GOLF:TWO-TIME Major winner Padraig Harrington will walk away from the PGA Grand Slam of Golf tournament that starts today - it finishes tomorrow - at the Mid Ocean Club in Bermuda with a minimum of €147,000, the cheque on offer for the golfer finishing last in the elite fourball.
The made-for-television event - it is live on Sky Sports - is ostensibly confined to the major winners of a given year, but the practical implications are slightly different. Given Tiger Woods' knee injury and Harrington's victories in the British Open and US PGA Championship, two alternates - they have to have previously won a major - were required to complete the most exclusive fourball in golf.
Trevor Immelman's victory in the US Masters guaranteed his inclusion.
When Phil Mickelson declined, Jim Furyk was invited to join South African Retief Goosen, who topped this year's Major Champions' point list. It is the third straight year that Furyk will play in the PGA Grand Slam of Golf. His last victory in a major came at the 2003 US Open. It is not the first time that alternates were required as in 2006 Mickelson again absented himself from the tournament in a year in which Woods won a brace of majors.
A €991,000 prize fund for the Bermuda event will see the winner taking home a cheque for €440,000, second place €220,000, third €184,000 while the player that finishes last in the fourball will bank €147,000.
Harrington has elected to compete in Bermuda rather than go to the Portuguese Masters where all of his main rivals for the European Tour Order of Merit will tee it up. The Dubliner is tired mentally and physically and the trip to Bermuda might just provide the opportunity for him to refocus for one final time at the season-ending Volvo Masters at Valderrama.
He is certainly placing no demands on himself over the next two days, describing the Bermuda tournament as a "two-day jolly". Last year he led the event by four shots with 11 holes to play but was slipped into a play-off when Angel Cabrera eagled the 18th. The 2007 US Open champion then pinched the title at the third tie-hole.
Harrington will go on to play at Valderrama before heading to Shanghai for the HSBC Champions event, the first tournament on the 2008-2009 European Tour schedule. The Irishman confirmed: "Throw in the fact that Phil (Mickelson) is defending his first big title outside the States and Trevor (Immelman) is going to be there as the reigning Masters champion and you can see that it will be a tough tournament to win. I've had a sixth and a fifth in the last two years, so I'm getting closer."
Meanwhile, former Masters champion Zach Johnson birdied the last hole to complete a final round of 64 and win the Texas Open by two strokes on Sunday.
Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, finished on 19-under 261 to claim his fourth PGA Tour victory and first of the year ahead of South Korean Charlie Wi, American Mark Wilson and New Zealander Tim Wilkinson.
