AYRSHIRE FOURBALL FINAL - Maybole beat Ballochmyle at Irvine

2013 Fourball Champions
Paul Ferguson & Gavin Campbell
from Maybole GC

 
The Maybole team of Gavin Campbell & Paul Ferguson beat the Ballochmyle pairing of William Fleming and David Muir in the final of the 2013 Ayrshire Fourball Championship, held at Irvine (Bogside) GC on Sunday 8th September to take the title back to the South Ayrshire club for the second time in four years.

Their 5 & 4 win in this years final followed the club's previous win in the championship in 2010 by Scott McCahill & David Wallace.

AGA President with the Finalists from Ballochmyle & Maybole

In this years final, Paul Ferguson  (2) was the lowest handicap of the four players with his teammate Gavin Campbell (7) receiving four shots in the final and their opponents Willliam Fleming (3) and David Muir (5) receiving one and two shots respectively.

The final began in bright but breezy conditions and it was the Maybole team who took an early lead with a Ferguson birdie 3 at the opening hole. Both teams recorded pars as the Maybole side remained one ahead through four, before their lead was extended to two holes at the fifth with another Ferguson birdie 3.

The lead was extended further at the sixth with a concession by the Ballochmyle team, who were in danger of the tie running away from them at this stage.

The slide was temporarily halted with a Ballochmyle birdie three at the seventh to reduce the deficit to two holes, but after both ballochmyle players found bunker trouble at the short eighth, a conceded three was enough to restore Maybole's three hole advantage.

The fighting spirit, that saw the Ballochmyle team oust the defending champions in the semi final of this years competition, was in evidence as they again reduced the deficit to two holes at the turn following a birdie three at the ninth.

The margin remained at two holes until the twelfth when a best ball bogey five by Ballochmyle allowed Maybole to take a three hole advantage once again.

At the thirteenth hole, it was Ferguson again who produced a vital birdie three to take the maybole lead to four holes with five holes to play.

 

At what was to prove the final hole of the match, the 378 yard 14th, it was Gavin Campbell who took centre stage.

 

With Muir short of the green in two and pitching on in three, and Fleming off the green to the left in two, the Ballochmyle team looked unlikely to score better than four.

 

For Maybole, Ferguson was at the back of the green in two but had a severe downhill putt which he left some 12 feet short on top of a ridge, whilst Campbell was right of the green in two but pitched up to seven feet in three.

 

Despite their best efforts, Fleming, Muir and Ferguson all failed with their putts for par fours, leaving Campbell with a seven foot put for a winning par four, which he successfully converted, for a 5 & 4 victory.

 

At the conclusion of the final, Ayrshire Golf Association President Milton Murray presented vouchers to all the finalists and hand over the Ayrshire Fourball Trophy to the 2013 Champions from Maybole, Gavin Campbell & Paul Ferguson