Camiko Smith has paid a heavy price for appearing in a Father's Day advert for Gibbons Company in The Royal Gazette on Wednesday.

The golfer is likely to lose his amateur status for breaking the rules covering his position in the game, which specifically forbids amateurs from appearing in newspaper adverts.

While Smith was able to start the first round of yesterday's Bermuda Amateur Stroke Play Championship at Port Royal Golf Course, whether or not he continues to play will be up to him.

The Bermuda Golf Association have already ruled that if he does decide to carry on, he will be merely playing for the sake of it.

And with the tournament doubling up as a qualifier for a place on the team to represent the Island at the World Amateur Championships in Argentina later this year, it is an incident that has cost him dearly.

There had been a suggestion that because Smith did not gain any material benefit from appearing in the advert ¿ Gibbons donated a sum of money to the Bermuda Junior Golf Association instead ¿ he may not have been in breach of the rules.

That though is not the case, and all that remains to be seen is how long Smith's ban will be. According to the Rules of Golf a ban could be one year, however the same rule also hints at giving the national association, in this case the BGA, a certain level of discretion.

"It was brought to our attention that there had been an advertisement in The Royal Gazette that featured one of our elite players, Camiko Smith," said BGA vice president Alan Gamble.

"This contravenes the rules of amateur status. The Executive Committee has met and agreed with the player, and the player accepts that he was in breach of the rule.

"That part is clear, what we have not determined yet, and we are going to seek advice from the R&A, is the length of the suspension or the length of the time he does not have his amateur status."

Smith's first round 81 then will prove to be immaterial, unlike the three-over par 74 that Jarryd Dillas scored.

Already the Bermuda Match Play Champion, Dillas is seeking his second major title of the year.

He finished yesterday one shot ahead of Jun Hardart, with Terence Daniels three shots further back.

"Overall I'm quite pleased," said Dillas. "I set myself some goals at the beginning of the year, to win both our national championships. I've won the Match Play, and I'm three good days away from the Stroke Play (title) hopefully."