Oliver Betschart produced the lowest round of the tournament to finish tied for third at the prestigious Puerto Rico Junior Championships on Tuesday.

Betschart climbed the leaderboard after shooting 69 in the final round, which featured an exciting back nine, with birdies at the 11th, 13th, 15th, 16th and 17th holes thrusting him to a place on the podium.

But for a disappointing second round of 78, the teenager would have gone close to winning the tournament as he finished on 2 over, just two shots behind local player Ayden Febres and Guilherme Yoshikawa, from Brazil.

The teenager admits that being so close to a spot at the US Junior Amateur Championship, which was the prize for the winner, left him disappointed.

“It stings a lot and I had a really rough day yesterday,” Betschart said.

“It wasn’t the greatest feeling to be 8 over, knowing a US Junior Amateur spot was on the line and wanting to be in contention

“But I was able to flip the switch and on the back nine there was really just nothing to lose. It was just no fear, play as good as I possibly can and that’s exactly what I did.

“Coming down the stretch I made four birdies in the last six holes, which was massive. Even on the last hole I missed the green with my approach and was able to make a solid putt to save par, which was the only time I really showed emotion with a fist pump throughout the whole tournament.

“I didn’t know where I stood in scores so it was nice to make that save knowing that I battled really hard and did everything I could to get back to a position where I need to be.”

Puerto Rico was another country ticked off on Betschart’s world tour but his time there left him thankful for his island home.

“This was my first time in Puerto Rico and this is now my fifteenth country that I have played competitive golf in, which is pretty crazy to think with me being only 17 years old,” he said.

“It was really similar to Bermuda with the island lifestyle but on a bigger scale. Some of the parts of Puerto Rico really showed me how fortunate we are to be able to live in Bermuda and all of the opportunities that are presented to us there.”

Arman Newton also played in the international division, finishing 32nd at 27 over.

Betschart’s sister Darina went a couple of spots better than her brother by winning the girls 15 and under age group. Rounds of 83, 79 and 81 meant she finished the tournament at 27 over, enough for a 12-shot victory over her nearest rival, Marena Fontanet from Puerto Rico.

Her performance meant she also finished tied for ninth overall, which included scores from players in older age groups, and she was pleased with her victory despite feeling there is room for improvement with her game

“I don’t think I played my best but I was pretty solid and the experience was honestly amazing,” she said.

“I met so many cool people and the connections that I got were amazing. There were a lot of girls playing and they all played really well, so it was just a really cool experience to play against them all because I don't I don’t get that a lot in Bermuda.

“I need to work on my putting mostly as it was slightly off this week so I’ll be putting in the work on that.”

Bermuda’s four-person squad at the championships was completed by Lewis MacFarlane, who finished runner-up in the boys 13 and under age group.