The Ayrshire A Team beat Renfrewshire on Sunday 18th
October at Bonnyton GC, in the West Of Scotland Inter County league, to claim
the championship title for the first time in 27 years.
Going into the match both teams knew that the winners on the
day would win the league title for 2015, and whilst Ayrshire were bidding to
end a barren run dating back to their last win in 1988,
Renfrewshire were
hoping to extend their unprecedented run of successive championship wins to 13,
having not tasted defeat in the West League since Dumbartonshire won the title
on 2001.
Jack McDonald opened for Ayrshire against Matt Clark and was
well ahead early on before Clark found his putting touch and pegged McDonald
back to be all square playing the last. In a top class tie, the players halved
the final hole in birdie threes to end all square.
Tommy McInally put Ayrshire’s first full point on the board
with a 3 & 2 win over Andrew Farmer before the match was squared again when
Malcolm Pennycott, who was leading after five holes, lost 6 & 5 following a run of five birdies and an eagle
from his opponent.
Keith Hamilton held out for a notable one hole win over
Craig Watson to put Ayrshire ahead once more and when Stuart Robin added a 2
& 1 win in his tie, Ayrshire only required a point from the remaining three
ties to ensure victory in the match and the championship.
After 14 holes Craig Telfer was all square but lost fifteen
and sixteen which resulted in a 2 & 1 defeat, but Ayrshire hopes remained
high with both Steven Wallace and John Shanks one hole ahead after fourteen in
their respective ties.
Steven Wallace extended his lead to two holes after fifteen
and at the sixteenth a par five was good enough for Wallace to win his tie by 3
& 2. Having contributed five wins from five during the series, it was
fitting that Wallace’s win gave Ayrshire the required 4 ½ points to win the
match.
In the final tie on the course, John Shanks remained one
hole up with two to play, but two closing birdies by his opponent was enough to
pull one hole back to leave their tie all square and give a final match score
of Renfrewshire 3 Ayrshire 5.
Match details (Ayrshire names first) :-
Jack McDonald
(Kilmarnock Barassie) halved with M. Clark
Keith
Hamilton (Ayr Belleisle) beat C. Watson by 1 hole
Tommy
McInally (Loudoun) beat A. Farmer by 3 & 2
Stuart Robin
(Prestwick St Cuthbert) beat P. Reilly by 2 & 1
Malcolm
Pennycott (Whiting Bay) lost to D. Anderson by 6 & 5
Craig Telfer
(Prestwick St Cuthbert) lost to C. Pirie by 2 & 1
Steven
Wallace (Prestwick St Cuthbert) beat S. Watt by 3 & 2
John Shanks
(Irvine) halved with D. Dickson
AYRSHIRE 5
RENFREWSHIRE 3
The 2015 win is the ninth time that Ayrshire have won the
West Of Scotland title since the competition began in 1936, the previous wins
being in 1936, 1938, 1948, 1966, 1968, 1970 1971 and 1988,
Following on from
the success earlier in the season in the Scottish Area Team Championships at Balirgowrie , this win provided a perfect end to the season for the management team of John Rushbury, Gordon Boyle and Allan Muir.
Over the five match series a total of 13 Ayrshire players
took part, from nine clubs throughout the county:-
Ayr
Belleisle – Keith Hamilton & Jim Johnstone
Ballochmyle –
Craig Hamilton
Irvine –
John Shanks
Kilmarnock
(Barassie) – Jack McDonald
Loudoun –
Tommy McInally
Prestwick St
Cuthbert – Steven Wallace, Stuart Robin & Craig Telfer
Royal Troon –
Michael Smyth
Turnberry –
Gordon Boyle & Scott Brown
Whiting Bay –
Malcolm Pennycott
Today, Monday 26th October 2015, the 2016 Subscription forms and entry forms for three major Ayrshire events have been forwarded to all member clubs by email.
