AYRSHIRE MATCHPLAY CHAMPIONSHIP - Hamilton wins second title at Barassie

2014 Ayrshire Matchplay Champion
Craig Hamilton
(Ballochmyle GC)

Craig Hamilton won his second Ayrshire Matchplay title at Kilmarnock (Barassie) on Friday evening, 9th May 2014, when he defeated Steven Wallace (Prestwick St Cuthbert) in the final of this years competition.

Previous winner of the championship in 2008 at Western Gailes, Hamilton was never behind to Wallace, who was making his first appearance in the Matchplay Championship final.

Hamilton opened the match in perfect style, taking the first hole with a birdie four and when Wallace bogeyed the third hole, Hamilton led by two holes.

At the par three fourth hole, Wallace reduced the deficit following a three put from Hamilton but when Wallace missed the green on the right at the fifth hole and failed to get up and down for par, Hamilton restored his two hole lead with a par four.

A lost ball from the tee at the par three sixth hole, after a blocked tee shot, led to Wallace conceding the hole to Hamilton whose lead increased to three holes.

With the seventh halved in pars after a good chip and putt from Wallace, Wallace reduced the deficit to two holes at the eighth, getting up and down from a greenside bunker for a winning birdie four after Hamilton missed his birdie effort from three feet, but having missed the green to the left with his approach to the ninth and following it with an indifferent chip, Wallace conceded the hole to Hamilton and the Ballochmyle player turned for home with a three hole lead.

At the tenth hole Hamilton increased his lead to four holes after holing a good birdie putt but again Wallace came back at him at the following hole, recovering from apulled tee shot to record a winning par four after Hamilton missed his approach left and failed to chip and putt for par.

Both players narrowly missed their birdie efforts at the twelfth, leaving Hamilton's lead as three holes and when Wallace went through the thirteenth green with his approach and failed in his effort to save par, Hamilton restored his four hole advantage with five holes to play.

At the par three fourteenth, Hamilton missed the green right and chipped up to twenty feet whilst Wallace's tee shot found the centre of the green. Wallace narrowly missed his curling birdie effort from twenty five feet but Hamilton's lead was still reduced to three after his own par effort missed.

Three ahead with four to play, Hamilton halved the fifteenth to leave him dormie in his bid for the trophy.

At the sixteenth hole, which proved to be the last hole of the match, Wallace was at the back of the green in two, fully fifty feet from the hole whilst Hamilton was pin high on the left apron of the green. Wallace's putt ran fifteen feet past the hole whilst Hamilton, after receiving a free drop from interference by a sprinkler head, putted up to two feet in three.  Wallace needed to hole his par putt to keep any hope alive but when his effort failed to drop he conceded a 4 & 2 victory to Hamilton.  

At the conclusion of play, Ayrshire Golf Association President Milton Murray presented vouchers to both players and handed the Ayrshire Matchplay Trophy to the 2014 winner Craig Hamilton.