A scheduling conflict will force the withdrawal of one of Bermuda?s best young golfers from this week?s inaugural Ross (Blackie) Talbot International Junior Classic at Tucker?s Point.

Nick Jones will travel to California on Saturday along with Blair Marshall to play in the Junior World Golf Championships at the famous Torrey Pines Golf Club near San Diego.

However, the last of the Classic?s three rounds falls on Saturday and the 16-year-old has had a request to bring forward his final round so he can make the lunch-time flight rejected by tournament organisers.

Jones ? who finished an impressive fifth in the recently-concluded Bermuda Amateur Strokeplay Championships ? said yesterday that he was ?disappointed? with the decision, but tournament director Kevin Benevides countered that they had no other option.

Benevides also rejected the argument that scheduling the Classic so close to the most prestigious junior tournament in international golf was a mistake, insisting the date had been set some 14 months ago and they had no idea at that time when the World Juniors would be.

?It?s unfortunate because we would have liked to have had Nick out there playing,? he said.

?But we just can?t start making adjustments to the final round schedule because you have to play according to your position in the field. It?s different for the first and second rounds where we can be more flexible but we just cannot make exceptions in the final round.

?It?s not ideal having our tournament so close to the World Juniors but when we were looking for a date well over a year ago there was no suggestion that there would be a clash.

?Still we are not set in stone over the dates and next year we will try and find a date which works for as many people as possible.?

For the past three years, at least, the Junior Worlds has been held at Torrey Pines on the same July dates.

Jones, meanwhile, said he was looking forward to playing in his first World Juniors and was generally happy with the current state of his game.

?I?ve never played at Torrey Pines before but I?ve heard it?s very long and narrow and will be a real challenge,? he said.

?I?m playing better ? there are still one or two adjustments that I?ve got to make. I?ve got to be a little more accurate off the tee at Torrey Pines given how narrow the fairways are.

?I?m trying not to put too much pressure on myself, but I?d love to finish in the top 20 if possible.?

The Worlds take place between July 11-14.