AYRSHIRE BOYS MATCHPLAY CHAMPIONSHIP - Harvey Broadfoot succeeds in 'Double Double' bid

Harvey Broadfoot (Royal Troon) confirmed his place as the current top junior boy golfer in Ayrshire on Thursday evening, 11th of July, when he beat his brother Jack Broadfoot (Troon Welbeck) in the final of the Ayrshire Boys Matchplay Championship at Prestwick Golf Club.

With a 2 & 1 victory in the final, Harvey completed a 'Double Double' having successfully retained this and the Ayrshire Strokeplay titles in 2022 after winning both in 2021. 

Both brothers produced some excellent golf in perfect conditions over the historic Prestwick links in the final, with a combined better ball score of three under par for the seventeen holes played.

The quality of the play of both finalists was evident from the opening holes, halves in pars at the first two holes being followed by a half in birdie fours at the third, before 15 year old jack, the younger of the two siblings, took the lead at the fourth with a winning birdie three after an excellent tee shot to a perfect position was followed by a great chip to within a couple of feet from the hole.

A par three at the fifth was enough to square the match for Harvey and after a couple of halved holes in par, it was Harvey who took the lead for the first time at the eighth with a conceded par four.

Both players did well to get up and down at the ninth hole for par, leaving 17 year old Harvey with a single hole advantage as the players turned for home.

At the tenth hole a fine chip on a difficult sloping green by jack rolled to within a couple of feet from the hole to set up a winning par four to square the match once again and pars at the eleventh and twelfth saw the brothers remain tied as the match moved to the thirteenth hole.

A par four by Jack looked likely to secure another half, but in what proved to be a crucial turning point in the match, Harvey holed an excellent put for a winning birdie three to take a single hole lead once more.despite this blow, Jack continued to match his brother at the fourteenth, both players having good attempts at their birdie putts, before the hole was halved in par.

At the fifteenth Harvey played his approach first, to about fifteen feet from the hole, whilst Jack's approach was a little strong, running through to a gulley at the back of the green. Two putted by Harvey secured his par four and when Jack chipped on and his par attempt slid agonisingly past the hole, Harvey took a two hole lead for the first time in the match, with three to play.

At the sixteenth Harvey's tee shot was just a few yards short of the green whilst Jack found the cavernous Cardinal Bunker, to the right of the green and seventeenth tee. The younger brother was not finished however, playing a great bunker shot to fourteen feet pas the hole, whilst Harvey's shot from the front of the green ran just a slightly shorter distance past the hole. Jack's birdie effort ran four feet past the hole, leaving a tricky downhill putt for par, and after Harvey's birdie attempt slipped just past, and a par four was conceded, Jack needed to hole his par put to avoid defeat on the sixteenth green. Much to his credit, jack confidently holed, and the match moved to the penultimate hole with Harvey dormie two.

A great second shot to the green from Jack at the seventeenth came to rest eighteen feet to the right of the hole, whilst Harvey's second was a little strong and left, leaving him a difficult downhill third from the fringe. Keeping the pressure on, Harvey's putt rolled down to within a few inches of the hole, prompting a conceded par four, which left Jack needing to hole his tricky right to left birdie putt to keep the match alive. Despite a well struck putt, Jack's effort slipped past the left side of the hole, leaving his brother Harvey as the 2022 champion with a 2 & 1 victory.

At the conclusion of the final, Ayrshire Golf Association President Scott Gilchrist and Prestwick Golf Club Captain Peter Graham presented vouchers to both finalists, before captain Graham handed the trophy over to the 2022 champion Harvey Broadfoot.