Michael Sims held his nerve yesterday to register a confidence boosting ninth-place finish in his first outing on the Nationwide Tour this year – arguably his most impressive showing since he turned professional.

His performance in the $550,000 Louisiana Open over the weekend guaranteed him a place in the Tour's next stop in San Francisco this week, earned him a cheque for $13,200 and is likely to earn him more invitations to tournaments throughout the year.

The Bermudian golfer, who secured provisional status on the PGA's second tier tour by advancing to the final stage of Qualifying School late last year, had to qualify for the Louisiana event at the Le Triomphe Country Club in Broussard last Monday when he placed among the top three who advanced from a 10-man play-off.

But as if to show that was no fluke, the 29-year-old made a scintillating start last Thursday when he recorded eight birdies and just one bogey in a stunning round of 64 which put him on top of the leaderboard on the difficult 7,006-yard, par-71 lay-out.

And in a tournament delayed by both rain and lightning he held that lead right through to his 35th hole on Saturday as he completed his second round, only to finish with a double bogey six on the par-four 18th to drop down the field.

Beginning his third round later the same day he plummeted even further and was two-over-par heading into the final three holes before fighting back to even par with consecutive birdies.

That set up yesterday's nerve-wracking final round when Sims knew he needed a top 25 finish to ensure another shot on the Tour this week, but was also only three strokes off the overall lead.

An outright victory would have given him a two-year exemption on the tour. That honour eventually went to Bubba Dickerson who beat Brian Vranesh in a play-off after both had finished on 274.

Sims responded magnificently yesterday, shooting a blemish-free 69 which included birdies at the first and 18th for a 69 total, and putting him in a tie for ninth in a field which started with 144, many of them former PGA Tour regulars.

His 276 total (eight under par) included rounds of 64, 72, 71 and 69.– Father Bruce, who Michael spoke to following the first round, said: "Michael feels he's playing really well. He's been preparing all winter and feels good. He said he hit the ball really well yesterday (Thursday) and made a bunch of putts."

Sims recently finished sixth on a Tarheel mini-tour event but has only once plsecuredd in the top 20 on the Nationwide Tour, before losing his playing status at the end of 2007.

This week's event is the Stonebrae Classic at the TPC San Francisco Bay.