Ebonie Cox was forced to overcome adversity on her way to winning the Bermuda Match Play Championships at Port Royal Golf Course on Sunday.

The fourth seed overcame a wobbly start to the tournament and a nasty cut on her shin before beating No. 7 seed Tracey Burgess 6 and 4 in the final match to chalk up a fourth ladies’ match play title.

“I think it’s special because this time I actually wanted it,” Cox said. “I set a goal for myself at the beginning of the year, with regards to my own competitive golf, and this just ticks off one of the check marks.

“It’s the first time probably in a while that I have played a tournament and felt that I played to the level I know I can play at, and that’s not just winning and scores.

“I want to feel like I hit the ball well, putted well and made the right decisions, so I think I am trending in the right direction and it was really exciting for me this weekend to feel that again.”

Cox, who eliminated defending champion, top seed Kim Botelho, on her way to the title, did not get off to the best of starts as she struggled to find her rhythm after seeing very little action in the lead up to the tournament.

“I didn’t play for probably at least four weeks and the tournament was maybe two weeks later, so just trying to get my rhythm back was what I was really struggling with,” she added. “It affected how I was driving the ball since I have been back.

“I have been playing long enough and know what I have to do, but I just wasn’t able to correct it as quickly as I would have liked to this time.”

Undeterred, Cox stuck to the task at hand.

“I went in on Saturday [quarter-final] knowing what I had to do and was able to do,” she said. “Once I started driving the ball better and hitting fairways, that made me more confident in my overall game. It definitely did wonders for my confidence knowing that I can just strike the ball to my standard again.

“A lot of people think just because it goes far, you may be happy. But I really want to feel I have done well by my standards, and not just anyone else’s.”

Cox’s triumph came at a cost as she cut her left shin after striking it with a club during the qualifying medal round on Friday.

“I went down to strike the ball and just heard and felt that it wasn’t right, so I looked down and my club head is missing,” she recalled.

“I felt the little pain in my leg that stopped me for about ten minutes trying to get the bleeding to stop.

“Initially it looked worst and I was just lucky enough not to have hurt my wrist and be able to continue.”

Cox does not believe the match play format plays to her strengths, so she was delighted to grab the win.

“Match play has been an Achilles heel for me,” she said. “I have never been the strongest player in match play, so to get it done in convincing fashion was definitely a confidence booster.”

Retaining his title in the men’s match play championship was defending champion, top seed Jarryd Dillas, who beat No. 6 seed Damian Palanyandi by two holes in a tight final match.

“It was a great battle in the final against Damian and it could have gone either way,” Dillas said.

“I thought the quality of the golf that we played from start to finish was really good.

“I made one birdie, one bogey and 16 pars for the match. Just a lot of fun and a great way to win my tenth match play.”

Third seed Steven Perry prevailed 1 up over 5th seed Geoffrey Piggott to claim the senior men’s title.