Bermuda?s young golfers came crashing back down to earth at the World Amateur Team Championships in Puerto Rico yesterday, combining for a six-over-par total following their first-day heroics.

The trio of Fraser Hunt, Eric West and Jarryd Dillas had entered yesterday?s second round of the 72-hole tournament on the River course at the Rio Mar Country Club in high spirits, having carded a one-under-par 143 on Thursday to place Bermuda in a nine-way tie for 16th ? the best ever opening round posted by a local team at the biennial tournament.

But the script would be rewritten yesterday as they finished the second round at six-over-par 150, leaving them at five-over-par for the tournament and in a three-way tie for 30th along with Norway and Thailand.

For the second day in succession, Dillas shot a creditable two-over-par 74 and West a hard-earned 76 while Hunt, who carded a magnificent three-under 69 the day before, had to settle for a five-over-par 77. Only the top two scores count.

Dillas produced yet another consistent round of golf, highlighted by an eagle on the par-five fourth hole and a birdie at the 12th.

The 19-year-old collegian hit a driver off the fourth tee to the right of the fairway to leave himself 250 yards shy of the green. And then with his second shot, a three-wood, he cut the ball into a right-side bunker.

With heavy rain continuing to fall, the Bermudian then holed out from the bunker on his third shot for an eagle before going on to make the turn at one-over-par.

?My scores might be the same but these have been two completely different rounds of golf,? said Dillas last night.

?Yesterday (Thursday) I felt that I left a lot out there. I hit the ball really well to the greens to give myself a lot of birdie opportunities but just couldn?t convert any of the putts, while today I think I struggled a bit more coming off the tee.

?But overall I think I really scraped it around. I holed out for eagle from a greenside bunker on four and it was just one of those things.?

Although day two at the championships in Rio Grande saw Bermuda slip down the leaderboard, Dillas is confident the local team can regroup for the final two rounds.

As Dillas produced back-to-back rounds of 74, Hunt struggled to reproduce the inspiring form which catapulted the 20-year-old to a sizzling 69 on Thursday.

He carded double bogeys on the par-three third and sixth holes and made three additional bogeys on the back nine. However, the Bermudian did show brief flashes of form with birdies at the par-four sixth and 12th holes.

?We started off with the rain coming in and I hit a few bad shots,? Hunt lamented afterwards.

?After that I never really got it going and so I just tried to grind it out. With about four or five holes to go I hit a some wayward drives. I think I wasted about four shots over the last four holes and so it was a little disappointing ? but it is still early days and a lot of golf still to be played.?

West, meanwhile, was able to improve on an opening day score of 81 to card a four-over-par 76 ? though the California student remained far from satisfied at the end of his round.

He carded three birdies overshadowed by two bogeys, a double bogey at the 13th hole and a triple at the par-five eighth hole.

?Yesterday and today were probably the worst two rounds of golf I?ve ever played,? said West, who noted he was suffering from a nagging head cold.

?I am hitting the ball fine . . . but it?s just tough out here trying to keep it together.?

The USA are leading the event at 20-under-par 268, a whopping eight shots ahead of second-placed Spain..