Golfers Ebonie Burgess and Laura Robinson will have to put their friendship to one side today when they take to the course as rivals in the final of the Canadian Junior National Championships.

The Island pair have swept aside allcomers in the past week to set up the all-Bermuda final at the Royal Woodbine Golf and Country Club in Ontario.

Burgess beat Maggie Trainer of Ontario two-up in her semi-final yesterday, while Robinson, the defending champion, saw off another local girl Sue Gleeson one-up.

Chaperone Eric Robinson, Laura's father, said: "Ebonie was three and four-up for most of her game and then things got tight at the end. She lost a few holes and nerves started to creep in.

"Laura's game was pretty evenly matched all the way through and then the last three or four holes, once again, they got very nervous and the tension started to build."

Robinson threw away a hole on the 17th and things began to look shaky.

"She missed a short putt to win the match two-up and it went down to the wire and the 18th. They halved the 18th and Laura finished one-up," Robinson said.

Asked how he now prepared two team-mates to play each other, Robinson said: "It's actually more with the girls themselves. We talk to them and try and get them to understand match play. The things to look out for in match play are, for instance, if your opponent is in trouble you be conservative.

"If it's getting to the end of the game and you are running out of holes and are one or two down you really have to make a move and be a bit more aggressive.

"One of the important things is always to keep the ball in play in match play. If you get in the trees or off the fairway from the tee then you are putting yourself in a really hard situation. It's important to keep the ball in play and not go for tight pins, stuck behind the bunker - play for the middle of the green and take your chances at a birdie putt rather than go for a pin tucked in behind a bunker, things like that."

Whereas players normally like to keep well away from their opponent before a big match, that will not be the case for Burgess and Robinson.

"In actual fact they are sharing a room together which is a lot of fun as well," he said. "They will have to think about their own game, how they are going to play it and just watch what the other one does and try to counteract it."

Robinson said the fact the pair had made the final away from home spoke volumes for the state of girl's golf in Bermuda.

"I think it is excellent. It is a great encouragement for the rest of the younger girls in the programme to see that," he said. "They will be able to see that 'I can achieve this if I work hard at my game'."

The pair go out at 9.45 a.m. Ontario time today.