TUCKER'S TOWN, Bermuda — They come from three countries on three continents, vastly different backgrounds, brought to together in Bermuda only by the major golf championships they won this year.

Getting to the PGA Grand Slam of Golf wasn't easy for any of them, and it had nothing to do with flight plans.

Masters champion Zach Johnson, the self-described "normal guy from Cedar Rapids, Iowa," toiled for six years in the minor leagues before he made it to the PGA Tour, and he surprised even himself by holding off Tiger Woods, Retief Goosen and a host of others to slip into the green jacket.

Angel Cabrera was a caddie at Cordoba Golf Club, blessed with immense talent and power but needing some financial backing from fellow Argentine Eduardo Romero to get started. Even then, it took him four tries to get his card through European Q-school.

Padraig Harrington finished his degree in accounting before turning pro, and while he won in his second year in Europe, he was known as much for piling up the runner-up finishes and constantly tinkering with his swing until he felt it was good enough to win a major. And he didn't feel that way until about 18 months ago.

The fourth player in the most exclusive field in golf is Jim Furyk, the first alternate from a points-based system of former major champions, gladly accepting when PGA champion Tiger Woods decided to skip this week. Furyk, too, is a classic grinder.

"There are similarities," Harrington said as he rapped 6-foot putts on the 17th green in twilight Monday, gearing up for the $1.35 million exhibition where everyone feels like a winner because of how they qualified.

"Angel is the most natural player of us all here," the Irishman said. "Myself, Zach and Jim have all been more of the working kind. Angel always has been trying to get the best out of his talent. We've always been trying to improve. Angel always had it, but it was just a question of making the most of it, letting it come out."

ed everything I've got."

The biggest change might be the event itself.

For starters, the Grand Slam has moved from Poipu Bay in Hawaii to the Mid-Ocean Club in Bermuda, a 20-square mile speck of land in the middle of the Atlantic with turquoise water, pink sand and a soft surf. There is a change in venue, but not necessarily the views.

"It seems like a very great place to take some vacations," Cabrera said.

Woods decided to take his holiday away from the golf course, and that might be the biggest change of all. A winner at the PGA Championship for his 13th career major, this is the first time Woods has skipped the event when eligible.