SCOTTISH WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP - All Ayrshire semi final becons at Western Gailes

There will be an all Ayrshire semi final on the morning of Sunday the 25th of May 2025 in the Scottish Women's Championship at Western Gailes Golf Club, following completion of the first two matchplay rounds on Saturday the 24th of May.

Leading qualifier Freya Russell (Royal Troon) won her opening round match against Katie Graham (Hamilton) by 6&5 and followed that with an equally impressive quarter final win by 5&4 over Cara Thompson (Royal Dornoch) to secure a place in the last four where she will play fellow Ayrshire club member Hannah Ounap (Loudoun) who secured her own semi final place with a 3&2 first round win over Caitlin M Boa (Royal Dornoch) and a quarter final win by 3&1 over Rosie Maguire (Pollok)

The semi finals tee of from 08.20 am on Sunday morning.

The other Ayrshire qualifier for the championship matchplay rounds, Jodie Graham (Royal Troon) lost out in a marathon first round tie against Kaci Robertson (Nairn Dunbar) at the third extra hole on Saturday morning.

The otehr semi final on Sunday morning will feature Jasmine Mackintosh (Murcar Links) and  Susan Woodhouse (East Kilbride).

The final is scheduled to start on Sunday afternoon at 1.00 p.m.

AYRSHIRE CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP COMPETITION - Entries now invited for R.L. Crawford Trophy competition

Entries are now invited from clubs for the 2025 Ayrshire Club Championship compretition, to be held at Ayr Belleisle Golf Course on Sunday the 6th of July.

Teams of three players, each with an individual handicap of 4 or less, will contest the R.L. Crawford Trophy with the best two scratch scores from three combined for the team score.

Entry forms have been emailed to club secretaries on the 24th of May. If any club has not received the form they should contact the Area Secretary by email at ayrshire.golf@btinternet.com

Entries close on the 21st of June. 

SCOTTISH WOMENS CHAMPIONSHIP - Freya Russell leads qualifiers at Western Gailes

A yrar after finishing runner up in the championship, Freya Russell (Royal Troon) led the qualifiers for the matchplay stages of the Scottish Women's Championship being played at Western Gailes Golf Club from the 23rd to the 25th of May, following completion of the two rounds of strokeplay quualifying on Friday the 23rd of May.

Rounds of 73 and 70 gave Freya a two round total of 143, three under par.

The matchplay rounds commence on Saturday the 24th and conclude on Sunday the 25th of May.

Along with Freya, Jodie Graham (Royal Troon) and Hannah Ounap (Loudoun) also qualified for the top flite matchplay rounds to play for the national championship title.

Leading qualifying scores were:-

143 (-3) Freya Russell (Royal Troon) (73/70)

144 (-2) Abercrombie Nisbet (Gullane) (72/72)

146 (0) Jodie Graham (Royal Troon) (72/74)

147 (+1) Hannah Ounap (Loudoun) 73/74)

147 (+1) Carly McDonald (St Regulus) (72/75)

Other Ayrshire scores :-

165 (+19) Lorna Ronnie (Kilmarnock Barassie) (81/84)

169 (+23) Orla Moran (Irvine) (86/83)

173 (+27) Ilona Stubley (Kilmarnock Barassie) (86/87)

174 (+28) Sarah Ramsay (West Kilbride) (82/92)

WEST OF SCOTLAND MENS STROKEPLAY CHAMPIONSHIP - Largs win team championship at Sandyhills

The 2025 West of Scotland Men's Strokeplay Championship was hosted by Glasgow Golf Union at Sandyhills Golf Club on Sunday the 18th of May, with several Ayrshire players featuring in the prize list.

Greg Andrews (East Kilbride) won the individual event with a scratch score of 67, two ahead of Ayrshire's Craig Hamilton (Ballochmyle), Jason Butler (Troon St Meddans), and Alan McLean (Largs) who all finished with 69's. John Shanks (Irvine) completed the individual scratch prize list in fifth place with a scratch score of 70.

Both handicap prizes were also won by Atyrshire players, John Robertson (Largs) returning a nett score of 68 and Ciaran Byrne (Ballochmyle) taking second place, a shot further back on 69.

In the club team event Largs took the trophy for the second time, the team of Alan McLean, Euan Lindsay and Cameron Aitken returning a winning team total of 217, following their previous success over their home course in 2023. 

The full list of individual scratch scores were:-

LOMOND PROPERTY AYRSHIRE WOMEN'S STROKEPLAY CHAMPIONSHIP - Spaces still available as draw for championship is published.

There is still plenty of availability for late entries to the Lomond Property sponsored Ayrshire Women's Strokeplay Championship which will be held at Loudoun Gowf Club on Sunday the 1st of June, as the draw for the championship is published.

There are trophies and prizes available on both a scratch and handicap basis at the championship as well as a couple of nearest the hole prizes.

Entry is £10 and is open to female members of Ayrshire Golf Association member clubs, with a handicap of 36 or less.

Entry forms should be available through member clubs and can also be downloaded via the link below. 

AYRSHIRE WOMENS STROKEPLAY ENTRY FORM DOWNLOAD LINK

The players returning the eight best scratch scores on the day will go forward to contest the Ayrshire Women's Matchplay Championship at Largs GC later in June.

The draw for order of play is:-

AYRSHIRE SCRATCH LEAGUES - Ayr Belleisle take early lead in Division 1

Newly promoted Ayr Belleisle lead the way in the early stages of the 2025 Ayrshire Scratch League Division 1 Championship competition, with two wins in their opening three matches.

The Belleisle team recorded home wins by 4 – 2 against Royal Troon and 4.5 – 1.5 against Kilmarnock Barassie, though they lost their opening away match by 5 – 1 to defending champions Prestwick St Cuthbert.

Irvine opened their campaign with a 4.5 – 1.5 home win over Largs, while Royal Troon won their first home tie of the campaign by 5-1 against Kilmarnock Barassie.

Notable away wins were recorded in the opening matches by Largs, who won 4 – 2 at Kilmarnock Barassie, and Kilmarnock Barassie, who edged out their hosts Turnberry by 3.5 – 2.5.

Present positions in Scratch league Division 1 are:-

	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
AYR BELLEISLE	3	2	0	1	9.5	8.5	1	8
PRESTWICK ST CUTHBERT	1	1	0	0	5	1	4	4
IRVINE	1	1	0	0	4.5	1.5	3	4
ROYAL TROON	2	1	0	1	7	5	2	4
LARGS	2	1	0	1	5.5	6.5	-1	4
KILMARNOCK BARASSIE	4	1	0	3	8	16	-8	4
TURNBERRY	1	0	0	1	2.5	3.5	-1	0

 

AYRSHIRE JUNIOR GOLF LEAGUE - result updates in 2025 competitions

Ties are progressing in all the Ayrshire Junior Golf League competitions for the 2025 season.

In the LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP,  qualifying SECTION A, Irvine lead the way at the early stages from Troon Welbeck after Troon Welbeck opened with a 3.5 – 2.5 home win over East Ayrshire at Troon Lochgreen but then lost their second home fixture by 4.5 – 1.5 to Irvine.

Present positions in qualifying section A are:-

	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
IRVINE	1	1	0	0	4.5	1.5	3.0	4
TROON WELBECK	2	1	0	1	5.0	7.0	-2.0	4
PRESTWICK ST NICHOLAS	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0
TURNBERRY	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0
EAST AYRSHIRE	1	0	0	1	2.5	3.5	-1.0	0

 

In SECTION B, Kilmarnock Barassie opened with a 4 – 2 home win recently against Ayr Belleisle.

Present positions in Section B are:-

	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
KILMARNOCK BARASSIE	1	1	0	0	4.0	2.0	2.0	4
WEST KILBRIDE	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0
PRESTWICK ST CUTHBERT	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0
AYR BELLEISLE	1	0	0	1	2.0	4.0	-2.0	0

 

In the UNDER 16 KNOCKOUT TROPHY, Turnberry won their first round tie away to East Ayrshire by 4 – 0 but lost out by the same score away to Kilmarnock Barassie in the second round. With Troon Welbeck and Kilmarnock Baraassie through to the semi finals, the remaining two second round ties, between Prestwick St Nicholas & Annanhill, and Irvine & Ayr Belleisle, are due to be completed by the 1^st of June.

In the scratch team WALLACE THORNTON TROPHY, Turnberry beat East Ayrshire by 3.5 – 0.5 at Turnberry and Irvine had a 4 – 0 home win over Ayr Belleisle, to join West Kilbride in the semi finals.

The remaining second round tie between Kilmarnock Barassie and Troon Welbeck is due to be completed by the 1^st of June.

In the JUNIOR CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS TROPHY competition, Ayrshire Boys Strokeplay Champion Scott Newman lost his home first round tie to Ayrshire Boys Matchplay Champion Quintin Dunlop by 2&1.

The result of the first rounds tie between Liam Moran (Irvine) and the Kilmarnock Barassie representative , due to be completed by the 11^th of May, has still to be confirmed, while the four second round ties, which are due to be completed by the 1^st of June,are:-

Finlay Watt (West Kilbride) Vs. Gregor Hay (Ayr Belleisle)

Euan Forrest (Turnberry) Vs. Quintin Dunlop (Ayrshire Boys Matchplay Champion)

?? (Prestwick St Nicholas) Vs. Liam Moran (Irvine) or ?? (Kilmarnock Barassie)

Josh Erskine (Caprington) Vs Orla Moran (Ayrshire Girls Strokeplay Champion)

AYRSHIRE MEN'S HANDICAP LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP - Play under way in all eight qualifying sections

Play is under way in all eight qualifying sections in the 2025 Ayrshire Men’s Handicap League Championship competition.

In SECTION 1, Largs lead the way after two 4.5 – 1.5 home wins over Caprington and Portmann, though their start suffered a setback with a 5 – 1 defeat away to Tam O Shanter.

Portmann opened their home matches with a 4-2 win over Royal Troon, while Caprington recorded a 4.5-1.5 away win at Royal Troon in their opening fixture.

Present positions in Section 1 are:-

	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
LARGS	3	2	0	1	10.0	8.0	2.0	8
TAM O SHANTER	1	1	0	0	5.0	1.0	4.0	4
CAPRINGTON	2	1	0	1	6.0	6.0	0.0	4
PORTMANN	2	1	0	1	5.5	6.5	-1.0	4
ROYAL TROON	2	0	0	2	3.5	8.5	-5.0	0

 

In SECTION 2, Kilbirnie Place opened with a 4.5 - 1.5 win over Rowallan Castle, while Alton opened with a 3.5 – 2.5 away win at Annanhill.

Present positions in Section 2 are:-

	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
KILBIRNIE PLACE	1	1	0	0	4.5	1.5	3.0	4
ALTON	1	1	0	0	3.5	2.5	1.0	4
ANNANHILL	1	0	0	1	2.5	3.5	-1.0	0
ROWALLAN CASTLE	1	0	0	1	1.5	4.5	-3.0	0

 

In SECTION 3, West Kilbride lead the way after 5 – 1 wins at home to Routenburn and away to Troon Portland, though they lost their other tie played so far by 5.5 – 0.5 away to Routenburn.

Troon Portland won by 4 – 2 when they hosted Beith, while the two ties between beith and Routenburn resulted in an away win for Beith by 3.5 – 2.5 and a 3 – 3 draw in the return fixture at Beith.

Present positions in Section 3 are:-

	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
WEST KILBRIDE	3	2	0	1	10.5	7.5	3.0	8
ROUTENBURN	4	1	1	2	12.0	12.0	0.0	6
BEITH	3	1	1	1	8.5	9.5	-1.0	6
TROON PORTLAND	2	1	0	1	5.0	7.0	-2.0	4

 

In SECTION 4, Ayr Belleisle won their opening fixture away to Prestwick St Nicholas by 3.5 – 2.5, but the St Nicholas team recorded a 4 – 2 win in the return match at Ayr Belleisle.

 

Present positions in Section 4 are:-

	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
PRESTWICK ST NICHOLAS	2	1	0	1	6.5	5.5	1.0	4
AYR BELLEISLE	2	1	0	1	5.5	6.5	-1.0	4
IRVINE	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0
KILMARNOCK BARASSIE	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0

 

In SECTION 5, Troon Welbeck have opened with wins by 3.5 – 2.5 at home to Troon St Meddans and by 4 – 2 away to Golf South Ayrshire, while Golf South Ayrshire got their first win by 4 – 2 at home to Troon St Meddans.

Present positions in Section 5 are:-

	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
TROON WELBECK	2	2	0	0	7.5	4.5	3.0	8
GOLF SOUTH AYRSHIRE	2	1	0	1	6.0	6.0	0.0	4
BALLOCHMYLE	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0
TROON ST MEDDANS	2	0	0	2	4.5	7.5	-3.0	0

 

In SECTION 6, Crosshouse have opened with two wins over Wallacetown, by 4 – 2 at home and 3.5 – 2.5 away, while Ayr Seafield began their qualification bis with a 3.5 – 2.5 home win over Wallacetown.

Present positions in Section 6 are:-

	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
CROSSHOUSE	2	2	0	0	7.5	4.5	3.0	8
AYR SEAFIELD	1	1	0	0	3.5	2.5	1.0	4
STEWARTON	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0
WALLACETOWN	3	0	0	3	7.0	11.0	-4.0	0

 

In SECTION 7, Auchenharvie opened with a 4 – 2 home win over North Beach, who bounced back in their second fixture with a 5 – 1 home win over Redburn.

Present positions in Section 7 are:-

	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
NORTH BEACH	2	1	0	1	7.0	5.0	2.0	4
AUCHENHARVIE 88	1	1	0	0	4.0	2.0	2.0	4
ARDEER	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0
REDBURN	1	0	0	1	1.0	5.0	-4.0	0

In SECTION 8, Irvine Ravenspark opened with home wins by 5.5 – 0.5 and 3.5 – 2.5 over Prestwick St Cuthbert and Moorpark respectively while Loudoun had a good 3.5 – 2.5 win away to Prestwick St Cuthbert in their opening fixture.

Present positions in Section 8 are:-

	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
IRVINE RAVENSPARK	2	2	0	0	9.0	3.0	6.0	8
LOUDOUN	1	1	0	0	3.5	2.5	1.0	4
MOORPARK	1	0	0	1	2.5	3.5	-1.0	0
PRESTWICK ST CUTHBERT	2	0	0	2	3.0	9.0	-6.0	0

Qualifying matches will continue in all three sections until mid July.