Jarryd Dillas etched his name into the Butterfield Bermuda Championship record books after carding the lowest round by a Bermudian during the opening round at Port Royal Golf Course on Thursday.

The amateur carded an impressive 69 to eclipse the previous best held jointly by Michael Sims and Camiko Smith by a solitary stroke.

“Obviously that’s great and it’s humbling,” Dillas told The Royal Gazette.

“I was not sure to be honest and was curious, but that’s great and just makes the experience all the more better. The conditions were benign so it was obviously good to take advantage of that.”

The 37-year-old eclipsed his previous best at the championship of 73, which he achieved on his debut in 2019.

“I hit it really well that day as well if I remember correctly and really struggled with the putter, so it was better today,” he added.

Dillas struck the ball superbly, hitting 15 greens in regulation to give himself plenty of good looks at the hole.

“I drove it incredibly well and it was probably one of the best driving rounds I have had,” he said.

“Going into it I said if I can make three on the par -3s and fours on the par-5s it gives me a good platform.

“Two sloppy three- putts on12 and 9 and it was a pretty sloppy bogey on four not to get up and down from the front.

“But I can’t be too mad about any of that because it was a great day and it’s nice to mix it all together. This 69 today might have been the highest I could have shot because I hit it so well.

“I think it was a decent showing for an amateur who works full time.”

Dillas was three under heading to the last hole but dropped a shot after three-putting for bogey from the front of the green.

“It would have been nice to finish with a two-putt but I can’t complain, it was fantastic,” he said.

Nick Jones, who is making his debut in the PGA Tour event finished at even par after starting shakily but he eventually settled into a groove and held it together, eventually being unfortunate not to have come in with a better score.

“I left a few out there,” Jones said. “I actually had three putts that were dead centre in the middle of the hole and then about an inch short or maybe even less than an inch short of going in. I was swinging good, putting well and getting used to the greens.”

Jones made an inauspicious start to his round when he bogeyed the first hole after his second shot got plugged in a greenside bunker.

“I was a bit nervous on the second shot but from there I just kept going, kept fighting and played really well,” he added.

Jones is among a bunch of players at level par, including former PGA and Open winner John Daly and former world No 1 and European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald.

“It’s a brand new experience for me playing at this level and playing in these conditions,” said Jones, whose round contained four birdies.

“It just takes more practice getting used to playing under this and as you see, the longer I played the better I got, and I felt really, really good. I am happy how I played.”

Sims finished a disappointing two-over par with his round including two birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey at the par-3 16.

“It’s a little disappointing,” the former Web.com Tour player said. “That’s about as easy as you are ever going to see this place. It’s just a couple of bad swings and they cost me.”

Former European Tour player and Government MP Kim Swan, the oldest player in the field at 65, limped in with an 89, which left him trailing the field.

“I think I was a little tentative in my play and it showed around the greens with some recovery shots that were not up to the standard I needed to convert saves,” Swan said.

“I actually hit the ball quite solidly but I made some errors around the greens.”