Michael Sims is hoping to become the second player in four years to win back-to-back Bermuda Opens this week as the Island?s premier golf tournament gets underway at Port Royal on Thursday.

The Canadian Tour rookie produced arguably the most commanding performance of his career in 2005 when he blitzed the Open field to triumph with a record score of 12-under par ? though he will have to play as well if not better to match the achievement of returning American pro PH Horgan, who captured two straight titles in 2003 and 2004.

Sims flew home yesterday to begin preparations for the defence of his title, having narrowly failed to qualify for golf?s World Cup in partnership with Dwayne Pearman at the 12-team Nations Cup in Aruba last week.

The duo will be keen rivals this week, however, as last year?s top two look to stamp their authority on one of the strongest fields ever assembled in the Open?s history, including 40 overseas professionals.

By his own admission, Sims has had a frustrating year in the US, playing brilliantly one day only to see all the good work undone the next by a flurry of bogeys and double bogeys.

His best performance in the last 12 months came at the Telus Edmonton Open in July, where his fourth-place finish took him briefly to 47th in the Canadian Tour?s Order of Merit ? though apart from that he has missed the cut in the majority of tournaments he?s entered.

?It?s not been easy,? said Sims, who will only have a couple of days off after the Open before heading to Houston, Texas for the first stage of Q-School, where he will again try to earn a coveted PGA or Nationwide Tour card.

?Unfortunately the results haven?t necessarily reflected the way I?ve played. I feel like I?ve been hitting the ball well for most of the year ? maybe as well as I?ve ever done. But for some reason I just haven?t found the consistency that I need.

?I feel very good about my game though and I can play as well as I did last year. I haven?t really looked at the field yet so I?m not sure what to expect but I know I?m going to have to play my best in order to win it again. We?ll have to wait and see.?

Of the overseas professionals who will be on show at Port Royal this week, perhaps the most famous is former PGA Tour player Mike Donald, whose epic battle with eventual winner Hale Irwin at the 1990 US Open is the stuff of golfing legend.

Donald is a regular competitor in the Bermuda Open and currently plies his trade on the Champions Tour.

Former Open winner Tim Conley and former Belmont Invitational winner Ian Doig also take their place in a field boasting many foreign golfers who have made the Open a regular fixture on their annual schedules.

Among the local professional contingent, Sims and Pearman head a list which includes the likes of Riddell?s Bay pro Scott Roy ? who set a course-record 62 at Riddell?s earlier this year ? as well as Tucker?s Point pro Andrew Trott, Kim Swan and Frankie Rabain, who is in his early 70s and the oldest player among the 65 competitors.

Some of the top amateurs competing include Englishman Dave Allison, the 2005 Bermuda Amateur Match Play champion, and the UK-based Anthony Mocklow, who lost to Nick Mansell in the final of the same event this year.

Tournament director Alex Madeiros, who played a central role in attracting the corporate sponsorship which was responsible for swelling the tournament?s overall prize pool to an all-time high of $60,000, said yesterday he was thrilled with the calibre of players the Open had attracted.

?I?ve only been involved with the Open for two years, but the field is much, much stronger this time and there really is no telling who could win,? he said.

?(Port Royal superintendent) Nick Mansell and his staff have been working hard to get the course in the best shape possible and all of us involved with the Open are looking forward to Thursday morning.?