The eight players returning the best two round scratch totals in the Strokeplay Championship, heldt at Routenburn GC on Thursday the 6th of August, qualified to take part in the matchplay event.
The cut for the matchplay championship fell at 145, with two players from three on that mark qualifying to take part.
The draw for the 2026 Ayrshire Boy's Matchplay Championship is:-
Forty three of the best young golfers in Ayrshire lined up to contest the 36 hole competition at the Routenburn course in Largs, with the championship being blessed with fine weather and some excellent scoring.
Mason Chisholm (Irvine) posted the best scratch score of the morning round with a one under par round of 67, five ahead of the eventual winner and two better than his nearest challenger Oliver Kane (Royal Troon) who posted a 69 in the morning.
In the afternoon Mason was unable to maintain the momentum, eventually posting a 76 to finish on 143, three adrift of the mark set by Finlay watt (West Kilbride) who, out in the first game of the day, posted rounds of 71 and 69 to set the target score of 140.
The eventual winner James McNeillie followed his opening round of 72 with a 68 in the afternoon to equal the leading total of 140, with his playing partner Oliver Kane being desperately unlucky not to match the total, his final putt hitting the hole and failing to drop, giving him a second round of 72 and a two round total of 141, just one off the leading score.
none of the remaining players in the field seriously challenged the score of 140, meaning the destination of the title would be decided by a three hole strokepl play play off over holes one, two, and seventeen.
In the competition for the handicap championship and the Hilmarton Trophy, totals of 132 by Miller Mackay (West Kilbride) and Jamie Robb (Royal Troon) were overtaken by Rory Reynolds (Ayr Belleisle) who posted rounds of 63 and 68 off his seven handicap for a 131 total, which was only overtaken late in the day when his clubmate daniel Ramsay (Ayr Belleisle), playing off a handicap of seventeen, posted rounds of 67 and 62 for a two round total of 129 and a two shot victory.
Playing first, James hit his tee shot at the 189 yard par three to just short of the green rom where he chipped up to within two feet of the hole and holed his putt for a par three. Finlay meanwhile had hit his tee shot to the back right fringe of the green where his downhill chip ran just past the hole but ran on five feet past, from where he just failed to hole for his par, leaving him a shot behind as the players moved to the 409 yar par four second.
James hit a fine drive to the middle of the fairway but found himself playing his second shot from some fifty yards behind Finlay's drive. While finlay found the middle of the green with his second, which came to rest some twenty five feet from the hole, james saw his approach drift to the left of the green which left him a testing chip over a steep bank on the greenside, which he did well to play to within fifteen feet of the hole. Putting first, Finlay's birdie effort missed the hole and ran three feet past, while james bravely holed his fifteen foot putt for a fine par. Finlasy succesfully holed his par put also, leaving him one shot behind James as they moved to the final play off hole, the 477 yard par five seventeenth on the course.
A fine second from James found the left edge of the green, leaving him an eagle putt of around fifty five feet. Playing second, Findlay hit an aggresive approach to the pin on the back left of the green, and was unlucky to see his ball run just off the green onto the surrounds, albeit only some twenty feet from the hole.
The Association would like to express thanks to North Ayrshire Leisure, Routenburn Golf Club, and club professional Greig McQueen, for all their assistance in hosting and presenting a succesful championship in 2026.
The championship prizewinners and final scores were:-
A four over par scratch score of 72 gave Orla the championship trophy for the third year in succession, while Sandi retained the handicap trophy with a nett score of 73.
At the conclusion of the championship the trophies and prize vouchers were handed over the the successful competitors by Ayrshire Golf Association joint coaching convenor and Under 18 team manager Paul Kennedy.
A two round total of 135 gave Matt a four stroke victory over Alan McLean (Largs), who remainst in the lead for the order of Merit title, and fellow Ayrshire county pllayer Craig Telfer (Prestwick St Cuthbert).
The previous day in the Troon St Meddans open it was host club member Louis Alberts who took top points with a scratch score of 71 over the Troon Lochgreen course, the best scratch score of the day by two shots.
With six counting events remaining to be played, present positions in the Doc Thom Ayrshire order of Merit are:-
In GROUP 1 defending champions Largs finished top of the table just ahead of Rowallan Castle.
Final placings in Group 1 are:-
Final placings in Group 2 are:-
Tam O Shanter overturned a 4-2 defecit from their first leg away to Ardeer, winning the return fixture on Friday the 31st of July at Ayr Belleisle by 4.5-1.5 to progress to the semi finals with a 6.5-5.5 victory overall.
In the semi finals Tam O Shanter will face Beith who also overturned a first leg defecit to win their tie 6.5-5.5 against Alton, when they lost the first leg away from home by 3.5-2.5 but won the return fixture by 4-2 to progress.
Leading 6-0 over Ayr Belleisle after their home leg, Drongan drew 3-3 in the return fixture to progres to the semi-finals by 9-3 overall.
The closest quarter final tie proved to be between Ayr Seafield and Caprington, after both sides won their home fixtures by 4-2 for a 6-6 tie aggregate, with Ayr Seafield progressing to meet Drongan in the semi-finals by virtue of a 26-20 counback over the individual ties in the two legs of their quarter-final.
The semi-final ties are due to be completed by the 23rd of August, with the final scheduled to take place during Finals Day at Ardeer on the 6th of September.
In DIVISION 2 West Kilbride boosted their hopes with a 4-2 home win over Turnberry in their latest fixture. West Kilbride now need a win in their final fixture at Louodun to give themselves an opportunity for promotion.
Loudoun still lead the title chase, with a home fixture against West Kilbride and an away fixture at Turnberry remaining, while Royal Troon still have two fixtures against Turnberry to play, which will be crucial to their own title aspirations.
Present positions in Division 2 are:-
The first semi final will see Graham & Alyson Hutton (Skelmorlie) host Patricia Harris & Neil Wilson (Ballochmyle) who progressed to the last four with a walkover from Elizabeth McConnell & Derek MacPherson (Rowallan Castle) who withdrew due to injury.
The other semi final sees Alistair McKinnon & Carol Moffat (Caprington) host Catherine & Alasdair Malcolm (Ayr Belleisle Ladies/Golf South Ayrshire) who booked their semi final place with a single hole victory in their home quarter final tie against Kevin Hamilton & Karen Millar (Rowallan Castle).
The semi finals are due to be completed by the 30th of August, wuth the final scheduled to take place during Finas day at Ardeer on Sunday the 6th of September.
In the first semi-final Ian Cameron & Gary Munro (Skelmorlie) will host Iain Rawlings & Matthew Purvis (Malletsheugh).
The Skelmorlie pair had an away win by 2&1 in their quarter final tie against Scott & Ross Chesney (Kilbirnie Place), while the Malletsheugh duo had a two hole home win over Alan Parsons & Thomas Anderson (Glacier) for a place in the last four.
The other semi final sees John Tully & Colin Neil (Rowallan Castle) host Morris Steveley & Derek Harrigan (Largs) for a place in the final.
Both the Rowallan Castle and Largs pairings had away wins in their respective quarter-final ties, beating Kenny Marshall & John Champion (West Kilbride) by 2 holes, and Vince Gilligan & Peter Clark (Troon Portland) by 1 hole, respectively.
The two semi-final ties are due to be played by the 30th of August with the final scheduled to take place during Finals day at Ardeer on Sunday the 6th of September.
Harvey secured his place in the last eight with a 4&3 victory over Olive Mukherjee (Gullane) and now faces Aidan Lawson (Bruntsfield Links) on Friday afternoon for a place in Saturday morning's semi-finals.
The next relevant counting events are the Scottish Men's Amateur Championship which is presently ongoing at Royal Aberdeen and the Troon St Meddans Open and Viking Krus at largs, which take place on Saturday the 1st and Sunday the 2nd of August respectively.
Present positions in the Doc Thom Ayrshire Order of Merit are:-
A first place finish in the Byrne Howard Junior Open at Royal Troon was followed by a win in the West of Scotland Junior Strokeplay at Falkirk and a runner up finish in the West of Scotland Boys Matchplay Championship at the same course.
With twelve of the twenty eight counting events now completed, present positions in the Ayrshire Junior Order of Merit are:-
Of the six Ayrshire qualifiers for the matchplay stages, four lost out in the first matchplay round on Thursday morning.
Jamie Hay (Ayr Belleisle) lost to Chris Somers (Murcar Links) by 4&3
Jenson Fergusson (Royal Troon) lost to Daniel Aitken (Aboyne) by 1 hole
Steven Stamper (Turnberry) lost to Jamie McDonald (St Andrews New) by 3&2
Finlay Andrew (Turnberry) lost to Ross Laird (Glenbervie) by 5&4
In the first matchplay round Harvey beat Charlie Reynolds (University of St Andrews) by 4&2 and was joined in the last thirty two by Jack Crawford (West Kilbride) beat Cole Stewart (Carnoustie Caledonia) by 3&2.
In the second matchplay round on Thursday afternoon, Harvey beat Georgie Jackson (Turnhouse) by 3&1 while Jack lost out to Aidan Lawson (Bruntsfield Links) by 2&1.
On Friday morning Harvey plays Oliver Mukherjee (Gullane) for a place in Friday afternoon's quarter-finals.
The other Ayrshire interest, in the shape of Australian Campbell Kerr, whose family hail from the Galston area, saw Campbell beat Ollie Blackadder (Paul Lawrie Foundation) by 1 hole in the first matchplay round before his title bid ended on Thursday afternoon in the last thirty two when he wasdefeated by Ross Laird (Glenbervie) at the 20th hole.
Having won the West of Scotland Junior Strokeplay Championship earlier in the week, Finlay booked his place in the final with a semi-final win at the first extra hole on Thursday morning, the 30th of July, over Thomas Watson (Old ranfurly) before being defeated by a single hole in Thursday afternoon's final.
Finlay is pictured on the left with the strokeplay trophy, alongside the matchplay championship winner Oliver Gill.
He would like to put his thanks on record to Past President Andrew Gilligan for asking him to be Vice President and giving him the honour of being President.
The decision was intimated on the 25th of June 2026.
In the interim, Ayrshire Golf Association Vice President William Fleming (Ballochmyle) and immediate Past President Andrew Gilligan (Royal Troon) will share responsibility for Association matters until the next Annual General meeting in October.
Vice President William Fleming expresses his thanks to Barry for his time on the Executive over the past six years and once again for giving him the opportunity to be his Vice President during his time as Ayrshire Golf Association President.
With Drongan leading Ayr Belleisle 6-0 and Ayr Seafield leading Caprington 4-2 after theoir home legs of their quarter finals, the other two quarter final first leg ties also resulted in home wins, with Ardeer beating Tam O Shanter 4-2 and Alton beating Beith 3.5-2.5
The second legs of the quarter-final ties are due to be completed by Sunday the 2nd of August.
Prestwick St Cuthbert had a 2-1 home win over Skelmorlie to book an away tie against Tam O Shanter in the last four, while Auchenharvie 88 had a 2-1 win at home to Troon St Meddans and will now travel to play Troon Portland for a place in the final.
The two semi finals are due to be completed by the 30th of August, with the final scheduled to take place during Finals day at Ardeer on Sunday the 6th of September.
West Kilbride had a 2-1 home win over Redburn to set up a home semi-final tie against Girvan, who booked their place in the last four with a 2.5-0.5 home win over Irvine Ravenspark in the quarter-finals.
Royal Troon had a 2-1 away win over Ayr Belleisle in their quarter-final tie and will now travel to play Kilmarnock Barassie in the semi-finals.
Both semi-finals are due to be completed by the 30th of August, with the final scheduled to be played during Finals day at Ardeer on Sunday the 6th of September.
Troon Portland's away defeat to Rowallan Castle by 3.5-2.5 recently confirmed that Troon St Meddans could not be caught at the top of the table and will win the title, Division 3 trophy, and promotion to division 2 in 2027.
Rowallan Castle were also confirmed as being relegated to Division 4 in 2027.
With four fixtures still to be completed the remaining promotion and relegation places are still to be confirmed.
Ballochmyle have home matches against Troon Portland and Troon St Meddans to play and an away fixture at Troon Portland, while Troon Portland have also still to visit Prestwick St Nicholas before final placings are decided.
Present postions in Scratch league Division 3 are:-
Harvey Broadfoot (Royal Troon) was the highest placed of the Ayrshire players in the qualifying, fourth spot on 140, two under par for the two qualifying rounds.
Harvey was joined in the matchplay rounds by Jack Crawford (West Kilbride), Jamie Hay (Ayr Belleisle), Jenson Fergusson (Royal Troon), Steven Stamper (Turnberry) and Findlay Andrew (Turnberry), with the qualifying score falling at 149 (+7).
The Ayrshire interest in the matchplay stages extends to Australian resident Campbell Kerr, whose family originate from the Galston area, who qualified in joint 24th place on 146 (+4).
The full list of Ayrshire players qualifying scores and placings were:-
140 (-2) - 4th - Harvey Broadfoot (Royal Troon)
145 (+3) - equal 15th - Jack Crawford (West Kilbride)
147 (+5) - equal 36th - Jamie Hay (Ayr Belleisle)
148 (+6) - equal 42nd - Jenson Fergusson (Royal Troon), Steven Stamper (Turbnberry)
149 (+7) - equal 60th - Findlay Andrew (Turnberry)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
151 (+9) - equal 81st - Cameron McGarvie (Prestwick), Harris Vennard (Ayr Belleisle)
152 (+10) - equal 98th - Matthew Allen (Western Gailes)
153 (+11) - equal 108th - Cameron Aitken (Largs)
154 (+12) - equal 117th - Calum Nairn (Prestwick St Cuthbert)
155 (+13) - equal 124th - Gregor hay (Ayr Belleisle)
156 (+14) - equal 138th - Louis Alberts (Troon St Meddans), Scott Hannah (Prestwick St Cuthbert)
157 (+15) - equal 149th - Harvey McDonald (Loudoun)
160 (+18) - equal 182nd - Blair Morton (Royal Troon), Kevin Thomas (Troon St Meddans)
161 (+19) - equal 190th - John Shanks (Irvine)
165 (+23) - equal 225th - Dominic Booth (Turnberry)
Thre other former Ayrshire players failed to qualify for the matchplay stages.
Scott Newman (Gourock) was equal 67th on 150 (+8), Malcolm Pennycott (Royal Burgess) was equal 117th on 154 (+12) and Daniel Forbes was equal 124th on 155 (+13).
The matchplay rounds commence over the Royal Aberdeen links on the morning of Thursday the 30th of July.
Harvey Broadfoot plays Charlie Reynolds (University of St Andrews)
Jack Crawford plays Cole Stewart (Carnoustie Caledonia)
Jamie Hay plays Chris Somers (Murcar Links)
Jenson Fergusson plays Daniel Aitken (Aboyne)
Steven Stamper plays Jamie McDonald (St Andrews New)
Finlay Andrew plays Ross laird (Glenbervie)
and
Campbell Kerr plays Ollie Blackadder (Paul Lawrie Foundation)
In the quarter finals Finlay beat Cammy Pike (Lenzie) by 8&7 to set up a semi final clash on Thursday morning, the 30th of July, against Thomas watson (Old Ranfurly)
Ayrshire's other qualifier for the matchplay championship, Ryan Steven (Ayr Belleisle) lost out in a marathon quarter final tie against Cameron Burns (Glasgow) which needed three extra holes, with Burns winning on the 21st hole of the tie.
The second semi final on Thursday morning is between Burns and Oliver Gill (Lanark).
Best of the day of the Ayrshire players was Harvey Broadfoot (Royal Troon) who lies in joint sixth place after recording a two under par score of 69 in his opening round.
Harvey lies two shots behind the first round leader Campbell Kerr from Brisbane, Australia, who himself has a strong Ayrshire connection with his father hailing from Galston and with several close relatives still living in the Galston area.
Jamie Hay (Ayr Belleisle) lies in joint twenty first place after an opening round of 73, two over par, while Harris Vennard (Ayr Belleisle) is in joint 39th place on 74, three over par, alongside former Ayrshire Boys Champion Scott Newman (Gourock GC).
The other Ayrshire players first round scores and current positions are:-
76 (+5) - 74th equal - Findlay Andrew (Turnberry), Jack Crawford (West Kilbride), Steven Stamper (Turnberry)
77 (+6) - 95th equal - Jenson Fergusson (Royal Troon), Matthew Allen (Western Gailes)
78 (+7) - 120th equal - Cameron Aitken (Largs), Scott Hannah (Prestwick St Cuthbert)
79 (+8) - 136th equal - Cameron McGarvie (Prestwick)
80 (+9) = 157th equal - Harvey McDonald (Loudoun), Kevin Thomas (Troon St Meddans)
81 (+10) - 175th equal - Dominic Booth (Turnberry)
83 (+12) - 207th equal - Blair Morton (Royal Troon), Lousi Alberts (Troon St Meddans), Calum nairn (Prestwick St Cuthbert)
85 (+14) - 221st equal - Grtegor Hay (Ayr Belleisle)
86 (+15) - 233rd equal - John Shanks (Irvine)
Three former Ayrshire players, Malcolm Pennycott (Royal Burgess), Daniel Forbes (Glasgow) and Cameron Johnstone (Open Play) are tied on 82 (+11) in joint 185th place.
The second strokeplay qualifying round takes place on Wednesday the 29th of July with the top 64 players progressing to the matchplay stages throughout the remainder of the week.
Paul Moultrie (Royal Troon) will face Tom Loy (Irvine) in the 2026 Ayrshire Senior Men's Matchplay Championship final after coming through a marathon semi-final tie on Monday the 28th of July.
The final, along with the Ayrshire Men's and Ayrshire Women's Champion of Champions Trophy finals are scheduled to take place at Royal Troon on Friday the 14th of August, commencing from 5.00 p.m.
A 5.5-0.5 home win over Caprington recently kept the Belleisle team ahead of defending champions Prestwick St Cuthbert, who maintained their hopes of defending the title with a 6-0 home win over irvine in their latest fixture.
In the other fixture played recently irvine fought out a 3-3 draw with their visitors from Largs.
The destination of the 2026 title looks to hinge on the two fixtures still to be played between Prestwick St Cuthbert and Ayr Belleisle, while the Belleisle team also have an additional fixture to complete at home to Irvine.
Present postions in Scratch league Division 1 are:-
Ayr Belleisle Vs Irvine
Ayr Belleisle Vs Prestwick St Cuthbert
Caprington Vs Largs
Caprington Vs Irvine
Largs Vs Irvine
Prestwick St Cuthbert Vs Ayr Belleisle
In Scratch League Division 3, Troon St Meddans all but secured the 2026 title with a 4.5-1.5 home win over Ballochmyle in their latest fixture.
The only team still able to match Troon St Meddans' points total are Troon Portland, who would need to win their remaining four fixtures, At home to Ballochmyle and away to Prestwick St Nicholas, Rowallan castle, and Ballochmyle by substantial scores, and hope that Troon St Meddans took nothing from their final fixture away to Ballochmyle.
Present positions in Scratch league Division 3 are:-
