Rain was not the only thing that fell at Turtle Hill yesterday as overseas professional Simon Lilly obliterated the course record during the penultimate round of the Bermuda 3s World Team Championship presented by Goslings.

The 41-year-old, who hails from Northamptonshire, England, blazed his way to a bogey-free seven-under-par 47, which included seven birdies, to shave three strokes off the previous record of four under held by Canadian professional and frequent visitor Brian McCann.

“I didn’t really think about the record until I finished to be honest,” said Lilly, who entered the clubhouse with the lowest round for the second straight day.

“As soon as I finished I thought that could possibly be a record, but it’s really hard to tell with a par 3 course what would be a good score. It’s difficult to feel what the record would have been.

“I just went out and tried to score as low as possible and got off to a nice start and just kept it going. We had a bit of rain and a couple of really heavy downpours. There was also a little bit of breeze but nothing major. It was just one of those good days.”

Lilly’s decision to get acquainted with the 2,684 yard Southampton layout before the start of the tournament, which saw two qualifying rounds held at Mid Ocean Club and Port Royal Golf Course, turned out to be a good one.

“I played the course a couple of times as practice and made a lot of good notes, so it was just trying to get the elevation right really for the yardage,” the multiple Euro Pro Tour winner said.

Lilly, who is representing Oakdale Golf Club Harrogate at the Pro-Am event, holds a 12 shot-advantage in the professional division over nearest rival Cary Sciorra, of the Medalist Golf Club, heading into today’s final round at Turtle Hill GC.

“I have a nice lead, so I’m just going to take it one shot at a time and see what happens,” Lilly said.

A further shot back tied for third is Bermuda’s Daniel Augustus, who carded a two-over 56.

Dwayne Pearman, Bermuda’s remaining professional in the field, carded a one under and is eighth among the 12-man professional division who are competing for prize money.

Pearman’s Turtle Hill team, including amateurs of Craig Christensen, Christopher Morris and former premier Michael Dunkley, hold a three-shot lead in the team division over nearest rivals Trump International Golf Club.

Wentworth by The Sea Country Club are another six shots back in third.

Augustus’s Port Royal team, including amateurs Malcolm Gosling, Max Atherden and Krister Hagnevic, are tied for sixth, 16 shots off the lead.