Waking up stiff on Saturday morning after a gruelling week of high pressure golf, Arthur Jones knew playing all 36 holes of the Bermuda Match Play Championship was going to be tough going.

But even in his wildest dreams the one handicapper couldn?t have expected his second round at the Mid Ocean Club to only last two-thirds of the distance, leaving him with the title with six holes to still to play.

The 47-year-old Jones can largely thank a wonderful spell of five wins in the final six holes of the morning round for his seven and six victory over visiting American and 1998 winner Cy Kilgore on Saturday.

Playing in a slight breeze but glorious sunshine, it was all-square after the 437 yard par-four 12th, but Jones seized the initiative with some immaculate golf to claim the 13th, 14th, 15th, 17th and 18th, while dropping just the 16th to put him four up at lunch.

Solid golf during the second round left Jones at dormie eight at the 10th and a halved 12th finally closed the door on Kilgore?s chances of the trophy going overseas.

?I think local knowledge certainly helped,? said Jones, who plays the course twice a week, while Kilgore is an international member who normally visits the Island just once a year.

?Anything can happen in match play, and anyone can beat anyone, but once I was four up I knew I could feel pretty comfortable.

?It was a very friendly atmosphere out there, I have known Cy for ten years and we have played each other twice before in this tournament. It was relaxed and we were chatting and joking a lot of the way round.

?Of course I am delighted to win this. I really do think this is an excellent event, I have been playing in it for years and it is one of the highlights of the golfing calendar for me.?

Although Jones, who had never got past the semi-final stages before, was full of praise for the course, which looked resplendent on the final day as bright sunshine made the ocean backdrops all the more impressive, he was, however, a little critical of the inconsistency of the greens ? claiming some were immaculate but others ?bumpy?.

The greens also caused problems during the ladies? final, the more competitive of the two games, although Ebonie Burgess will be the first to admit it that it was her putting, more than the quality of the surface, that was the problem.

The teenager, who returned to the Island from her David Leadbetter Golf Academy base in Florida for this tournament, had to play out all 36 holes for her victory over Susie Elton, although she could have killed the game off earlier had she been more clinical with her putter.

Burgess, playing with her trademark missing left-sleeve ?just to be different?, is a mighty hitter of the ball and had a distinct advantage playing her approach shots at nearly every hole.

But she failed to capitalise against the dogged Elton, who despite being 49 is a relative newcomer to the game, until the 376-yard par four 16th where Burgess? immense drive gave her a short wedge to the green and a straightforward putt for the lead.

The 17-year-old, who is hoping for a collegiate scholarship next year to continue her progression in the game, had been one down after the 12th but always looked capable of recovering for victory and could have wrapped things up on the 17th after Elton found the bunker.

But a missed putt meant it came down to the last hole which was halved to give Burgess her victory.

?I felt pretty good out there,? she told

?My putting could have been better but I was hitting the ball well in every other part of my game. Maybe I could have won it earlier if I had putted better but I am very pleased to win.?