WEST OF SCOTLAND INTER COUNTY UNDER 18 LEAGUE - 3 in a row for Ayrshire

The Ayrshire Under 18 team made it three wins from three in the 2018 West Of Scotland Inter County league, for the Wishart Trophy, when they defeated Dumbartonshire at Ballochmyle on Sunday 22nd July.

The winning Ayrshire under 18 team at Ballochmyle
(Ruben Lindsay is missing from the photograph)

With some team regulars unavailable for the match, the strength in depth of the Ayrshire squad this season was exemplified during the match with some notable results being recorded by the team members on the day.

Luke Greig (Irvine) was out first in the four under 16 ties but had a tough task against Kyle Murphy (Clydebank & District) who played excellent golf throughout to give Dumbartonshire the lead with a 5&4 win.

Kerr Brooks (Irvine) quickly leveled the match with a 5&4 win in his tie and a 4&3 victory for Fraser Russell (Royal Troon) edged Ayrshire ahead.

In the final Under 16 tie, John McCracken (Kilmarnock Barassie) was square playing the seventeenth but was unfortunate to see two tee shots finish narrowly out of bounds to go one down with one to play. At the final hole McCracken had an opportunity for a winning birdie four to square his tie but his putt narrowly missed the hole and he lost the tie by a single hole.

In the penultimate of the four under 18 tuies, Ewan Milligan (Kilmarnock Barassie) cruised to a 7&5 victory to put Ayrshire 3-2 ahead and when Rob Yorston (Loudoun) fought back in the latter holes to claw back a two hole deficit for a half match, Ayrshire only needed a point from the final two ties to maintain their 100% record for the season.

John Lomas (Ayr Belleisle) came to the final hole needing just a half for victory and he duly secured a par to half the hole and win his tie by one hole, and more importantly secure victory for the team.

In the anchor tie, Ruben Lindsay (Ayr Belleisle) maintained a lead throughout the match and closed out the tie by 372 to give Ayrshire a 5 1/2 - 2 1/2 victory overall.

Ayrshire's next match in the series is against Glasgow on Sunday 19th August at Pollok.

Match details (Ayrshire names first):-

Luke Greig (Irvine) lost to Kyle Murphy (Clydebank & District) by 5&4
Kerr Brooks (Irvine) beat Jamie Kelly (Bearsden) by 5&4
Fraser Russell (Royal Troon) beat Liam taylor (Bearsden) by 473
John McCracken (Kilmarnock Barassie) lost to Ashton Maclean (Clydebank & District) by 1 hole
Rob Yorston (Loudoun) halved with Kieran Hughes (Hilton Park)
John Lomas (Ayr Belleisle) beat Jack Cuthberson (Windyhill) by 1 hole
Ewan Milligan (Kilmarnock Barassie) beat Jordan Smith (Clydebank & District) by 7&5
Ruben Lindsay (Ayr Belleisle) beat Jack Pike (Clober) by 3&2

AYRSHIRE   5 1/2     DUMBARTONSHIRE   2 1/2