Bermuda Open at Port Royal.

A close friend of St. George's golf pro Kim Swan, Thorpe says he will compete providing he suffers no further from the back problems that have curtailed his appearances on the Tour this year.

Swan and Thorpe first met at the Italian Open back in 1981 and have remained close friends since.

The Buffalo, New York resident, who was at his prime in the 1980s when he finished runner-up to Australian David Graham in the US Open and twice won the the Tucson Match Play Championships as well as other PGA titles, had hoped to play in Bermuda last year before the death of his mother and father altered his plans.

"Jim's keen to play,'' said Swan this week. "He's always told me he'd like to play in the Open. And I think this year he'll get the chance to come down.'' The $50,000 Open, won last year by Canadian Stuart Hendley, gets underway on October 12. Hendley has confirmed his return.

Entries close on September 28 and already 51 players have registered, 39 from overseas and 27 of them professionals. Handicap limit for amateurs is six.