medal round in the 62-year history of the Bermuda Ladies Amateur Championship -- to send out a warning to defending champion Reggie Hawes.

Griffin, who was also the medallist last year before going on to lose to Hawes in the semifinals, is determined to go all the way this year.

Two years ago she reached the final before losing to 16-year-old local Kim Marshall. Yesterday's round will have done lots for her confidence.

"I'm keeping my fingers crossed this time,'' said Griffin of Greenwich, Connecticut, last night. "I've been playing pretty well and I feel my chances are as good as anybody else's. On any given day anything can happen.'' Griffin's 72 yesterday included four birdies, on holes two, three, six and 18 with her double-bogey on number 16, which she three-putted, denying her at least an even-par round.

"I kept the ball in play pretty well,'' she added. "Today when we started there was no wind but by the end it was probably blowing 25 knots. I don't normally have problems qualifying.'' The absence of four of Bermuda's top amateurs, Kim Marshall, Madeline Joell, Glenda Todd and Judithanne Astwood because of the inability to get time off having just returned from the World Amateur Championships in Canada, leaves Shirley Wildi, Jean Mylrea and Diana Diel to carry the local hopes in a field dominated by 17 overseas players from the east coast of the United States.

"We've got to accept the fact that the favourites are from abroad,'' Bermuda Golf Association secretary Tom Smith said yesterday. "There's no reason to doubt that last year's winner, Reggie Hawes, will be up there.'' Another main contender will be Lee Ann Vogel of Long Island, New York. She was second behind Griffin yesterday with a round of 79.

"I had a bad finish today,'' Vogel admitted. "I doubled (bogeyed) 16, birdied 17 and doubled 18.

"I'm usually a stroke play player but right now I prefer match play. If you have a bad hole you can forget about it and move on to the next hole.'' Vogel, like Griffin, has her sights set on the championship this year, determined to make up for last year when she was beaten in the semifinals by Marshall.

Two-time winner Hawes plays Rosalie Catlin of Greenwich, Connecticut, in today's first round of the championship flight, starting at 8.02 a.m., with Wildi meeting Mylrea and Diel playing Dolly Winwick in two all-Bermuda clashes. Griffin will meet Karen Gallin while Vogel plays Carolyn Standel.

Results, today's starting times, Page 22.