LADIES WEST OF SCOTLAND INTER COUNTY MATCHES - Ayrshire win West title at Barassie



The winning Ayrshire team (photograph courtesy of Carol Fell)

The Ayrshire ladies team won the West Of Scotland Inter County series of matches, played at Kilmarnock (Barassie) from Monday 20th to Wednesday 22nd June, and now go forward to represent The West Of Scotland at the County Finals at Dumfries & County GC from 16th to 18th September 2011.

Ayrshire, who last won the West title in 2003, were represented by Rachael McQueen (Troon Ladies), Catherine Malcolm (Prestwick St Nicholas), Lesley Hendry (Largs Routenburn), Jennifer Linklater (Largs), Mhari McKay (West Kilbride), Linzi Allan (West Kilbride), Connie Jaffrey (Troon Ladies) and playing Captain Alex Glennie (Kilmarnock Barassie).

In their opening match on Monday, Ayrshire defeated Dumbarton and Argyll by 7 - 2, taking the morning foursomes 3 - 0 and the afternoon singles by 4 - 2.

Match details (Ayrshire names first) :-

R McQueen & C Malcolm beat N Ferguson & J Meldrum by 2 & 1
L Hendry & J Linklater beat L Campbell & A Laing by 3 & 2
M McKay & L Allan beat S Cadden & G Smith by 2 & 1

R McQueen lost to N Ferguson by 3 & 2
C Malcolm beat L Campbell by 3 & 2
C Jaffray lost to J Meldrum by 2 & 1
M McKay beat L McGeachy by 5 & 4
L Hendry beat G Smith by 4 & 3
J Linklater beat L McColl by 4 & 3

AYRSHIRE  7  DUMBARTON & ARGYLL   2

In the other match played on Monday, Renfrewshire, who won the Scottish title in 2010 after winning the West Division matches, beat Lanarkshire by 7.5 - 1.5

On Tuesday, Ayrshire faced the title holders Renfrewshire in what proved to be an exciting match.

Having won the morning foursomes by 2 - 1, Ayrshire found themselves lying at 4 - 4 with only the match between Linzi Allan and Renfrewshire's Gillian McKinlay still on the course.

All square on the 18th tee, both players missed the final green in two, Linzi Allan finding a greenside bunker with her approach. Whilst her opponent was unable to get up and down for four, Linzi Allan recovered well from the bunker and holed her putt for a one hole victory and a crucial winning point for Ayrshire.

Match details were (Ayrshire names first) :-

L Allan & M Mckay lost to M Briggs & E Briggs by 3 & 2
J Linklater & L Hendry beat A McKechin & D Jackson by 4 & 2
R McQueen & C Malcolm beat C Whyte & G Kyle by 2 & 1

R McQueen lost to M Briggs by 6 & 5
A Glennie lost to A McKechin by 4 & 2
L Allan beat G Mcginlay by 1 hole
C Malcolm beat L Stewart by 3 & 2
J Linklater beat C Whyte by 6 & 5
L Hendry lost to E Briggs by 7 & 5

AYRSHIRE   5   RENFREWSHIRE   4

In the other match on Tuesday Lanarkshire beat Dumbarton & Argyll by 7 - 2

With all to play for on Wednesday, Ayrshire opened with a 2 - 1 lead over Lanarkshire after the morning foursomes  and a 3.5 - 2.5 singles win in the afternoon gave Ayrshire a 100% record in their three matches and ensured the West Division title was won for 2011.

Match details were (Ayrshire names first) :-

R McQueen & C Jaffrey beat R Taylor & F E Norris by 3 & 1
L Hendry & J Linklater beat S Wood & J Potter by 4 & 2
M McKay & L Allan lost to L Lloyd & F Scott by 3 & 1

R McQueen lost to R Taylor by 3 & 2
C Jaffrey beat S Wood by 2 holes
L Hendry halved with F E Norris
J Linklater beat E Caddow by 8 & 7
A Glennie lost to A Devine by 2 holes
C Malcolm beat L Lloyd by 3 & 2

AYRSHIRE    5.5    LANARKSHIRE  3.5

In the other match on Wednesday, Renfrewshire overturned a 3 - 0 foursomes deficit in the morning to win the match by 6 - 3 overall.

Final Placings

AYRSHIRE (3 wins)
RENFREWSHIRE  (2 wins)
LANARKSHIRE (1 win)
DUMBARTON & ARGYLL (0 wins)

In what was an excellent team effort overall throughout the three days, the performances of Jennifer Linklater, with 6 wins in 6 matches, and Catherine Malcolm, with 5 wins from 5 matches, were of particular note for Ayrshire.

Ayrshire will be joined at the County Finals in September by Midlothian, who qualified this week from the East Division matches, whilst the winners of the North & South Divisions will be decided next week.