Ayrshire comfortable qualified for the Matchplay stages of the 2016
Scottish Area Team Championships on Friday 2nd September at Dalmahoy,
in their bid to retain the title they won last year.
With the best five of the six scores from each course being added to
give the team score, Ayrshire’s four over par total of 709 saw them through as
the fourth of the eight qualifiers.
Keith Hamilton (Ayr Belleisle) led the way for Ayrshire with an
excellent three under par score of 70 in the morning over the longer East
course, with no dropped shots and birdies at the third, ninth and seventeenth.
Keith followed his morning round with a two under par 66 in the afternoon over
the West Course. After carding three bogeys in the opening five holes, Keith birdied
the sixth and seventh, bogeyed the eighth and closed out the outward half with
a further birdie at the ninth to be one over par at the turn. A bogey at the
tenth was then followed by four birdies in five holes from the twelfth to give
him a round of 66.
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| Keith Hamilton Led the way for Ayrshire with 5 under par total |
Keith’s five under par total of 136 for his two rounds was joint
fifth best individual effort of the day, behind Connor Syme (Drumoig) on 131
(-10)
The other players on the longer East course in the morning were Malcolm
Pennycott (Whiting Bay) and John Shanks (Irvine)
Malcolm went to the turn in the morning in one under par with
birdies at the third and eighth and a bogey at the seventh but the inward half
proved more of a struggle, four bogeys being carded for an eventual score of
three over par 76.
Two bogeys on the outward
half and a double bogey at the
thirteenth from John Shanks put him four over par with five to play. Things
looked brighter for him with a birdie at the sixteenth but a bogey, double
bogey finish laft John on 79 (+6) for his morning round.
Over the shorter West course in the morning, Steven Wallace
(Prestwick St Cuthbert) and Michael Smyth (Royal Troon) both returned level par
68’s, whilst Charlie Macneal (Prestwick) was one further back on 69.
Steven had a bogey, birdie start and a double bogey six at the
fourth followed by a bogey at the ninth saw him out in three over par 37.
Steven turned things around in the inward half with no dropped shots and
birdies at the eleventh, thirteenth and fourteenth to finish on level par for
the round.
Michael had a very solid round with birdies at the second and sixth
being offset by bogeys at the fourth and fourteenth to match Steven’s level par
total of 68.
Charlie birdied both the sixth and seventh on his outward nine
in the morning and despite a bogey at
the fifteenth he was on course to match his teammates until a double bogey at
the par three seventeenth pushed him to one over par for the round.
After the morning rounds, Ayrshire lay in fifth place, with the top
eight qualifying to progress to the Matchplay rounds.
Playing the longer east course in the afternoon, Michael Smyth
carded a four over par 77. All the damage was done early on with five bogeys in
the opening eight holes, but Michael dug deep and covered the remaining holes
in one under par, recording birdies at the ninth and fourteenth and dropping
just a single shot at the sixteenth.
Steven Wallace added a two over par 75 in the afternoon, an opening
eagle three and a closing birdie at the ninth being offset by four successive
bogeys from the fifth for a one over par 37 in the outward half, with further
bogeys at the eleventh and thirteenth and a birdie four at the final hole
adding up to a very useful 75 for the team score.
An opening birdie four from Charlie Macneal in the afternoon was
spoiled by a double bogey seven at the ninth but a birdie four at the tenth got
Charlie back to level par befoe bogeys at the twelfth, thirteenth and sixteenth
took his score up to a creditable three over par 76.
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| Malcolm Pennycott Best for Ayrshire over West Course |
Over on the shorter West course in the afternoon Keith Hamilton’s excellent
two under par effort was overshadowed by Malcolm Pennycott’s display, an
opening run of bogey, birdie, bogey beign followed by birdies at the fifth,
sixth and ninth to give Malcolm a two under par outward nine, which he followed
with three birdies and a single bogey at the thirteenth in the inward half for
a four under par return of 64.
John Shanks had a solid afternoon round on the West course, birdies
at the fourth and ninth and a bogey at the seventh seeing him to the turn in
one under par. Successive bogeys at the eleventh and twelfth in the inward half
gave John a score of 69, one over par, for his afternoon round.
In the defence of their title, Ayrshire ultimately qualified
comfortably for the Matchplay stages in fourth place of the eight qualifiers,
behind Lothians, North east and Fife.
The full list of team scores is :-
Qualifiers
692 (-13) – Lothians
698 (- 8) – North East
705 (par) – Fife
709 (+4) – Ayrshire
710 (+5) – Glasgow
711 (+6) – Lanarkshire
713 (+8) – North
713 (+8) – Perth & Kinross
Non Qualifiers
715 (+10) – Angus
725 (+20)- Renfrewshire
727 (+22) – Borders
738 (+33) – South
738 (+33) – Argyll & Bute
739 (+34) – Dumbartonshire
747 (+42) – Stirlingshire
753 (+48) – Clackmannanshire
The Matchplay stages commence on Saturday morning with the quarter
finals.
Each match comprises four singles ties and one foursomes, all ties
to be played to a finish.
The semi finals are played on Saturday afternoon under the same
format whilst the final is scheduled to take place on Sunday with three
foursomes in the morning and six singles in the afternoon.
The draw for Saturday morning’s quarter finals is:-
Lothians Vs North
Ayrshire Vs Glasgow
North East Vs Perth & Kinross
Fife Vs Lanarkshire
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