Debbie Watt (Ayr Belleisle Ladies) is the 2025 Lomond Property Ayrshire Women's Matchplay Champion after emerging victorious in an excellent final match against Jenny Linklater (Largs) at Largs Golf Club on Wednesday the 25th of June.
Debbie began the match in great style, holing a 4 foot putt on the first for a winning birdie two, before extending her lead at the second when she succesfully two putted from the front of the green while Jenny had an uncharacteristic three putt from a similar distance.
Debbie's lead was extended to three after three holes when she just cleared the burn with her third shot, leaving her two putts for a par while jenny missed the green to the left in three, chipped up to 14 feet, but was unable to hole her putt for a par to save the hole.
At the fourth Jenny hit a great tee shot to 15 feet from the hole while Debbie missed the green to the right, from where she could only mak a bogey 4 and jenny succesfullt two putted to reduce the defecit to two hole.
At the tricky par four fifth hole both players hit excellent approach shots to within 5 feet which set up a halved hole in birdie threes.
A half at the sixth hole in 5's was the precursor to another run of three winning holes for Debbie when she won the seventh, after Jenny found a bunker with her approach and then had a three putt, the eighth when Debbie had a regulation par three and Jenny could only manage a 4 after misssing the green to the left from the tee, and the ninth when Debbie made a good up and down from the left for a five and Jenny missed her putt for a half after hitting a tree with her approach and taking three more to get down.
As the match turned for home Debbie held a commanding five hole advantage but Jenny immediately hit back, taking the tenth with a good 4, and the eleventh when debbie found trouble from the tee and Jenny safely found the putting surface in three, prompting a concession.
A half in 5's at the twelfth was follwied by a pivotal point in the match, and the shot of the day at the thirdeenth. With both players on the right of the fairway from the tee, debbie hit first, her fairway wood shot soaring towards the green, which was followed by an equally fine strike towards the putting surface from Jenny with her second. As the players neared the green Jenny's ball lay some 35 feet away, past the hole, while Debbie's bal lay a mere 4 inches from the flag. Despite a great effort, jenny was not able to match Debbie's conceded three and they moved to the fourteenth tee with Debbie four holes ahead.
Jenny missed the fourteenth gree to the right from the tee and chipped up to 3 feet while Debbie's tee shot lay 15 feet from the hole. A missed birdie putt by Debbie and a good putt from Jenny saw the hole halved in 3's, leaving Debbie dormie 4 in the match.
Despite the scale of the task, Jenny remained determined to fight on and a great drive at the fifteenth was followed by an equally impressive approach, which was unfortunate to run just off the back of the green, from where Jenny chipped and putted to win the hole and reduce the defecit, after Debbie found a bunker with her third shot and was unable to get up and down from the sand.
At the sixteenth hole, which proved to be the final hole of the match, Debbie laid up short of the burn from the tee and played her second slightly left and just beyond the grenside bunker, whoile Jenny's tee shot carried the burn but was unfortunate to come to rest near a tree, the overhanging branches of which hampered her approach and she could only hit it left of the greenside bunker. Jenny chipped on to 6 feet in 3 while Debbie's effort from just off the green finished 4 feet past in three. Putting first, Jenny's effort stayed above ground, leaving Debbie with a putt for the hole, in the event Debbie's putt slipped past the hole but the half in fives was enough to give Debbie the match and the trophy with a 3&2 win.
At the conclusion of the match Ayrshire Golf Association President Andrew Gilligan (Royal Troon) presented vouchers to both finalists before handing over the commemorative medal and the trophy to the 2025 Ayrshire Women's Matchplay Champion Debbie Watt.
The Ayrshire Golf Association would like to thank the committee and members of Largs Golf Club for hosting the championship, the greens staff for the excellent presentation of the course, the clubhouse staff for looking after competitors and officials throughout the championship, and the sponsors Lomond Property for their continued support.
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