to the top of the list after tying for fifth in this year's Masters and a share of 18th place in the US Open. With Masters Champion Trevor Immelman already earning one berth in the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, the remaining spots will be determined at the Open this weekend and the 90th PGA Championship being staged from August 7-10, at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township, Michigan. In addition, should a player win more than one major championship this season, the foursome will also be completed through the Major Champions Points List. The Major Champions Points List system assigns point values based on a player's finish in the current year's major championships. The point system awards 100 points for a second-place finish in major event, 92 for 3rd, 85 for 4th, 79 for 5th, 74 for 6th, 70 for 7th all the way through 70th place, which receives four points. "Any of those names would be great," said Ezekiel adding that the preparations at Mid Ocean for the Grand Slam of Golf were going well."We are right in the middle of preparations. It is a bit easier this year than last year when we were looking at everything for the first time. We also had a few days when we were gearing up for the Tiger factor but that didn't last long! But if we can get even close to where we were last year in terms of the overall quality we would be thrilled."Garcia, who lost to Harrington last year at the Open in a playoff, said this week that he was hoping to add an Open triumph to Spain's glorious year of sporting success. "It would be great," said Garcia. "This year has been solid for me so far and, with the Spanish football team and Nadal, I'm just trying to keep up with my fellow countrymen." Garcia comes to Birkdale with a Players Championship, often regarded as the unofficial fifth major, under his belt.