Faced with high winds and lashing rain, most sane golfers decided to stay indoors last Saturday.

But with play suspended for the day at the Bermuda Amateur Stroke Play Championship at Port Royal in which he was competing, 20-year-old Eric West instead took advantage of an afternoon break in the weather to bring the course at Mid Ocean Club to its knees ? equalling Michael Sims? record with an inspired, nine-under-par round of 62.

And although he could not match that kind of low scoring in tournament play on a Port Royal course he described as being in ?dreadful condition?, the young Bermudian has certainly had a year to remember in a sport he dreams of one day playing professionally.

West is one of a trio of talented young local golfers, which also includes Jarryd Dillas and this year?s Stroke Play champion Fraser Hunt, who dominated proceedings over three rounds at the Government-run course.

A golf scholar at the University of California, West played an integral part in his team?s triumph at this year?s National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championships at the Homestead Resort in Virginia ? overcoming UCLA by a comfortable six shots in the final round of competition.

Currently in Georgia to compete at the South-East Amateur Championships in Columbus, West paid tribute to his team?s ?hugely significant? victory which he said was even more ?meaningful? given that their golf programme was dwarfed in size by many of their nearest rivals.

?We are a privately funded and smaller than the other top college golf set-ups, so it was a hell of an achievement,? he said.

?We do not have any official practice facilities exclusively for ourselves and are often restricted in our use of facilities at golf clubs around campus. Now if you compare this to a college like Arizona which has a multi-million dollar programme, state-of-the-art practice facilities and where they use Nike balls even on the practice range, you get a pretty good impression of what we were up against.?

Despite this, however, West believes his game has advanced significantly over the last few years, particularly after employing the help of sports psychologist Jim Taylor in San Francisco.

?I have been improving at a good rate and developing in particular the mental side of my game,? he said.

?Jim has been great, helping me to get rid of anything negative like fear of failure or other stuff cluttering up my mind.

?Shooting 62 the other day at Mid Ocean was also a big mental step for me. A few years ago I doubt I would have been able to handle the pressure going into the last few holes, and I see that round as a turning point in my game.?

West, who last year was ranked within the top six college freshman golfers in America, will spend the majority of his summer holiday gaining more experience of tournament play, travelling to a variety of prestigious amateur tournaments across the United States.

And he remains positive about his chances of playing professionally once his college studies are completed.

?I believe I have the game to make it,? he said.

?It is just a matter of playing as much as I can and continuing to work hard. But there?s no doubt there is a long road ahead.?