David Wilson (Troon Welbeck) - pictured right - captured the 2009 Ayrshire Boys Matchplay title at Prestwick Golf Club on Saturday 14th August with a victory at the first extra hole over Jared Williams (Kilmacolm / Troon St. Meddans).
In winning the title, Wilson became the youngest winner of the trophy, aged 14years and 9 months.
In a well matches final, Jared Williams, who lost out in the Renfrwshire Boys matchplay final earlier in the season, took an early lead after David Wilson hit an uncharacteristically poor second to the opening hole whilst Williams secured a regulatin par four.
The match was squared again when Williams found a bunker from the tee at the second and failed to extracate the ball at the first attempt, whilst Wilson, who was 25 feet away in one, recorded an easy par to square the match.
After Wilson found a bunker from the tee at the third, Williams took full advantage, a 3 foot putt for a birdie four restoring his lead.
Again the match was squared at the following hole, and again a bunkered tee shot proved decisive with Williams finding the James Braid inspired bunker at the edge of the Pow Burn and requiring to take a drop from casual water within the bunker. The drop was not ideal, plugging and restricting his stance, and whilst he struggled on the hole, Wilson played a fine approach to 18 feet to set up a winning par four.
Both players found the green over the Hymalayas at the fifth, and it was Wilson who took the hole and the lead for the first time with a fine 10 foot birdie putt.
Having covered almost a third of the round without sharing a hole, the players finally halved at the sixth with Wilson executing a superb up and down recovery from the left of the green to match Williams' par four.
At the seventh both players negotiated the hole in perfect fashion, Wiloson finishing 12 feet from the hole in two whilst Williams, who was consistently longer from the tee throughout the match, following him in to finish just three feet from the hole. On the notoriously tricky green however, both players birdie putts lipped out and the hole was halved in par.
At the eighth hole a lost ball from the tee cost Wilson a double bogey six, and the match was squared once more.
In one of the telling moments of the match, at the ninth, Wilson got up and down from short of the green, holing a difficult 12 foot putt for a par four whilst Williams, who had safely reached the green in two, took thre putts from around 35 feet to lose the hole and turn for home one down.
Williams had the opportunity to square the match at the 10th but his 6 foot putt for par hit the edge of the hole and stayed out, leaving Wilson still one ahead.
The lead only lasted until the 11th when Williams only required two putts from 15feet for a winning par three after Wilson had missed the green on the left from the tee and came up short of the green with his chip.
Williams looked favourite all the way at the par five 12th as Wilson found two bunker on his way to finding the putting surface in 5 shots. Williams by contrast was on in three but, similar to the events at the ninth, Wilson holed a good 10 foot putt for a six whilst Williams contrived to take three putts from the left side of the green which allowed his opponent to escape with an unlikely half.
The slip was compounded at the 13th when Williams found 'Willie campbells Grave' from the tee and could only play out of the fiendish bunker leaving him with a long third to the green. Whilst Wilson reached the lower apron of the green in two, Williams came up just short of the putting surface in three. Wilson showed great skill with the putter to leave his long uphill putt from the fringe close enough to the hole to ellicit a conceded par four from his opponent, and Williams was extremely unfortunate to see his attemt for a half from off the green turn away at the holeside and finish only inches away, giving Wilson a one hole leadonce more.
At the fourteenth Williams was unfortunate to see his extremely long drive reach the cross bunkers in front of the green and whilst he played out and chipped on to the green to a few feet in three, it was not enough as Wilson holed a decisive 30 foot putt for a birdie three to take a two hole lead for the first time in the match.
Buoyed by his run of winning holes, Wilson's approach to the difficult 15th green pulled up just 4 feet from the hole whilst Williams' effort was unlucky to pull up short of the green, leaving him an extremely difficult task to two putt for par. Despite the challenge, williams holed a brave second putt from 5 feet for par and was boosted when wilson's effort for a winn ing birdie three just missed the hole on the left, leaving Williams still two holes behind, with three to play.
Wilson's tee shot at the 16th was in good position on the left whilst Williams, whose driving length meant the green was well in range, was unlucky to see his tee shot catch the edge of the cardinal bunker after a kick to the right en route to the green. A slightly stroong approach from wilson saw his ball run just through the green whilst Williams played a good chip from a difficult stance on the grass bank within "the Cardinal" to 15 feet beyond the pin. Wilson's effort from off the green ran past the hole a couple of feet and williams took the opportunity with both hands, holing bravely for a winning birdie three to reduce the defecit to one hole.
At the 17th, both players negotiated "The Alps" in two, Wilson just missing the gren on the left whist Williams finished 12 feet from the hole. Wilson's birdie effort ran 4 feet past and after Williams' birdie putt also stayd above ground, wilson missed his par putt, leaving williams to hole from three feet for a winning par to square the match once again.
At the 18th, Williams cut his tee shot slightly right and found rough whilst Wilson played a perfect shot which came up just five yards short of the green in the centr of the fairway. As wilson had done earlier in the match however, it was Williams' turn to show his recovery skills, lofting a delicate chip onto the green which came to rest just 3 feet from the hole. wilson's approach finished just inside Williams' ball and both players holed their putts for birdies, leaving the match all square and going on to extra holes.
The quality of the play from both players in a difficult south west wind was bourne out by the statistics, both players going round the course in 75 strokes on the night, having already negotiated semi final matches earlier in the day.
The first hole at Prestwick has provided many tales of drama and tragedy over the years and this final provided yet another chapter in the tale when Williams teed off first and saw his iron shot drift in the cross wind and drop over the boundary wall into the railway. Wilson was visibly relieved when his own effort with an iron from the tee safely found the fairway. Wilson looked equally relieved when his approach came up safe, but short of the green, but his opponent was not giving up without a fight and Williams' approach, his fourth shot, finished 18 feet from the hole. From the front of the green, Wilson putted up to three feet, but despite a good putt, Williams' effort for a five remained above ground and prompted a concession of the hole and title to the new champion.
At the conclusion of the match, Prestwick Golf Club Secretary Ian Bunch presented vouchers to both finalists - pictured above - and passed over the Ayrshire Boys matchplay trophy and commemorative medal into the custody of the 2009 winner, David Wilson
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