Michael and Lindsey Sims became the first brother and sister to win the Bermuda Amateur Strokeplay Championships in the same year at Port Royal yesterday, further emphasising the outstanding young talent sweeping through the game of golf.

Michael surprised many last year by becoming the youngest ever winner at age 19. This year he proved it was no fluke as, after being tied with Nick Mansell for the first three rounds, he surged ahead on the back nine of yesterday's final round to win by five shots.

Lindsey, who at 18 is two years younger than her brother, won by 12 strokes over defending champion Alisa Hardy who had finished 14 shots ahead of Sims last year. Laura Robinson, just 15, was third on 255.

Michael had to dig deep to take the championship over a stubborn Mansell who matched him stroke for stroke over the first three days of the event with identical scores of 70, 70, 74.

Sims finished yesterday with a 73 as Mansell fell off the pace with a 78.

Mark Dupuy was third overall on 298, two strokes ahead of youngster Ryan Mello on 300.

"The back nine seems to be my side,'' said Sims.

"It was the same thing as last year, I think I was one-up after nine and all of a sudden things happened and I was ahead.'' Yesterday Sims went out in 38 and Mansell 39 before a double-bogey on the par-four 10th, compared with Mansell's birdie, briefly changed the picture.

But Mansell suffered a double bogey and bogey on the 11th and 12th while Sims bounced back with two pars and then a birdie on 13.

"I was happy with the fact that I was able to hang in for as long as I did because I haven't played a lot of golf,'' said Mansell afterwards.

"I am disappointed with the way I played...just four holes really on the back side, the 11th on which I lost a ball and two other greens where I three-putted.

"There was a four shot swing, and if I hadn't done that it could have been a little closer. It was lack of practice, really.'' Sims' 72-hole total of 287 tied the record set by Robert Vallis in 1996, though at three rounds both he and Mansell were three shots ahead of the record.

Now Sims, who just finished his sophomore year at Rhode Island University, plans to go for another title next year.

"I hope so, I can only get better,'' said the confident youngster.

In the space of a year Lindsey Sims not only improved by 15 strokes on the 253 score she carded in the 1998 54-hole championship, but she was also one shot better than Hardy's winning 239 a year ago.

"Everybody's goal is to win,'' said Lindsey, who was runner-up to Hardy last year. She had rounds of 78, 83 and 77 for a 54-hole score of 238.

"I played good on the first day, struggled the second day and today I hung in there and I guess that's what won it,'' she added.

Despite Hardy's opening round 90 on Saturday, she was in contention after the second round as she improved by 15 strokes with a 75 to trail Sims by just four strokes going into yesterday's play.

"I hit a lot of bunkers on the front nine and wasn't playing too good,'' said Lindsey of the final round. But I played really good on the back nine, even par.

"I was four shots ahead of Alisa and at the turn I was two shots ahead of her and then I made a birdie on 10 that put me three shots ahead. From then on I just held her. I made three birdies on the back nine.'' Now Lindsey is aiming to take her golf to a new level when she enters her freshman year at the College of William and Mary in Virginia.

"I want to see where college and golf takes me. I'm excited about playing golf in college, in Division One,'' she admitted.

In a nice touch at the prize presentation afterwards, Bermuda Golf Association president Steve Perry invited the parents of the pair to present the champion's trophies to them. Father Bruce, who caddied for Michael, handed Lindsey the women's trophy and mother Carol presented the Tony Lema Memorial Trophy to Michael. She had caddied for Lindsey.

Photos by Tony Cordeiro Sizzling Sims: Lindsey Sims (left) won the women's Amateur Strokeplay title at Port Royal while brother Michael (watched by father/caddie Bruce) successfully defended his men's title.