Sims Looking Forward To Championships
[Written by Patrick Bean]
Playing in honour of the late Brian Morris, Michael Sims hopes his fifth Butterfield Bermuda Championship is a charm.
Golf is an individual sport, where one matches skill and wit against Mother Nature in a partially modified form, in competition with others.
Bermuda’s Michael Sims will be one of many who, starting on Thursday, will test his mettle at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, along with a full field of 132 players at Port Royal Golf Course, each vying for a piece of the $6.5 million prize purse.
However, Sims insists he will not be traversing the rolling, lush complex by himself, but, excluding his caddie and the crowd, will have the spectre of Brian Morris assisting in his quest to make it to the weekend, when shares become guaranteed.
Morris realised his dream of competing on the PGA Tour when he was granted a sponsor’s exemption into the 2021 edition of the Championship, and inspired many with his battle against brain cancer, before succumbing to the disease in January, aged 55.
Michael Sims and Lucas Glover
As an ode to his cousin Sims will wear a cap and clothing adorned with triple hearts emblem Morris would always insert as his sign-off to text messages and social media posts.
“My cousin Brian, obviously he played in this event a couple years ago, passed away this year with cancer,” said Sims, standing alongside longtime friend and top PGA Tour professional Lucas Glover. “And as everybody around here kind of knows, if you were texting with Brian, he always signed off with the triple hearts, red gold, green … well loved.
“You know, it was just his way of sharing love, spreading it and sometimes that’s all it was. If he couldn’t talk, if he couldn’t do anything, he would send that over, you kind of got the message.
“So, just to have him, last year I made it into the tournament, I was like, I have to do something for Brian so that he knows he’s here, because he wasn’t so sharp last year leading into the tournament. I was like, how can I signify walking around with him . again on the golf course, this was the way that I thought I could do it.
“It’s so cool, man. I mean, he’s life, man. He’s always with us.”
“I can only do what I can do, [but] is he an inspiration? Absolutely.
“He shared a lot of love. And it didn’t matter if he was hard or anything on you, it all came from a place of love. He wanted the best for everybody around him.
“Yeah, he’ll forever be there.”
With this year’s event comprising perhaps its best field ever, Sims will need all the help he can get get and all the skill he possesses if he is to become the first ever local to make the cut..
Having not had to endure qualifying due to a sponsor’s exemption should help, along with what should be ideal weather, but with the talent on hand, getting off to a positive start and stringing together two special, low rounds appears a must.
“Number one, my body feels a lot better just from doing a little bit of the work that I have been doing out in the States, which has involved caddying in the past and then coming back here and qualifying and then going and caddying again,” said Sim’s, hopeful that the fifth time is a charm. “It’s basically a rush for everything.
“With the exemption, I’ve had a couple weeks actually in my own bed, which has been really, really nice, so the body’s feeling good.
“I got to practice a little bit, so I feel good.
“So it’s either going to be great or it’s going to be pure hell out there, but that’s the way golf is anyway.”
Sims’ tournament gets under-way, starting at the tenth tee at 1.25 pm, alongside local teenage prodigy Oliver Betschart and Floridian, Andy Zhang.
