Michael Sims' hopes of collecting a fat cheque after making his first cut on the Buy.Com Tour quickly evaporated over the weekend.

And by the time the dust settled after yesterday's final round, Bermuda's rookie pro golfer had to settle for a tie for 58th place and $1,296 in pocket money.

The 23-year-old Bermudian went into the third round of the Knoxville Open in high spirits after compiling rounds of 70 and 71 for a three-under-par total on the par-72 Fox Den Country Club course.

On Friday evening, he had spoken of his determination to challenge the leaders over the weekend, perhaps reproducing a round of 67 which he had carded during qualifying a few days earlier.

But it all went horribly wrong on Saturday as he stumbled to a disappointing five-over-par 77 and out of contention.

The Rhode Island University graduate recovered to fire another sub-par round of 71 yesterday, but his final total of 289 left him just one shot off the bottom of the list of those who survived the half-way cut. Still, he had the personal satisfaction of not coming last which - after Saturday's slump - was his primary objective.

"He was very disappointed yesterday (Saturday). He played well and hit the ball superbly but he just had some bad luck. The putter just wasn't there for him yesterday. It was his worst round in about six months.

"Today (yesterday) he played super and he just didn't want to be last so he wasn't giving up," said Sims' dad, Bruce, relating his conversation with his son.

Sims, who according to his father is "really tired", was last night on a red-eye journey to reach Hershey, Pennsylvania, for another Buy.Com qualifier today. Following a flight from Tennessee to Connecticut (landing at 10 p.m. Bermuda time), Sims then had a five-hour drive to his destination. He tees off at 3 p.m. today and will be playing the course blind.

Despite his disappointment, Sims will likely look back on the weekend with a degree of optimism - the cut was the first he made in a major tour event since turning professional earlier this year, he managed three rounds under-par and, at one stage, early in the event was as high as 11th place.

However, his final total means he will still have to take part in qualifiers like today's in order to earn a spot in future Buy.Com events.

Yesterday's victory at Knoxville went to Darron Stiles who finished on 16-under-par 272 following a superb 64 - tying the course record - on Saturday and a final round of 68.

Steve Ford and Aaron Baddeley tied for second, a shot back on 273, Ford posting 65 yesterday and Baddeley 66.