Major Series of Putting boasts international flair

Gunnar Bengtsson and Garney Vezina finished their round Saturday at the Major Series of Putting, stepped off the turf and shook hands. Bengtsson shot 3-under-par 33 and Vezina a 35.

What was interesting about the duo is where they live. Bengtsson, from Sweden, and the Canadian Vezina represent the international appeal of the first-year tournament at a pop-up stadium behind Planet Hollywood Resort and Las Vegas.

“We have Calgary, Montreal, Toronto, we have the East Coast, New York, we have a lot of guys here from Florida, we have Sweden, a guy from Thailand,” said Mathieu Depatie, the head of marketing and public relations, who is also from Canada. “It is very gratifying.”

Bengtsson flew in from Gothenburg, Sweden, solely for the event. He’s staying for almost two weeks, and represents one of three Swedes who participated in Saturday’s round.

“There’s a lot of money in it, and we’re trying to win some of that money,” Bengtsson said. “I’m from the mini golf world, and we’re used to smaller circumstances.”

While not as far a flight, Vezina took vacation time from work and flew in from his native Quebec City. He said he has traveled across North America for golf tournaments, but this is his first trip to Las Vegas. Staying at the Excalibur, Vezina said he has seen Criss Angel’s show and plans to see David Copperfield’s.

But he also had a job to do.

“It’s international, so we see a good caliber of players,” Vezina said. “The caliber is pretty high because this course is not easy, I’ll tell you that.”

The stroke play round Saturday saw four countries represented: the United States, Canada, Sweden and Thailand, and Friday had golfers from North Korea and Hungary. When planning the event, Depatie said his group targeted North America by partnering with local courses, but the ease with which news spreads through the internet meant it wasn’t hard to get other continents involved. Then more partnerships blossomed.

“It’s easy for anyone to find information,” Depatie said.

As for where to hold the event, the Canadian-led group said it wasn’t much of a debate. The Major Series of Putting is partnered with a group that also owns Cirque du Soleil, so it made sense for tournament owners to have the event in Las Vegas.

“We have a lot of connections in Vegas,” Depatie said. “Where else could you host an event with putting that would grant people millions of dollars?”

Contact Justin Emerson at jemerson@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2944. Follow @J15Emerson on Twitter.