A hole-in-one and a near record-equalling round were the highlights of the Bermuda Golf Association’s Monthly Medal at Turtle Hill Golf Club last weekend.

Shortly after 8am on what would usually be a quiet Saturday morning, screams of joy reverberated around the course as Melinda Frith made a hole-in-one on the 129-yard second hole with her 9-iron shot from the tee.

“I just quietly watched as the ball got closer to the hole, but another player in the group, Anne O’Neill, was quite animated and was urging it to go in,” Frith said. “When it finally dropped, all three of us left the ground!”

Frith followed up with a birdie on the third hole and finished with a four-over par 58, one stroke behind Laura Robinson who recovered from a slow start to win the women’s division with a round of 57. In the men’s division, Jarryd Dillas scorched the tricky par-three layout for an incredible eight birdies in a six-under round of 48, falling one stroke shy of equalling Simon Lilly’s course record of 47. Lilly set the record during the inaugural Bermuda 3s World Team Championship last year.

“It was just one of those days when everything went right,” Dillas said. “I holed some really good putts, in particular for birdie on four and 14, the two longest holes on the course.

“I read that the course record was 50 until Simon Lilly shot 47 back in October, so to be only the second person ever to shoot a sub-50 score around Turtle Hill is a pretty cool feeling.”

Last month, Dillas endured mixed fortunes while representing Bermuda in two overseas events. Competing alongside Walker Campbell and Mikus Ming, he was forced to withdraw through injury from South American Amateur Championship in Santiago, Chile, but was successful in making the cut at the Latin America Amateur Championship in Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic, the following week, finishing in a tie for 47th after rounds of 73-74-75-78.

Dillas, the BGA vice-president, added: “I withdrew from the South American Amateur because of back spasms, so I went into the LAAC with no expectations whatsoever. I was a little disappointed with the way I faded over the last 27 holes, but all in all it was a good result and something positive to build on for next year. But for me, the real highlight of those two weeks was the character shown on different occasions by Mikus and Walker.

“At the South American Amateur, we learnt that Mikus had signed for an incorrect scorecard while back at the hotel after the third round.

“He handled the situation with maturity and insisted on returning to the course to inform the tournament organisers of his mistake, knowing it would lead to his disqualification.

“Then at the LAAC, Walker made back-to-back quintuple bogeys early in his first round and ended up shooting an 84. Rather than letting his head drop and getting down on himself, he went out the next day and shot a four-under par 68 to only miss the cut by three strokes.

“I was just really proud of the way they handled themselves when faced with some pretty challenging circumstances. They’re both great ambassadors for the island and the future of Bermuda golf is in good hands.”