AYRSHIRE SENIOR MEN'S MATCHPLAY CHAMPIONSHIP - Alistair Belford wins inaugural Iain Harvey Trophy event

Alistair Belford (Prestwick St Nicholas) is the inaugural winner of the Iain Harvey Trophy and Ayrshire Senior Men's Matchplay Championship title after victory over Robbie Fulker (Kilmarnock Barassie) in the final at Royal Troon on Friday the 12th of August.

With the final being played on the same evening as the Ayrshire Champion of Champions Trophy final, and being refereed by Ayrshire Golf Association Honorary President, Iain Harvey, after whom the trophy is named, Alistair and Robbie matched each other over the opening five holes before Alistair took the lead for the first time with a par three at the fifth hole.

A birdie four at the sixth extended Alistair's lead to two holes but pars at the seventh and ninth holes from Robbie Fulker was sufficient for him to square the match at the turn.

Once again Alistair took the lead with a par four at the eleventh, only for Robbie to level the match at the twelfth with a birdie three.  

Robbie struggled with his putter throughout the match, missing a number of  potentially holeable putts, particularly in the back nine, and it was Alistair who once again took the lead at the fourteenth with a winning par three.

In a crucial turning point, at the fifteenth hole, Robbie was just short in two whilst Alistair, after driving into the rough and hitting  a heavy second shot, was just through the back in three and did well to chip and putt for a five. Robbie his a good chip which pulled up some ten feet from the hole but once again his putting deserted him and his missed putt meant that Alistair retained a single hole lead with three to play.

At the par five sixteenth Alistair played the hole in textbook fashion securing a solid par, but Robbie missed the green to the right with his approach and, despite a good chip, was unable to secure his par, which left Alistair dormie two in the match.

After Alistair's tee shot at the par three seventeenth found a bunker on the right of the green, Robbie played a fine tee shot to the right side of the green. 

Whilst Alistair's recovery from the bunker was good, he ultimately could do no better than a four at the hole when his par attempt pulled up just short of the hole, but this proved enough as Robbie's first putt from distance ran eight feet past the hole, and again his putter proved to be his undoing, his par putt to keep the match alive missing on the left, which secured the title for Alistair Belford with a 2 & 1 victory.

At the conclusion of the final, Ayrshire Golf Association President Scott Gilchrist presented vouchers to both finalists before handing the Iain Harvey Trophy over to the fist Ayrshire Senior Men's Matchplay Champion, Alistair Belford.