A watered-down Bermuda Open golf championship tees off this morning with a field of just 27 players – and a decreased purse, down from $50,000 to just $25,000.

As such only a handful of overseas professionals have flown in.

And among the missing are Bermuda pros Michael Sims and Eric West, who have been plying their trade on the American mini-tours.

Also absent is multiple winner and two-time defending champion Tim Conley who, after winning last year said that without a huge improvement in prizemoney the event would continue to decline.

Moving from Port Royal, currently under renovation, to Tucker's Point Golf Club, the event has been shifted in the calendar from October to November, thus conflicting with PGA Tour Qualifying School where hundreds of professionals from around the world attempt to earn their ticket to the lucrative US PGA Tour.

Conley, after his victory last year, strongly urged Bermuda Golf Association (BGA) to explore new ways of enchancing the tournament's appeal to ensure its longevity.

But his words appear to have fallen on deaf ears.

"The BGA always has a great tournament, but it's disappointing to only get 60-odd guys here," said Conley, who has won more professional titles on the Island over the past 20 years than anybody else and recently competed in the Senior British Open at Troon in Scotland.

"They need to get it up to a hundred players or so. This is a good tournament and it needs greater recognition. More money will attract more quality players.

"Bermuda should have a national championship that affords its local players and those based overseas an opportunity to play for some decent money. It's the Bermuda Golf Association's event and they need to make it happen. It has the potential to grow."

It's understood that only the Department of Tourism and Ace Limited have stumped the cash to finance this year's 72-hole tournament which tees off this morning and runs until Friday. In the past, the event had begun on a Thursday and finished on a Sunday.

Among those who will vie for the title this week will be top local Dwayne Pearman and Jamaican Delroy Cambridge, who has played in several previous Opens.

Former European Tour player and now Leader of the Opposition Kim Swan said yesterday he was disappointed the tournament had declined in stature.

"To me the Open is the most important event on the Bermuda calendar because it is our national championship and a tournament that holds great prestige. I can recall as a young boy when I couldn't wait to play in the Bermuda Open because back then it was recognised by world tours and used to offer invitations or exemptions to top tournaments around the world, which I took advantage of.

"When I won my first Bermuda Open in 1978, I benefited because it earned me exemption to the latter stages of qulaification for the US Open."

Swan said Bermuda's premier event would fit well on prestigious tours in North and South America.

"I have often thought that an opportunity to partner with an organisation like the Tour de las Americas or the Canadian Tour would be successful . . . with the PGA and European Tours being the first tier, the Nationwide and the Challnge Tours being the second tier, and then you have third tier tours like the Hooters Tour . . . It's almost like having major league and minor league in baseball.

"Bermuda could come in at that level where you could encourage players who are looking to launch or resurrect their careers. It would provide an opportunity for our young players to measure themselves against some of the former and aspiring players from other countries.

"At your national championships you should have the opportunity to make a reasonable amount of money. The governing body need to be committed to being able to put on a championship that can give the name 'Bermuda Open' some real significance.

"It costs a golfer six or seven hundred dollars in airfares to get here and if he stays in a hotel it will cost at least another $500. He's spent over $1200 already and if he finishes tenth he is not going to make enough money to cover his expenses.

"We need to get a purse that is going to entice people to come here. And we need to expose our young players to quality players and we have some great young players out there.

"We have gone right back to something I protested against in 1992 when I boycotted the Open because the entry was hiked up to offset the absence of sponsorship. Once you are committeed to a national championship you have to go out there and raise the funds and there's no reason why the national body cannot do this.

"I don't think the commitment has been there over the past few years and an Open is as much an opportunity for amateur golfers as it is for professionals. Your national championship needs to be your showcase event."