Dwayne Pearman is backing compatriot Michael Sims to rebound from an early exit from Q-School in Florida last week and get his career back on track.

Sims bowed out of Q-School at the Second Stage at the Plantation Preserve Golf Club.

A four-round total of one-under-par 283 left Bermuda’s top golfer 18 places shy of the final qualifying position in a tie for 38th.

Only the top 20 and ties advanced to the Final Stage of Q-School.

“I didn’t play well enough to move forward,” a clearly disappointed Sims said last week.

Pearman is confident, though, that Sims will overcome the setback.

“I think he will bounce back,” he said. “It is tough out there competing against so many people and if you are not on for that week, then it is not going to be your turn.

“He put one or two good rounds together, but you have to put all four together and I know he realises that and knows it is not easy.”

Sims’s ultimate goal is to qualify for the PGA Tour, a feat that Pearman feels the past Bermuda Open champion is capable of.

“I don’t think we have seen the best of Michael Sims yet,” Pearman said. “He is a tough fellow and I still feel he can do it.

“I know he can do it because he has the game, but it is just a matter of being on at the right time. I think he can do it because he still has time on his side and he is a good player.

“It is not easy out there because there are so many young players coming out, so you have to be right on these days. These guys are coming out of college and are kicking right in.”

Meanwhile, Pearman, who celebrates his 51st birthday tomorrow, will resume his quest for a first Gosling’s Invitational crown in decades at Belmont Hills Golf Club starting on Monday.

The Port Royal head professional is the last local player to win the tournament, having done so in the early 1990s when the tournament was then known as the Belmont Invitational.

Despite having not played the sport competitively lately, Pearman is confident he can hold his own in a field where a record 43 professionals will be among those competing for $60,000 in prize money.

“I have been practising and I have been the hitting the ball OK,” he said. “I have not played any tournaments so I know I am not tournament-tough. But I am happy with the way I am hitting it.”

Although he qualifies as a senior, Pearman is competing in the professional division that boasts Bill Walsh, the defending champion, past champion Joe Horowitz and last year’s runner up Brian McCann.

“I do intend to play in senior tournaments next year, but I am going to stick with the young boys in this one,” Pearman said. “I am not ready to throw the towel in yet.

“I still feel like I am hitting the ball OK and these guys have played more golf than me.

“They have given me something to go for because I am not going to lay down and throw the towel in if I am still capable. It is a strong field, so it should be a good battle for the medal.”

Daniel Augustus was the top local professional last year.