Despite the unenviable challenge posed by a howling gale and unrelenting drizzle, Bermudian young guns David Smith and Jason Darrell triumphed by three shots in the Men?s Bermuda Four Ball Strokeplay Championships at Port Royal yesterday.

The pair went into the final round under a significant amount of pressure, with their nearest rivals throughout the four-day, 72-hole tournament, Max Atherden and Ian Page, breathing down their necks only one shot back.

And although birdies were few and far between for Smith and Darrell, both played calmly during their final round score of 75, remaining patient and refusing to be overly aggressive in what were inhospitable conditions.

?It was so tough out there,? conceded Smith, who has been working at Belmont Hills Golf Club since the start of the summer and will soon be heading off to begin college in the United States.

?To reach some of the par fours in two when the wind was in your face was almost impossible and putting was also difficult in the wind.

?All we tried to do was keep the ball as low as possible, play safe and try to make par. I think we coped pretty well in the circumstances and I?m thrilled we managed to win.?

For Smith, this was a second straight victory in the Four Ball Championships, having won the event in 2002 with fellow teenager Jarryd Dillas, regarded by many as the most gifted of a promising crop of emerging golfers on the Island.

Darrell, meanwhile, who is also employed at Belmont, will soon be enrolled at the Winter Springs Golf Academy on the outskirts of Orlando, Florida.

In the ladies? event, Louanne Gonsalves and Sharon Son-Hing from North Carolina secured a comfortable victory by shooting a final round gross score of 80, giving them a total of 233. This was five shots better than the pairing of Jenny Chattock and Susie Elton.