one of the Island's biggest golf parties on Saturday.

Tim Carr, a seven-year veteran of the local wars, found himself on the right side of the altar when he defeated Mark Dupuy on the third extra hole at the Bermuda Amateur Match Play Championships at Mid Ocean Club.

Dupuy, himself an honours student in the Rodney Dangerfield School of Respect, and Carr battled each other and the elements for 38 holes -- including two regulation rounds of 18 -- before the latter won it with a 30-yard pitch to the flag on his second shot of the par-three third hole.

Dupuy, forced to re-load after sending his tee shot into the rocks on the left, came close with his follow up tee shot but conceded the six-inch putt -- and victory -- to Carr.

"That's not very good for your nerves,'' said Carr, who was four-up after the first 18 but bogeyed the 35th and 36th holes to allow Dupuy to pull even.

Carr, who lost to American Troy Ferris in last year's final, and this week knocked out three-time winner Joel Hirsch, called the win his biggest since arriving on the Island as a 24-year-old.

"It's very gratifying,'' he said. "I think it's the hardest tournament to win because it's the longest and most challenging.'' Both Carr and Dupuy endured a strokeplay qualifying round on Tuesday then three match-play rounds, including semi-final play-off victories on Friday. On Saturday, they battled through two more rounds, spiced by gusting winds of 35 miles per hour that made every shot a potential disaster.

"It wasn't conducive to great golf, that's for sure,'' said Carr.

Added Dupuy: "It was a case of whoever made the least mistakes would win.'' For the first half of the final, that was Carr. But Dupuy didn't lose confidence.

"All you can do in that situation is just play your game and hit one shot at a time,'' he said. "That's what I did and that's what any golfer has to do.'' It also helped that Dupuy's putting -- the source of faith healing from Riddell's Bay teaching pro Darren Swan this year -- got a little warmer in the afternoon session and he had closed to within two after 27 holes.

Conversely, Carr missed 10-and 25-foot putts for par on the last two and lipped a birdie attempt on the first play-off hole where Dupuy drained his 10-footer to save par. But Dupuy could do nothing but watch Carr drop his approach stone-dead on the third.

"A great shot under pressure,'' acknowledged Dupuy.

But then pressure is one thing for which Carr has a greater understanding after going to the World Amateur Championships in the Philippines last year as a late replacement in the Bermuda team.

"It was a tremendous experience,'' said Carr, 31 and due to be married this summer to Louise Winter. "Playing with those fellows, you get a feel for keeping cool when you're in the deep end. It's invaluable. You learn how to deaden your nerves in pressure situations.'' Dupuy, meanwhile, is hoping to follow Carr with a breakthrough after four and a half years of close calls.

A former winner of the Scottish and British university titles, Dupuy agrees that he's often overlooked on an Island full of top golfers. Not that he thinks it's right.

"There's nobody on the Island I'm afraid to meet,'' he said.

Carr wins marathon From Page 23 Saying he would've been disappointed by not progressing to at least the semi-finals this week, Dupuy now appears ready to make a serious run at recognition.

"I said to my wife at the beginning of the year that, if she didn't mind, I was going to play more golf, including all the majors,'' he said.

Next up is the BGA strokeplay championships, starting on June 13 at Port Royal -- where Dupuy just happens to be the two-time defending club champion.

A Port Royal select team prevailed 251 to 131 in foul weather over the George Washington University golf team yesterday at the Southampton course. The match was part of the Bermuda Department of Tourism's Spring-break programme which features a number of US collegiate teams competing in various sports.

Carr wins marathon From Page 23 Saying he would've been disappointed by not progressing to at least the semi-finals this week, Dupuy now appears ready to make a serious run at recognition.

"I said to my wife at the beginning of the year that, if she didn't mind, I was going to play more golf, including all the majors,'' he said.

Next up is the BGA strokeplay championships, starting on June 13 at Port Royal -- where Dupuy just happens to be the two-time defending club champion.

A Port Royal select team prevailed 251 to 131 in foul weather over the George Washington University golf team yesterday at the Southampton course. The match was part of the Bermuda Department of Tourism's Spring-break programme which features a number of US collegiate teams competing in various sports.

SHOWDOWN -- It took 39 holes but Tim Carr (left) finally held off Mark Dupuy to win the Bermuda Amateur Match-Play Championships on Saturday. Runner-up a year ago, Policeman Carr won the two-round final, played in windy conditions, on the third hole of a play-off at Mid Ocean.