A final round meltdown in the Miccosukee Championship may have cost Michael Sims his chance to play in next week's Nationwide Tour Championship.

And it may also have cost him an automatic spot on next season's Tour.

Watched on the Golf Channel by many in Bermuda yesterday afternoon and thousands across North America, Sims imploded – just 24 hours after he had held the outright lead in a $650,000 tournament in which eventual winner Chad Collins picked up $112,500.

But after sitting atop the leaderboard late on Saturday afternoon, it all went horribly wrong for the 30-year-old Bermudian.

Needing to finish in the top 60 on the Tour moneylist in order to retain his card and play in next week's million dollar Tour finale, statistics released last night showed Sims in 61st place.

It couldn't be determined whether he will be regarded as the first alternate should any of the leading 60 players have to drop out of next week's event, or decide not to play.

Interviewed on TV after his round on Saturday, even after taking a double bogey at the 17th hole which dropped him out of the lead, Sims appeared comfortably placed to achieve his season's goal.

But while placed in the top 10 throughout most of yesterday's final round, an error-strewen back nine saw him plummet down the leaderboard to finish in a tie for 17th.

His round of five-over 76 was one of his worst for the entire year and couldn't have come at a worse time.

Although 17th was enough to pick up a cheque for $9,063, it wasn't enough to vault him into the top 60.

Had he finished just one place higher, he would have received $12,250 and that would have given him 60th place ahead of American Darron Stiles.

Picked up regularly by the Golf Channel cameras yesterday, Sims continually showed his frustration, banging his club into the ground as one bad swing was followed by a narrowly missed putt.

In difficult, windy conditions in which other players also struggled, Sims – tied for fourth place entering the final round – stumbled early on at the 7,200-yard, par 71 Miccosukee Golf and Country Club course.

He bogeyed the second hole, birdied the par-five fifth before dropping further shots at the sixth and eighth holes.

But even at two-over-par he was still very much in the hunt with others ahead of him also struggling.

However, it was on the final nine holes that his game unravelled with a string of poor shots. He picked up another shot at the 10th but from then on it was a case of damage control.

He double-bogeyed the par-three 11th, bogeyed the par-four 15th, and suffered another double-bogey at the par-five 16th where his ball landed in the water hazard.

A birdie at the par-four 18th was small consolation, although that may still count for something with the field for the Tour Championship yet to be announced.

Earlier in the tournament, Sims had shown some of his best form of the season.

From his eighth hole in the first round, he went 41 holes without a single bogey on the card. Yesterday he suffered two double-bogeys and four bogeys, offset by three birdies.

Although it couldn't be determined last night, it's understood that Sims will have to revisit the gruelling PGA Tour School next month in order to regain full Nationwide Tour status.

However, it's believed he will receive some exemptions, regardless of how he performs at Q School.

Next week's Tour finale will be played at the Daniel Island Club in Charleston, South Carolina.