Local hopefuls Oliver Betschart and Johnny Bart made promising starts in the opening round of the Butterfield Bermuda Junior Championship at a blustery Port Royal Golf Course yesterday.

The pair produced identical rounds of 73 to enter the clubhouse tied for fourth, three shots back of joint leaders SJ Thomas and Andrea Birolini of the United States, who both carded 70.

Betschart endured a roller coaster round but managed to avoid the big numbers to place himself within striking distance of the leaders.

“I was pretty consistent but did finish with a bogey, which is a little bit of a bummer,” he told The Royal Gazette.

“But I am still in it, still in the running, and with two days left looking forward to giving it a good run.”

Betschart could not have asked for a better start to his round after reeling off back-to-back birdies on the opening two holes.

“I had great start with two birdies right off the bat but sadly followed that up with a double bogey,” he said.

“But I felt that I stayed steady out there and was able to hit solid shots under the wind and play good golf.

“I made four birdies on the back nine, which was really solid. But sadly I was not able to reciprocate that on the front nine.

“Getting used to the wind was definitely a challenge, but I was able to handle it pretty well.”

Bart was one shot off the lead at even par with two holes to play but fell off the pace after carding back-to-back bogeys.

Despite of the late wobble the promising golfer was pleased with the day’s work.

“It was a solid round, came in at one under on my second nine,” he said.

“I felt I just played within myself the entire day and didn’t really make any huge mistakes. Kept any doubles off the scorecard and the putter got hotter at the end there.

“A few lousy mistakes cost me maybe two or three shots. But that kind of happens every round, so I’m pleased with how I played today.

“This is most definitely a confidence boost. We still have 36 holes to play and I am three shots back of the lead, so there’s still a lot to play for.”

Arman Newton, the remaining local player in the boys’ field, is tied for 37th after shooting 81.

Co-leaders Thomas and Birolini, who came in at one under par, are one-shot clear of the rest of the field through 18 holes.

Tournament debutant Birolini’s conservative approach in the challenging conditions paid off.

“I just tried to keep it in play off the tee and get on the green and try and two-putt, keep it simple,” he said.

“You can’t really force anything out here in these conditions, so I was just trying to play smart, stress-free golf, and I was able to do that really well.

“The conditions definitely made a significant impact, especially when you get up to the holes next to the water, like seven, eight, 15 and 16, the wind impacts it a lot.

“Even those other holes that are kind of like down in the valley, so you don’t feel the wind. But then the ball goes up and the wind takes it, so it’s challenging for sure.”

Maya Brown, of the United States, leads the girls’ division by a solitary shot after carding 73 to put herself in early contention for honours.

The California resident, who is also making her tournament debut, was pleased with her performance in the trying conditions.

“It was challenging with all the hills and wind and stuff,” she said.

“I haven’t really played in these kind of conditions before, so I would say I am happy with how I played. It was a pretty good round.”

Ten shots off the lead and tied for 19th is Darina Betschart, Bermuda’s sole competitor in the girls’ field, who shot 83.