T.J.'s Live Blog: 2010 PGA Grand Slam of Golf

Does this guy have it good, or what? We've dispatched T.J. Auclair to beautiful Bermuda, where he will be at the 28th PGA Grand Slam of Golf reporting on what he sees, hears and thinks at Port Royal Golf Course. He'll also answer a few emails, just to prove that he is doing some work.

By T.J. Auclair, PGA.com Interactive

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to the Port Royal Golf Course in breathtaking Southampton, Bermuda, site of the 28th PGA Grand Slam of Golf and this special edition of T.J.'s Live Blog.

Yup. I drew the short-straw again. After spending a few weeks wringing out my wet clothes from the Ryder Cup in Wales, the boss man told me to pack the bags again and head straight to Bermuda. Tough life, but someone's got to do it.

So, here we are, under glorious blue skies, surrounded by the mind-blowing aqua waters of the Atlantic Ocean, ready to watch four major champions -- Graeme McDowell, Martin Kaymer, Ernie Els and David Toms -- go head-to-head in, as McDowell called it, "probably the best four-ball in world golf."

Indeed it is.

Earning a spot in the Grand Slam is simple -- you just have to win a major. That's what Northern Irishman McDowell did at Pebble Beach in the U.S. Open, holding off the likes of Els and Tiger Woods, among others. McDowell's star status went up another notch when he clinched the decisive point Europe needed to reclaim the Ryder Cup at the start of the month.

Germany's Kaymer punched his ticket to paradise with a playoff victory over Bubba Watson at Whistling Straits in the PGA Championship. The 25-year-old Kaymer is no one-hit wonder, either. He's won three tournaments in a row dating back to the PGA Championship, four if you want to count the Ryder Cup. That's why it's tough to bet against Kaymer in Bermuda ... even for an octopus.

Check this out from the PGA Grand Slam of Golf Newsletter:

Is he a Nautical Nostradamus? A Mensa Mollusk? Well, for now, Squirt is merely an Octopus Oracle. The eight-legged denizen at the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo, Squirt selected Germany's Martin Kaymer to win the 28th PGA Grand Slam of Golf.
 
It was literally a touch-and-go proposition for Squirt, who found four boxes in his aquatic home draped with flags representing the countries of each of the four players: UK (McDowell), Germany (Kaymer), South Africa (Els) and the United States (Toms). Each box was filled with a shrimp.
 
Squirt made an initial move toward the American box, then moved over to the box adorned with the German flag and helped himself to the shrimp.
 
An aquarium official was on hand to verify that Squirt's pick was Kaymer.

Kaymer's thoughts?

"Last year it worked I think for Lucas [Glover]," he said. "Hopefully it works the same way as last year. It's a funny thing. It's a funny story. But we'll see. I can answer that question on Wednesday."

It should be noted that 2010 has been a solid year for octopi prognosticating. "Paul the Octopus" successfully predicted a win for Spain in this summer's FIFA World Cup. It should be noted, too, that Paul the Octopus lives in a tank at Sea Life Centre in Oberhausen, Germany, Kaymer's home country.

Is Squirt really Paul in disguise taking a vacation in Bermuda and rallying for his countryman? We'll see.

Then there are Els and Toms. Els, a former three-time major champ and recently elected into the World Golf Hall of Fame, received an invitation after the withdrawal of Masters champ Phil Mickelson. Toms came on board when Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen pulled out due to an ankle injury.

What should we expect over the next two days? It'll be light-hearted and fun, but at the end of the day these guys want to win… and, also at the end of the day, I want to enjoy a few of Bermuda's delicious Dark 'n Stormy drinks! So, let's get this blog started!

Questions? Comments? Thoughts? Pop me an email at tjpgablog@yahoo.com. I'll be rockin' the iPhone and checking in often with observations around the course.

3:45 PM ADT: A perfect end to a perfect day

After four spectacular pars on No. 16 -- McDowell and Kaymer each got up and down from the front, right greenside bunker -- Toms remained two ahead of Els at 4 under, while Kaymer was six off the pace at 2 over and McDowell was another shot back at 3 over.

Interesting shot by Els on No. 17. After hanging his tee shot out to the right and into some trees, he was forced to flip his wedge upside down and swing left-handed to get back into play. With 220 yards for his third shot, Els found the green.

Surprisingly, McDowell is the only player who was able to pick up a birdie on the par-5 17th. The poor guy finally caught a break when his sliding, downhill putt lipped around the cup and finally dropped. It was McDowell's first birdie since the fifth hole and his third of the day.

Els converted a difficult par, while Kaymer and Toms walked off with routine 5s.

From the tee, the par-4, 431-yard 18th hole looks like an absolute beast. It feels like you're standing at the base of a mountain and looking straight up at the summit - just a beautiful closing hole.

It was a great finish for McDowell. He closed out the round with his second consecutive birdie to get back to 1 over after making a 10-foot putt. McDowell's Ryder Cup teammate Kaymer wasn't so lucky. He failed to get up and down and made bogey to drop to 3 over. Toms had a par and will take a one-shot lead into Tuesday over Els, who also birdied No. 18 from about 3 feet. 

Well folks, that does it for today's Round 1 blog. Good times were had and I didn't even break a sweat. Boss, if you're listening, do you know if we're looking for a permanent correspondent in Bermuda?

No? Didn't think so. Just figured I'd ask.

Remember, we'll be getting an early start tomorrow -- 9 o'clock sharp (8 AM EDT) due to some nasty weather we're expecting to blow through.

3 PM ADT: An email from Diego

TJ
Is the 16th hole the most difficult one today? Do you think any guy will go for the green in two on the 17th?

Right now, the most difficult would have to be No. 11, which was played in a collective 4 over. No, the par-3 16th won't be most difficult, but it's easily the most beautiful. I'm sitting on the hill just right of the green, jaw on the ground trying to comprehend the beauty that is the backdrop to this hole.

The entire left side an back of the hole is that dreamy aqua colored ocean. Just mesmerizing. While we were away, Kaymer had a workingman's bogey on No. 15 to drop back to 2 over. And, yes, provided they hit solid drives on 17, I'm sure they'll try to get home in two.

2:40 PM ADT: A quick leaderboard update

A lot has happened since we last checked in. For starters, McDowell ditched the bogey train when he holed a long par putt on No. 13 from about 35 feet.

Toms, meanwhile, couldn't get up and down from a tough lie on No. 13 and took his second bogey in three holes to drop to 4 under again and two clear of Els.

Up ahead on No. 14, with the crowd as thick as it's been all day, all four players escaped with pars.

Leaderboard update: Toms, -4; Els, -2; Kaymer, +1; McDowell, +3.

2 PM ADT: Wind begins to howl at Port Royal

The beauty of a live blog is that things can change rapidly, as was the case on No. 11.

It was on No. 11 that we discovered Toms is human after all. He piped a gorgeous drive down the middle on the par-4 11th, but chunked his approach from inside 100 yards on a downhill lie into a greenside bunker. From there, Toms failed to get up and down and took bogey.

Things were worse for McDowell on No. 11. He was in the left rough off the tee and deposited his approach in the same greenside bunker as Toms.

McDowell, however, thinned his third shot through the green and out of bounds, chunked his fifth shot from the bunker just onto the green 40 feet from the hole and settled for a disastrous triple-bogey 7 after two putts ... Two very good putts, actually. He's fallen back to 2 over.

Els took advantage of his great drive on 11, converting a 2-footer for birdie to pull within two of Toms at 2 under. Kaymer made par to stay at 1 over.

Despite the mess on No. 11, a lot of fans have noted, "these guys don't mess around," pointing out the pace of play, which has been quick. Toms in particular has rarely even taken a practice swing.

By the way, the wind behind the 12th green is absolutely howling right now. I'm not sure how many of these back-nine birdie chances will actually be converted because of it.

David Toms laughs at that last statement I made and he also laughs at bogeys. He just drilled a slippery, breaking 30-footer for a birdie on 12 and is immediately back to 5 under.

Els lipped out on his birdie effort and took another par. Kaymer took par as well.

McDowell, still reeling from that triple, lipped out a par putt from 4 feet for bogey. He's at 3 over now.

1:20 PM ADT: Toms owes Oosthuizen a big 'thank you'

It's safe to say David Toms is making the best of his last-minute invitation to play in the PGA Grand Slam of Golf. The man is on fire. He moved to 4 under after holing a 5-foot birdie putt on No. 9 for a three-shot lead.

If I'm Louis Oosthuizen, I'm sitting back home in South Africa right now thinking, "If Toms keeps this up, I'd better get an extra special Christmas present!"

Evidently, Toms got all those birdie misses out of his system on Monday in the Pro-Am. He's just pouring it on now and showing no mercy. An outstanding approach with a wedge on No. 10 to within a foot set up yet another birdie. At 5 under, Toms has extended his lead to four shots over Els and McDowell and six shots over Kaymer.

12:50 PM ADT: Am I lucky, or what?

We arrived oceanside not long ago as the players hit their respective tee shots on the par-3 eighth hole.

The view behind the eighth green is so amazing, you don't want to stop gazing out there. The water is a shade of aqua blue that needs to be seen to be believed. There's a cliff that drops off into the ocean behind the green and then it's surreal blue seas for as far as the eye can see.

Why the boss didn't take this trip I'll never quite understand. Palm trees? Blue skies? Sunshine? Tropical breeze? Pristine waters? I guess that's just not his thing. It's definitely my thing though!

I'll just count my blessings that I'm not bright enough to get the tough assignments.

Then again, TNT's Jim Huber is a bright guy and I just caught him staring off into the water as if there wasn't even a golf tournament going on behind him. Let's get it together, Jim!

Another aspect of this trip that's making this paradise feel like a second home is that I can't get over the number of hats in the crowds adorned with the "B" of my beloved Boston Red Sox. Bermuda, you had me at hello!

OK, OK, back to the golf.

Back to back bogeys for Kaymer on Nos. 7 and 8 and suddenly the guy many pegged as the pre-tournament favorite -- I'm looking at you, Squirt the Octopus (calamari is sounding pretty scrumptious about now, isn't it?) -- is hanging out in the basement by himself at 1 over, four back of Toms (3 under) and two behind Els and McDowell.

Luckily for Kaymer, there are some good birdie opportunities as we turn to the back nine.

Editor's Note: Trust me, sport, you're not there because I like you, or because you've done a good job this year and I thought this would be a nice reward for your efforts (Live blogging? Are you freakin' kidding me?), or because you're all that good. You're there because the five people who I begged to take this assignment before you all amazingly had deaths in the family this week. And because you're incredibly lucky.

12:20 PM ADT: Outstanding crowds as the wind picks up

The story through six holes has been the greens. It seems like every time there's a birdie putt from 15 feet or more, players are leaving it quite a bit short. Clearly these greens are slower than the players are accustomed to.

Toms did that again on the sixth green and a little birdie who played with Toms in the Pro-Am on Monday just whispered to me that leaving putts short was Toms's MO in the Pro-Am. Basically, no birdies from the pro for our birdie.

Quick leaderboard check -- through six holes, Els and Toms share the lead at 2 under. McDowell and Kaymer are one back at 1 under.

The crowd out here is outstanding. Els seems to be the fan favorite, but the spectators are living up to the Bermuda slogan "Feel the Love."

That breeze is picking up a tad more too as we get closer to the ocean.

Kaymer just committed the first big gaffe of the day, advancing the ball just 25 yards from a fairway bunker on No. 7 after hitting the lip with his second shot.

11:30 AM ADT: Happy Bermuda memories and an email

At the moment, we're on the fourth hole after a great birdie on the par-3 third by Kaymer. Toms leads at 2 under, while the three others are at 1 under.

The last time I was at Port Royal was for the 2005 Bermuda Open as a caddie. There have been a lot of changes to the course since then, but it's just as perfect as I remember it.

At that Bermuda Open, my buddy Michael Sims, a local who's on the Nationwide Tour these days, pulled off the victory and it was no thanks to his caddie! Even still, that'll probably be the only golf tournament win I'll ever be a part of, so I have that going for me, which is nice.

So how do you meet a friend from Bermuda? We went to college together in Rhode Island.

Enough about me (but it is easier lugging an iPhone instead of a golf bag!), let's get to the first email of the day from Jason Sharp:

Hi T.J,
 
How hard is the wind blowing? It looks like the weather forecast for Wednesday could make the course a lot tougher to play.
 
Well, Jason, Mother Nature must have read your email before I did. Up until five minutes ago, the wind was pretty much non-existent. Now it's gusting pretty hard.

And you're right about that forecast for Wednesday. In fact, the PGA of America is already anticipating the worst and has decided to begin at 9 AM local time, which is an hour and a half earlier than previously scheduled.

Having been to Bermuda many times in the past, I know the weatherman isn't exactly spot on with his predictions. If it were Squirt The Octopus predicting nasty stuff, I'd be a little more convinced.

If the weather they're calling for does come, the course will obviously be much tougher. I have to think that helps McDowell and Kaymer, who experienced that wet Wales Ryder Cup a few weeks back.

10:45 AM ADT: Did I really say 'tropical drink' before noon?

Play in the 28th PGA Grand Slam is officially under way here at Port Royal. Could we have a better day for golf? Not a chance.

Blue skies, a few pillowy white clouds and amazing backdrop, a breathe of wind. What more could you ask for? A tropical drink, maybe? I won't get greedy.

Pardon me if I get distracted for minutes on end here. It's hard not to with this view.

In other news, one hole is in the books. Els jammed in a 7-footer for birdie at the 418-yard, par-4 opening hole. David Toms matched Els with a 4-footer. McDowell and Kaymer are in with pars.

Quick note on McDowell -- he's feeling the Bermuda spirit, decked out in the pink shirt and pink belt. Very Ian Poulter-ish.

Editor's Note: I'm no expert on time zones, mister, but I'm pretty sure that ADT stands for Atlantic Daylight Time, which is where you are and which I believe is only one hour ahead of Eastern Daylight Time, which is where I am. Which means that you've got tropical-drink-on-the-brain at 10:45 in the morning? This could be an interesting day to say the least.