A 'family affair' final saw Robert Vallis lift his fifth Bermuda Men's Amateur Match Play title at Mid Ocean Club on Saturday as he ground out a comprehensive seven and five victory over first cousin Blake Marshall.

The two Mid Ocean members, who have grown up playing the game together, were contesting their first major final against each other.

But on a day that started cool and blustery and ended under bright sunshine, it was a contest that witnessed neither player produce the calibre of golf of which both are capable.

In the end, with birdies few and far between, the match was determined by uncharacteristic errors, Vallis ultimately making far fewer than his opponent.

For Marshall, the morning round of the 36-hole final was one he'd prefer to forget as he quickly found himself on the ropes - four down after four and seven down after 13.

A spirited fightback towards the end of that round, as he won 16, 17 and 18 to reduce the deficit back to four, offered a glimmer of hope.

And when Marshall won the first hole of the afternoon to further cut the margin to three, he might have sensed he was in with a chance.

But that was as close as he would get, Vallis slowly but surely turning the screws as the match headed towards its inevitable conclusion.

Of his flying start, Vallis said afterwards: "It's just the way it turned out. I played well, Blake had a rough start and that gave me a good lead.

"But no, there weren't many birdies. I missed a lot of putts and gave three holes back at the end of the first round.

"It was all a bit scrappy. I think we both had very tough matches yesterday (Friday). I think it kind of dulls you a bit. Some finals are like that.

"Today I hit the ball well but I putted very poorly. I was leaving everything short.

"But Blake just wasn't really pressuring me very much. I hit the ball fairly solidly and I was pleased with that."

Marshall would rue his disastrous start, noting that it had set the tone for the day.

"It was horrible," he said. "I lost the first four and that was it. I never really could recover. I did get two or three holes at the end of the first round which kind of put me back into it and then I won the 19th. So I was only three down and I thought I was back in it.

"Anything could happen from then on but it just wasn't my day.

"It was a match of mistakes and I made most of them. This was probably the worst day of the week for me - not a good time to play like that, not when you're playing a Robert Vallis. He's one of the steadiest players around.

"We've played a lot over the years, we kind of started at the same time. We've always had a competitive friendship and I've always wanted to have a final with Robert because we've always had that competition since we were young.

"Today was something I was looking forward to. It was my first Match Play final, I just wish I could have played better. My problem is that I'm inconsistent. I have a really good day and then a mediocre day."

Saturday's match was all but settled when Vallis won the 27th (ninth hole) to take a five-up lead.

He then increased that advantage to six at the 10th where Marshall blasted superbly out of a greenside bunker to six feet but then missed his par putt.

Eleven was halved with pars and the long par-four 12th halved with bogeys after both found sand.

That left Vallis to close out the match at the short 13th where par proved sufficient after his opponent had again hit into a greenside bunker.

Reflecting on the week, Vallis admitted he had been fortunate to emerge unscathed from Friday's quarter-final and semi-final matches in which he had to call upon all of his experience to defeat teenagers Nick Dunkle (20th hole) and Fraser Hunt (one-up).

"It gives me a lot of pleasure winning but to be honest I don't know how I continue to do it because of all these young kids who hit the ball so far, they're all so powerful." added Vallis, who recently celebrated his 50th birthday.

"If it was a longer course I wouldn't have a chance. Because it's shorter I can still make the greens (in regulation). But they're hitting three and four clubs less, they're outdriving me by 30 to 40 yards, which is very wearing.

"Their ball-striking is very much more powerful than mine. Once they harness that and learn to play the game, I think they'll be tough to beat."