Despite making numerous changes to his swing and shooting a succession of disappointing scores in his first semester of a golfing scholarship at Columbus State University in Georgia, Bermuda?s top junior Jarryd Dillas enjoyed a welcome return to form last week.

The highly rated 18-year-old Bermudian, who intends to pursue a career in the sport, finished an impressive second in an 88-man field at the Rollins Intercollegiate golf tournament in Orlando, Florida.

Over the 54 holes, Dillas recorded scores of 72, 72 and a masterly 68 on the final day which confirmed his second place, seven shots back of tournament winner Joseph Lamielle of Florida Gulf State University.

The youngster admitted that he was thrilled with the outcome, particularly in light of the frustrating start to his college career which he has endured because of disruptive ?but ultimately necessary? technical adjustments.

Asked whether he therefore disagreed with the old adage, ?if it ain?t broke, don?t fix it?, he pointed out that almost all of the world?s top golfers have, at certain stages of their career, set about dismantling their swings in search of improvement.

And he argued that it was not unusual for players of his age who aspire to play at the top level, to restructure their game.

?It?s been very tough since coming here,? he conceded.

?I knew that there were some changes that I had to make to my swing to take my game to the next level. In golf, you often need to take a step back in order to go forward and I was well aware that whilst I was doing this, my scoring was likely to suffer.?

The young Bermudian went on to say that the Rollins event was the first time he had been comfortable with his game all semester and that he now felt there was ?light at the end of the tunnel.?

?Things are smoothing out pretty well now,? he added.

?At first, getting used to the new environment at Columbus State was a little difficult and adjusting to lectures and college life was unsettling. But I?m feeling good about everything now on a personal and golfing level.?

The golf team at Columbus State, nicknamed The Cougars, have now completed their autumn schedule of tournaments and have begun preparation for their upcoming spring season which gets underway in February.