TOP young Bermuda golfer Blair Marshall warmed up for this summer's Callaway Junior World Championships in superb style last weekend when he won a United States Junior Golf Tour 36-hole tournament in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Marshall, 16-years-old, came back from an opening round 76 at the par 72, 6,566-yard Jack Nicklaus-designed Bear Trace Golf Course at Harrison Bay with a sizzling 68 to tie Ryan Guidry at the top of the leaderboard. The Bermudian then proceeded to win the playoff on the third hole carding a par to Guidry's bogey. Marshall's second round 68 included five birdies against one bogey with a birdie on the final hole to secure a spot in the playoff. Marshall was tied for seventh and three shots off the pace after the first round.

Marshall is currently an 'A' student at the Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee and is a member of the school's golf team which has won four out of the last five Tennessee State High School Golf Championships.

His father Blake watched his son compete last weekend, said: "In the first round he hit the ball beautifully but didn't make the putts he should have made." Ironically the young Bermudian's main strength is his short game.

"In the second round he made the putts ? mentally he kept very patient which is what you have to do. Winning last weekend has given him a real confidence boost going into this summer."

Not only will Marshall be competing at the Callaway Juniors but he will also be competing against some of the best young golfers in the world at the Optimist International Junior World Championships in late July.

Last year Marshall was seventh in his age group at the Optimist and was given an exemption for this year ? only one of a handful of golfers who were given exemptions in his 15-17 age group.

Over 650 young golfers from 25 countries vie to get into the Optimist championships ? a tournament which has been won by house-hold names in the past.

It is one of the largest and best-known junior tournaments in the world. Former participants of Optimist-sponsored championships include Amy Alcott, Notah Begay, John Daly, Ernie Els, Justin Leonard, Davis Love III, Billy Mayfair, Phil Mickelson, Nancy Lopez, Corey Pavin, Nick Price, Craig Stadler, David Toms and the number one golfer in the world Tiger Woods.

Blake Marshall said his son will be having a busy summer competing in the United States. "I have him signed up for eight to 10 events so he will be a busy young man. He will also and try to qualify for the US Juniors ? that would be a real feather in his cap if he could do that. It is going to be a tiring summer for him. People who don't play (competition) golf don't realise how tiring it can be ? how much physical stamina you need and most of all the mental stamina. You are battling not only the other competitors but also the golf course. It can really take it out of you and your emotions can go up and down."

After finishing Baylor, Marshall said his son will go to college "hopefully on a golf scholarship".

"He is not sure where he wants to to go yet," he said adding that son Blair started the game when he was five years old and then joined up with the Bermuda Junior Golf Association when he was eight and has gone on from there.

The BJGA selected Marshall to represent Bermuda in the 15-17 age group of the Callaway Golf Junior World Golf Championship at the famed South course at Torrey Pines. And this will be the third time he has competed at those championships having represented Bermuda in 2003 and 2004 in the 13-14 age group.

Marshall had a very successful 2005 summer tournament season. He placed seventh overall and low under-18 junior golfer in the 2005 Bermuda Men's Amateur 72-hole Stroke Play Championship at the Port Royal Golf Course with rounds of 77, 79, 82 and 75. He competed in two Southeastern Junior Golf Tour (SJGT) events placing fifth and sixth respectively in the 14-15 age division. In the SJGT Huntsville Classic played at the Huntsville Country Club in Huntsville, Alabama, the young Bermudian fired rounds of 74 and 73 to earn his fifth place finish.

In the SJGT William Bryan Memorial played at the demanding Lookout Mountain Golf Club in Chattanooga, Tennessee, rounds of 79 and 78 earned him a tie for sixth place.

His highlight of the summer came when he placed joint seventh out of 139 golfers from the US and around the world in the prestigious Optimist International Junior Golf Championship at the renowned PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The championship, like the one this year, was played on the par 72 Champions course, prior host of PGA and Senior PGA championships and Ryder Cup matches. He shot rounds of 73, 74 and 76, needing a birdie on the closing par five to break into the top ten. It was that finish which earned his exemption to the tournament this year and while last year was a 54-hole tourney, this year will be a 72-hole competition.

Marshall also played in the annual Ponte Vedra Beach Back to School Invitational at the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club. The Invitational was played over the par-70 Lagoon course and par-72 Oasis course. He shot rounds of 73 and 73, four over par for the two rounds, and placed third out of 26 golfers.

Marshall has been a member of the BJGA since 1999 and during that time has won many competitions including different age divisions in the Fecchio Cup, Glidden Bowl and Bermuda Junior Amateur Match Play Championship, culminating in winning the overall Champion's Trophy in the 2004 Bermuda Junior Amateur March Play Championship at age 14.

Other overseas accomplishments during this time include a second place finish in the 13 & under age group in the 2003 Canadian Junior Golf Association (CJGA) World Golf Challenge held at the World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Florida, and a third place finish in the 13-14 age group in the 2004 Mid Pines Junior Invitational in Southern Pines, North Carolina. He shot 76, 77, 74 and 70, 76 respectively in the two events.

Marshall currently holds the lowest handicap index in the BJGA, a 0.7, and he has the lowest ranking on the National Junior Golf Scoreboard in the US of any Bermuda junior golfer.