The Bermuda golf scene has just added a new national championship to its roster and there is an open invitation to visitors.

The Bacardi National Par-3 Championship is a two-day, 36-hole championship golf tournament to be played at the Fairmont Southampton on April 10 to 11, 2010. A Pro-Am will be played on Friday, April 9. The tournament, which will be an annual event, will this year benefit the Bermuda Red Cross.

The Bacardi National Par-3 Championship will include amateur and professional golfers and is sanctioned by the Bermuda Golf Association (BGA) and the Professional Golfers' Association of Bermuda (BPGA).

A Professional Men's and Ladies' Division and an Amateur Men's and Ladies' Division will be played.

Tournament entry forms can be downloaded at www.fairmontgolf.com/southampton or picked up at the Golf Shop at the Fairmont Southampton. The entry fee is $225 for professionals and $175 for amateurs and includes a practice round of golf and tournament fees, plus a welcome cocktail reception on Friday, April 9.

Norman Mastalair, managing director of Fairmont Bermuda, said, "Fairmont is tremendously pleased to partner with Bacardi International Limited to bring this tournament to the Bermuda golf scene. Bermuda has many high-calibre golf courses and, among them, the par-3 course at the Fairmont Southampton.

"Creating tournaments like the Bacardi National Par-3 Championship will help us to energise Bermuda's golf community and give golfers a reason to come to Bermuda."

Michael Brennan, CEO of Bacardi International Limited, added, "This tournament will benefit Bermuda Red Cross and it will also provide Bermuda's golfers with the type of high-calibre event that helps them to develop and reach their personal and professional goals."

"This is a tournament that will appeal to many golfers," said Anthony Mocklow, the new director of golf for the Fairmont Southampton & Riddell's Bay Golf & Country Club.

"This par-3 competition will be about short-game quality and skill; not about strength and distance, which levels the playing field between old and young, men and women. It means that any golfer with a bona fide handicap can play."

Mocklow, who initiated the idea of the par-3 tournament, says, "We are excited because the Bacardi National Par-3 Championship is the first in a series of Bermuda golf initiatives that Fairmont is exploring."

There will be divisional and overall winners with the professional winner earning $2,500. As a Bermuda Golf Association and Professional Golfers' Association of Bermuda-sanctioned event, tournament players will receive national qualifications points.

The deadline for entry is March 15, 2010.

The Fairmont Southampton is the host hotel and golf club for the event.

The official email of the event is par3@fairmont.com.