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Friday, August 15, 2025

AYRSHIRE BOY'S MATCHPLAY CHAMPIONSHIP - Jake Hendry wins 2025 title at Prestwick

Jake Hendry (West Kilbride)
is the 2025 Ayrshire Boy's Matchplay Champion after a single hole victory over Ethan McMurdo (Prestwick St Nicholas) in the fime, payed in fine conditions at Prestwick Golf Club on the evening of Thursday the 14th of August.

Jake, the runner up in the 2025 West of Scotland Boy's Matchplay Championship earlier in the season lost the opening hole to a par but squared the match with a par at the second, only to go behind again at the third when ethan had a birdie four.

Ethan's lead was extended to two holes following a birdie three at the sixth, but Jake reduced the defecit with a regulation par four at the ninth after Ethan three putted the green, his effort for par running several feet past the hole before he missed the return.

A superb second which finished within ten feet of the pin set up a winning par four at the tenth for Ethan who restorded his two hole advantage when Jake's ten foot putt for a half slipped just past the hole, but again Jake came back at the following hole with a great downhill left to right putt from twenty feet for a birdie two, which Ethan did his best to match from ten feet only to see his ball slip past the right edge of the hole.

The twelfth hole was halved in birdie fours before Jake squared the match by winning the thirteenth. A fine approach from Jake to just past the pin came to rest on the fringe, some twelve feet from the hole, while Ethan found the top right area of the green but faced a forty five foot birdie putt. Ethan's first putt came to rest two and a half feed from the hole but after jake had successfully secured his par with two putts, ethan's putt to half the hole slipped past the right of the cup and remained above ground.

Despite finding the left rough from the tee and long grass on the top of a greenside bunker in two, Jake managed a very good chip to leave himself a fifteen foot putt for par at the fourteenth, while Ethan was just twenty feet away in two. After ethan left his putt for birdie five feet short, jake was unable to capitalise, missing his par putt before Ethan recovered, holing his own par efforth to give ethan a single hole lead goign into prestwick's famed finishing loop of four holes.

Ethan's tee shot at the fifteenth was short and right and came to rest in a lie that only allowed him to hit out to the safety of the fairway, from where he found the hollow just off the back right of the green in three. 

Jake also found trouble from the tee, his shot being bunkered on the right from where he could only play out to the fairway and, like Ethan, found the hollow at the rear of the green in three. Playing first, Ethan's chip came to rest four feed below the hole while Jake's effort came to rest just two feet away. Despite a good putt, Ethan saw hs ball turn left to right and slip just past the right side of the hole, and Jake took full advantage by holing his own putt for a winning par to square the match once again.

At the sixteenth Jake drove into the grass at the edge of the cardinal Bunker while Ethan hit his poorest tee shot of the day, leaving him a long second to the green. Despite the tee shot, Ethan found the green in two, some 50 feet from the hole, while Jake's recovery came to rest a mere twenty five feet from the cup.  With the hole cut on the left of the green ethan faced awicked right to left put up and over a large slope, and his birdie effort pulled up ten feet short of the hole. Jake faced a similar putt from the shorter distance and managed to lay his ball colse to the hole, leaving him an eighteen inch putt for par.When Ethan's par putt slipped past the left of the hole, Jake succdesfully secured his own par and took the lead in the match for the first time, with just two holes of regulation play remaining.

At the seventeenth both players negotiated the hole in regulation pars, leaving jake one up going to the last.

Jake's drive at the final hole came to rest on the practice putting green adn after taking a drop from the greeen his chip pulled up eighteen feet short of the hole, leaving him a downhill right to left putt for birdie. Ethan's tee shot drifted right and came to rest on the fifteenth tee area from where he played an excellent chip under the circumstances which came to rest less than a foor from the hole, almost ensuring him a closing birdie three. 


In the event, it was of no consequence as Jake Hendry rose to the occasion and slotred home his own put for a birdie three and a single hole victory in the match to take the 2025 Ayrshire Boy's Matchplay Championship title.

At the conclusion of the match Ayrshire Golf Association President Andrew Gilligan (Royal Troon) presented vouchers to both finalist before handing over the championship trophy to the 2025 winner Jake Hendry. 

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