Kenny Leseur holds a two-shot overnight lead over Nick Jones and Christian Collins after shooting an even-par 71 on the opening day of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship Local Qualifier.

Leseur and the rest of the field at Port Royal Golf Course had to maintain their focus after heavy rain caused a delay in the start, with play only started after noon, two hours after the scheduled first tee time.

While rain did stay away for most of the day, it returned just before close of play and Leseur, who his second PGA Tour appearance last year, is hoping to make it into the main tournament for the third time.

“It was definitely difficult conditions,” the 22-year-old said.

“The delay wasn’t great but I just kept calm, kept stretching and it was on-and-off rain pretty much for the whole day.

“I knew I was going to get wet but I just stayed concentrated for the most part and I’m proud that I did.

“The greens are pretty fast and not what we are used to. I hit the ball really well but my putting was a little bit of a concern, so I’m going to work on that, fix it up and go do the same thing.

“Tomorrow I’ve just got to come and play a good round of golf. It’s just me against the golf course and I have to go out and do what I got to do.”

Jones, who saw off Leseur’s challenge to win on the Moongate Tour in July, vowed to do his best to keep up with the younger golfer.

“It was a tough day as we started out in the rain and we had strong winds coming through on the hardest hole,” Jones said.

“But I hit the ball pretty decently. The course is in great shape and I just stayed steady. I shot one over on each side and I could have been a lot better, but that’s golf.

“I want to see if I can pull through and stay tight. I think Kenny’s a really good golfer, in my opinion, probably the best on island. I’m not going to lie, he hits it good and pure. If I can keep up with him, I think I have a good chance to qualify, that’s my goal.”

Collins held the lead after the front nine, but a double bogey on the 15th left him twoover 73 at the close of play.

“I feel like the front was the easier nine out of the two,” Collins said.

“Then the back nine I was struggling a bit, I made a double on the 15th, which never helps. When the rain came I was trying to survive and then I ended up being four-over.

“After the 10th hole, I was set off to a bad start and from there I was trying to survive a bit. I wasn’t playing well and my irons were letting me down.

“I stuck to my routine very well and that’s exactly what I’m going to do on the final day, just stick to everything I’ve been doing and don’t change anything.”

The Swiss-based Collins has twice tried to qualify for the PGA Tour without success.

“I’ve been working and I haven’t been playing competitive golf for the past three years,” the 23-year-old said.

“I live in Switzerland at the moment. I came here to work for two months and it just so happens that this was the last week, so it was good timing.

“I think I stuck to my routine very well. That’s exactly what I'm going to do in the final round, just stick to everything I’ve been doing and don’t change anything.”

It was a tough day for Oliver Betschart, who finished the day eleventh on seven-over 78. The Colorado State University freshman indicated that he has been troubled by back pain in the past few weeks.

“It was definitely a struggle,” the 18-year-old said.

“I’ve been in a little bit of pain in my back recently and it feels like I pulled something. I’m still in rehab over the last week or so, just trying to figure out what’s going on and do what I can to prevent it from happening again.

“It definitely has something to do with how I played. Obviously not everything still got to hit the shots at some point.

“But I feel like after my stroke on the front nine I was able to keep it together and shoot an even-par back nine.

“I know I’m going to need to shoot a lot of good scores to be in contention, but anything’s possible at this point. So I’m going to give it my all and do my best.”

The top two finishers will secure a spot in the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, with the third-placed finisher booked for the 2027 event.

Daniel Augustus, Camiko Smith, Anthony Phipps and Quinton Sherlock will fancy their chances, as they are just two shots behind Jones and Collins.