Bermuda made a strong start in their Nations Cup bid yesterday, posting a bogey-free first round of four-under par, including three birdies in a row.

Up to press time last night, the Island's pair of Dwayne Pearman and Michael Sims were in the clubhouse tied in fifth place with Venezuela and four shots adrift of leaders Chile on eight-under. A few of the 14 teams in the tournament were still finishing their first rounds at El Tigre Golf Club in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Birdies on the eighth, ninth, tenth and 16th holes as well as some clutch par saves characterised what Bermuda's non-playing captain Kim Swan described as a "solid performance" in the opening round of four-ball.

"The guys played solid golf. They didn't give anything away and made no bogeys. Between the two of them they had a lot of chances for birdies. We didn't convert our first birdie until the eighth hole. We had a lot of opportunities but the putts weren't dropping though we were playing well.

"I knew the birdies would come. We just had to be patient; just needed to break the ice."

The breakthrough finally came when Pearman somehow got himself out a dire situation to card a birdie on the 407-yard, par-four eighth hole.

"Dwayne had hit a not-so-good drive in the trap. He was in the bunker and had a bit of tree trouble. He played a miraculous shot to within about a foot (of the hole) which is what I call vintage Dwayne Pearman. I think that loosened things up," Swan told The Royal Gazette.

Sims then got into stride, making birdies on the next two holes where, on both occasions he was well placed to actually make eagles.

Sims, using a driver and four iron to hit the green on the tenth hole, made his second birdie to take Bermuda to three-under as they enjoyed a hat-trick of birdies.

However, they had to wait until the 16th hole for further success.

A late start thwarted organisers' plans to play two rounds of competition yesterday to make up for Wednesday's wash-out. However, they will attempt to complete the second (alternate shot) and third (four-ball) rounds today.