The wait continues for a local player to feature on the weekend of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship after Kenny Leseur, Will Haddrell and Oliver Betschart missed the cut at Port Royal Golf Course yesterday.

At one stage, professional Leseur and amateur Haddrell were on course to become the first locals to advance into the weekend of the PGA Tour event before ultimately coming up short.

Camiko Smith missed the cut by only two shots last year, the closest any local has come to achieving the feat.

Leseur coped best among the local trio yesterday with an even-par round. However, it wasn’t enough, as he missed the projected cut by three shots thanks to five consecutive bogeys towards the end of his first round, which he completed earlier in the day.

“The finish in the first round wasn’t very good at all,” he told The Royal Gazette. “Just got off to a bad start to start the day.

“I had chances, but was just really poor. Disappointed but will definitely use this for the future. I know I have the game to compete; I just need to find a way to do it consistently.”

Tournament debutant Haddrell produced the second-best round among the local trio of 75 but ultimately fell four shots shy the cut as five bogeys coming in, including four straight, ended his hopes of playing over the weekend.

“It’s completely my fault but we got put on the clock by the referee; we were slow and had to catch up, and I didn’t take it very well,” Haddrell said.

“I started rushing and it’s completely my fault. I am 42 and should know how to do this better. But I made four bogeys in a row from nowhere, and it really put me out of it.

“I tried to fight back and had a few near-misses for birdie, but it just wasn’t quite good enough.”

Betschart shot 73 that left him seven adrift of the cut, with an eagle at the par-five 7th proving to be the highlight of an otherwise disappointing tournament for the 16-year-old.

“That was amazing; I was able to stick it to six feet from 230 yards, which was great,” Betschart said. “That was my first eagle on the PGA Tour, so it’s a small victory.

“After that hole I was able to make some good pars and birdie on 12 and 17. The back nine was moving really solid.

“All in all, it was a lot of fun today. My playing partners were great; we just enjoyed it. Having Camiko Smith on the bag was comforting as well, so all props to him. He was a great caddie out there.”

Leseur topped the local field at three-over 145, followed by Haddrell two shots back and Betschart a farther two adrift.

Overnight leader Adam Hadwin shot 66 to maintain a one-shot advantage at the midway stage.

“Didn't quite have the same feel as I did yesterday, but scrambled really well,” Hadwin said. “Short game, putting, made a bunch of putts today. Just kind of held in there.

“Hit a really nice second shot into 18 and I feel like that kind of settled me down and got a little bit better feeling for the irons.”

The Canadian hit top stride on a bogey-free back nine, which he played at five under after carding three birdies and an eagle at the par-four 6th.

“Obviously a pitch-in on 6 helps immensely,” he said. “You’re never expecting that, but you'll take it.

“You’re a little bit lucky to kind of make it, but I did exactly what I wanted to do.”

Americans occupy four of the top five spots on the leaderboard, with Chandler Phillips and Braden Thornberry tied for second at ten under, and Noah Goodwin and Max McGreevy tied for fourth at nine under.

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