Damian Palanyandi secured a second win on the inaugural Moon Gate Tour at a windswept Port Royal Golf Course yesterday.

The top player carded a five-over 76 in the trying conditions to clinch both the overall and amateur titles by one shot and with it the $600 winner’s share of the prize money on offer.

“I’m happy to come out on top,” Palanyandi told The Royal Gazette. I played solid on the front apart from my four putt on 6.

“Back nine was a slow bleed; only hit two greens on the back. Honestly, I was kicking myself coming off 18th green thinking it wasn’t good enough, but played very solid tee to green.”

Palanyandi’s round included a birdie, four bogeys and a double bogey.

“My good friend Jayson Jackson had the greens rolling so nice today,” he added. “The wind was up and the greens were very fast, so you just couldn’t miss it in the wrong place.

“I am looking forward to the next event.”

The triumph was also the first outright for Palanyandi having finished tied for first with professional Nick Jones at three over also at Port Royal in February.

He has produced a string of impressive displays since making his PGA Tour debut at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal last October.

Leroy Burch and Jarryd Dillas, the Bermuda Match Play champion, rounded off the podium finishers in the amateur field and were tied for second overall at six over.

Scott Roy won the professional division having also entered the clubhouse with a share of second place overall at six over along with fellow professionals Jones and Dwayne Pearman and amateurs Burch and Dillas.

Roy carded three birdies, five bogeys and two double bogeys at the par-71 Southampton layout.

Jones finished second among the professional field and Pearman third.

Promising teenager Oliver Betschart punched well above his weight on the way to finishing tied for tenth with former Bermuda and St George’s Cup Match spinner Delyone Borden at 13 over.

Betschart, 13, is back on island following a hectic nine-week playing stint on the Southern Texas PGA Junior Golf Tour where he achieved seven top-three finishes, including three victories.

Also among the field at Port Royal yesterday was Moon Gate Tour founders and professionals Andrew Trott-Francis and Chaka DeSilva.

Trott-Francis finished tied for seventh at ten over and DeSilva tied for 15th, a further seven shots back.

The pair created the Tour to afford more competitive opportunities for local professional and low handicap amateur players.

A total of seven 18-hole medal events are scheduled to be held with the season to conclude in September with a 36-hole Tour Championship.

The Tour will alternate between the public golf courses – Port Royal and Ocean View – for its inaugural season.

All events will be scratch competitions, or gross only, and will be contested by a maximum of 36 participants for each event, of which up to 18 can be professionals.

The balance of the field will comprise amateur golfers with the lowest handicaps.

LEADERBOARD

Damian Palanyandi (a) 76

Leroy Burch (a) 77

Scott Roy 77

Nick Jones 77

Jarryd Dillas (a) 77

Dwayne Pearman 77

Andrew Trott-Francis 81

Jevon Roberts (a) 81

Paul Adams 82

Oliver Betschart (a) 84

Delyone Borden 84

Brent Giannone (a) 85

Aaron James (a) 85

Jamie MacMilan (a) 87

Matthew Smith (a) 88

Roger Brangman (a) 88

Chaka DeSilva 88

Shawn Knight (a) 89

Craig Christensen (a) 89

Kyle Lightbourne (a) 89

Cory DeSilva 90

George O’Brien (a) 90

Junior Robinson (a) 90

Scott Barnett (a) 94

Steven Lambert 94

Stephen Jones (a) 95

Mackih McGowan (a) 95

* (a) amateur