Both led by six shots heading into their respective final rounds yesterday, but ultimately Eric West and Laura Robinson wrested their first Bermuda Amateur Strokeplay Championships in contrasting styles.

Exhibiting a calm head and steady strokes, West proved the best with a one-under-par 70 in his fourth round at Port Royal Golf Course to card four-over 288 overall en route to the title.

The 21-year-old entered the clubhouse with a five-shot win over hard-challenging Jarryd Dillas (nine-over 293) while Nick Mansell was a further seven shots adrift in third place on 16-over 300.

While the mild-mannered men?s champion had the luxury of relaxing over the closing holes, Robinson ? whose putter ran completely cold ? was made to sweat for the spoils of victory.

Squandering her overnight cushion on teenager Ebonie Burgess, she found herself fighting to ensure she did not lose outright within the day?s 18 holes as Burgess pressed home her claim for honours.

The two were deadlocked on 15-over 228 after their 54 holes ? thus necessitating a play-off to break the tie. Meanwhile, Katyna Rabain had secured third with 32-over 245.

After one hole of sudden death, they were still neck-and-neck ? both registering bogeys ? but on the second hole Robinson got the better of Burgess, parring while the latter again bogeyed to see her quest for success evaporate.

?It feels so good to win. I?m relieved. I struggled a lot today. On the front nine I was striking the ball pretty well but I just didn?t make a lot of putts and, on the back nine, my putting got worse,? recounted a smiling Robinson.

?I was just trying to grind it out towards the end but we ended up tied on the 18th.?

The 21-year-old who hasjust graduated from Wofford College in South Carolina admitted it was tough to disregard how badly she performed in her third round and concentrate on the play-off. However, she took some solace from the fact that she made some ?clutch putts coming into the clubhouse? and that gave her an inkling that she might have just enough left to clinch the tournament.

?I struck the ball well and just missed the green and my par putt on the first hole. So the second time I made sure I got up and down,? said Robinson of the tense play-off.

A cool West took his triumph in stride, stating ?I?ve been wanting to win this tournament for years so it?s nice to finally do it?.

Assessing his final round as ?pretty good but not great?, the University of California (Berkeley) undergraduate explained his focus was simply ?to hold it together?.

?I was up by six shots so all I was trying to do was keep the ball in play and give myself a chance to win. I just had to shoot a decent score and hope that Jarryd and those guys didn?t shoot something like 64.

?I played my best golf yesterday (Sunday). I was up and down today (yesterday). The putts just didn?t go in today. It could have been special, probably a 65 or 66, but I missed good putts and ended up shooting 70.

?I?m feeling great though because I?ve played this tournament seven or eight times before and never shot anywhere near the four-round total that I shot this week,? declared the 21-year-old.

?I?ve been seeing steady improvement in my game and I?ve been putting a lot better. I?ve been practising my short game a lot more than I had been in the past and it?s leading to lower scores.?

West lamented the withdrawal of reigning champion Fraser Hunt, who led him by a shot after two rounds, due to back pains.

?Fraser and I had set up to have a really competitive two-day match but unfortunately he hurt his back.?

Dillas, 19, carded the day?s low score of 69 but, try as he did, failed to threaten West?s advantage which he attributed to ?silly mistakes?.

?I played fairly well. I hit the ball solidly but I threw away too many shots, especially in the first round. I opened with a 79 so I spotted Eric seven shots right off the bat. It was just too much to come back from against someone like Eric.

?Every now and then I?d have a little momentum going and then I?d make a bad judgement call which would hurt my momentum,? said the Columbus State University student.

Port Royal?s course superintendent Mansell was pleased with how he finished despite not playing at his peak.

?I did see some areas of my game that need improvement but some areas that I?ve been working on were really good like my bunker shots. I got up and down each time,? noted the 38-year-old.

Burgess looked at her play-off loss as a positive rather than a negative, reasoning that she did well to rebound from being six shots back at the start of the day.

?I made the turn at seven back and then just ground it out from there. I never gave up,? said the 19-year-old who helped her cause with two birdies on the back nine as Robinson faltered.

?I?m happy with myself. I couldn?t have done any better, maybe next year. I?m still waiting to get my name on this title.?

Meanwhile, a disappointed Hunt sported a brave face as he spectated rather than participated.

?I was playing pretty good for the first two days and when I woke up for the third round on Sunday my back was a little stiff. I tried to work it out before I started but I played a few holes and pretty quickly realised that it wasn?t meant to be this year.?