Jarryd Dillas and Will Haddrell, and Elizabeth Parsons and Ebonie Burgess will be the teams to beat when the Bermuda Amateur Fourball Championships gets under way at Port Royal Golf Course today.

Dillas and Parsons both won their third successive titles last year, the fifth overall for Dillas, as they and their partners scored comfortable victories. Dillas and Haddrell won by a five-stroke margin over Jevon Roberts and Mark Phillips while Parsons and Burgess won the women’s championship by a whopping 19 strokes over Elaine Stevens and Tracy Nash.

Roberts and Phillips are partners again in the men’s division and will be one of the favourites while Ann Symonds and Pat Morgan could pose a threat to the dominance of Parsons and Burgess, while Linda Down will partner Tracy Burgess.

Entries have swelled for this weekend’s tournament with 84 pairs competing, compared to 54 a year ago.

The championship flights will be playing 54 holes while the men’s and women’s first flights will play 36 holes.