Paul Moultrie (Royal Troon) is the 2026 Ayrshire Senior Men's Matchplay Champion after beating Tom Loy (Irvine) in the replayed final, which took place at Royal Troon GC on Fruday 25th September.
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| 2026 Ayrshire Senior Men's Matchplay Champion Paul Moultrie (Royal Troon) |
A second shot to eight feet at the first p[rompeted a conceded birdie three to Paul after Tom found a bunker with his second, and failed to get up and down.
Both players had chances to win the second, which was ultimately halved, and a further conceded birdie to Paul, after Tom had found a bunker from the tee, saw Paul go two up after three.
Further greenside bunker trouble at the fourth saw Tom go three down when paul holed a long putt for a birdie four, and only a three putt from the front of the green at the fifth by paul prevented him going further ahead in the match.
When the sixth was halved in par fives paul remained three up and his lead was extended to four at the seventh with a regulation par four when Tom made bogey after finding yet another bunker on the hole.
The famous par three eighth hole, The Postage Stamp lived up to its reputation as 120 yards of absolute chaos in the match when both players found the greenside right bunker from the tee.
playing first paul overhit his bunker shot from a difficult lie and saw his second disappear into 'The Coffin' bunker opposite, but playing from an equally difficult lie Tom saw his second fly thirty yards over the back of the green into heavy rough. A third which finished beyond the greenside bunker he had originally played from left Tom chipping onto the green in four and leaving a holable putt for a five. With two shots for the hole, paul played a supeb bunker shott from 'The Coffin' to within tweve inches from the hole for a winning bogey four to go five up in the match
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| 2026 Senior Men's' Matchplay Finalists Paul Moultrie & Tom Loy With AGA Vice President William Fleming |
Things got worse for Tom at the closing hole of the outward nine when he saw Paul's second shot finish within a foot of the hole for a winning birdie three, to take a six hole lead into the inward nine holes.
The tenth and eleventh were halved which left Paul with a six hole lead with seven to play, but as in the first final where Tom fought back from two down with two to play to half the tie at the last, Tom refused to capitulate easily, taking the twelfth and thirteenth holes to reduce the defecit to four down with five to play.
At the fourteenth both players found the green from the tee and the hole was halved in par three to leave Paul dormie four. Both players found the green in two at the fifteenth and despite a great effort Tom's birdie putt just slipped past the hole leaving him with a par four, and importantly giving Paul the opportunity to secure the championship with two putts from forty feet. Paul grasped the chance, rolling his birdie putt to within a few inches of the hole which prompted a concession of the championship by Tom, with Paul recording a 4&3 win in the match.
Overall the standard of play from both finalist was very good in testing conditions, with Paul recording figures of one over par when the match concluded at the fifteenth.
At the conclusion of the final Ayrshire Golf Association Vice President William Fleming (Ballochmyle) presented vouchers to both players and handed over the Iain Harvey Trophy and commemorative medal to the 2026 Ayrshire Senior Men's Matchplay Champion Paul Moultrie
