championships hail from overseas.

But it was two local teams who stole the thunder in yesterday's opening round at Port Royal.

Former winners Bill Pitt and Henry Ascento, who will fly out next week with Hav Trott and Tim Carr to represent Bermuda at the World Team Championships in the Philippines, put themselves in position to repeat their 1992 triumph with a first round of one-under par 70.

And they were joined at the top of the leaderboard by Zane DeSilva and Douglas (Blip) Morris who also combined for a 70.

Two shots back on 72 were the defending champions, Dennis Connors and Dan Rourke.

Connors, from Florida, and Rourke, from Massachusetts, met in Bermuda several years ago and won their first Four Ball title back in 1991.

Today sees the second round of the 72-hole tournament while a dozen ladies' pairs will tee off in the first round of the 54-hole ladies championship.

Defending champions Joan Connors from the US and Bermuda's Judithanne Outerbridge are not competing together this year with Connors having teamed up with Suzanne Brett and Outerbridge skipping the event altogether.

ON TARGET -- American Dan Rourke tees off during yesterday's Four Ball Amateur Strokeplay golf championships at Port Royal, watched by partner Dennis Connors (far left) and local pair Zane DeSilva and Douglas (Blip) Morris. Rourke and Connors are the defending champions but it was Morris and DeSilva who excelled yesterday, firing a one-under-par 70 to share the first round lead.