Daniel Augustus will look to finish today’s final round of the 85th Rhode Island Open Championship in New England on a positive note.

The Bermudian golfer will tee off at the Kirkbrae Golf Club tied for eighteenth at three-over-par 143 and keen to put an end to a poor spell with the putter.

“I’m putting on a ball-striking clinic, but the name of the game is putting,” Augustus said. “It’s letting me down heavily at the moment.

“I’m just low on confidence at the moment and need to get my trust back in my putting. I know how good I can be, but they aren’t dropping at the moment.

“It’s frustrating knowing how well I’m playing and hitting it.”

Augustus’s two-over-par 72 in yesterday’s second round included four bogeys and a double bogey at the par-four 6th and was still enough to make the cut with three shots to spare.

He also rolled in four birdies to slightly offset the carnage.

Augustus is now hoping his fortunes with the putter take a turn for the better.

“They [putts] will drop tomorrow, they have to,” Augustus said. “I just need to keep telling myself how good of a putter I am. It’s the part of my game that I’ve been putting most of my time into practising.”

Augustus, a Bermuda Open and Bacardi Par 3 winner, carded a one-over-par 71 in the first round.

“I had a great start and was three under through 12 holes with no bogeys,” he said. “But then I bogeyed four of the next five, they were all three putts.

“The greens are very deceptive on the back nine. I was disappointed with my finish but I played great in spite of those closing holes. I putted great on the front, so that’s what I need to remember and that alone. I only had 14 putts on the front.

“The 20 putts on the back were obviously horrendous. I stayed for 90 minutes after the round ironing a few things out.”

Jeffrey Evanier, of the Clinton Country Club, held a two-shot advantage over the rest of the field after 36 holes.