Nick Jones bowed out of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship with his head held high after producing his best round in the PGA Tour event at Port Royal on Friday.

The Ocean View teaching professional shot 70, his first ever round under par, to bow out an even par after failing to make the 36-hole cut, which was made at five under.

“I shot one-under today and feel very happy and proud of my best ever showing in this tournament,” Jones told The Royal Gazette.

“Shooting under par in a PGA Tour event is a milestone I always dreamt of doing, and the goal is to keep getting better and better each time.

“I putted the ball much better, but unfortunately my driving was not as straight as I wanted them to be.

“Wish a few more putts would have went in. I birdied two of the first three holes and was trying my hardest to get to that cut line and just fell short, but I'm happy with the way I played.”

Starting the round at one over, Jones made back to back birdies at the 2nd and 3rd holes to dip under par.

He lost momentum at the 4th, the hardest hole playing dead into the wind, after two-putting for bogey but bounced back after tapping in a 3ft birdie putt at the 7th.

Jones made another bogey at the 9th after failing to convert a 10ft putt to save par, but his confidence was soaring again after rolling in a 30ft birdie putt at the 10th to go to two under, and keep his hopes of making the cut alive with eight holes to play.

Jones dropped another shot after missing a 10ft par putt at the 14th to go back to one under, where he remained the rest of the way.

“I knew the cut was going to be at least 4 or 5 under and knew I needed a couple more, so I had to try and push it a little,” he said.

“Unfortunately it just didn't pan out, but it was just an awesome experience.”

While Jones had something to be proud of, fellow countryman Camiko Smith endured a round he would rather quickly forget after shooting 85, which included ten bogeys and two doubles.

“I just had a bad day today,” he lamented.

“I am a little upset but I am not going to let it bog me down. It’s nothing wrong with a little bit of adversity and I just have to figure out how to take it on next time.

“I tried, did my best and the outcome was the outcome. So I am keeping my head up, staying positive, learn from this and move forward.

“Golf is like life; you have your ups and downs and you go on. You assess, reset and just go on.

“Golf is actually really tough. We’re not just out there hitting a little ball, there’s a lot more mentally that goes into it, and I grinded my butt off today.”

Kensei Hirata and Chandler Blanchet are the joint 36-hole leaders at 13 under.

One shot back tied for third are Eric Cole, Seamus Power, Ben Silverman, Danny Walker and Corey Conners.

Power, the 2022 Butterfield Bermuda Champion, was among eight players shooting the low round of 64.

“It was really good and honestly it was one of those rounds that didn't really get off to the best start,” he said.

“I had long chances on 10th, 11th and 12th and knocked in a really good putt after a good 5-iron on 13 kind of settled me down a little bit, and then got it going around the turn.”

Two shots back of the lead are David Skinns, Greyson Sigg, Ben Kohles, Austin Smotherman and Danny McCarthy at 11 under.

The tournament remains wide open with a bunch of players within five shots of the lead with 36 holes to play.