AYRSHIRE MEN'S CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS TROPHY - Long and Butler win through to championship final

The semi-finals of the 2024 Ayrshire Men's Champion of Champions Trophy competition were played in testing, breezy, and wet conditions on the evening of Friday the 2nd of August, with Aidan Long (Ayr Belleisle) and Jason Butler (Troon St Meddans) winning through to contest the final next friday evening, the 9th of August.

Both semi finals proved to be closely contested, with boith matches only being dsecided on the final green of reguulation holes.

Aidan Long & Andy Marshall

In the first semi final Aidan Long was up against Andy Marshall (Prestwick St Nicholas), who took the early advantage in the tie, being one up after five holes. Andy extended his lead to two holes at the eighth hole, The Postage Stamp, and maintained the advantage until Aidan reduced the defecit to one after winning the eleventh. Aidan squared the match at the fourteenth, only to go one behind again at the following hole, with three holes remaining to play.

At the sixteenth Andy found a bunker with his second shot and could only play out to the middle of the failrway, which contributed to Aidan winning the hole with a comfortable par five to level the match again, with two to play.

At the difficult par three seventeenth both players found the green with their tee shots. Putting first from forty feet away, Andy's birdie effort hit the hole but failed to drop and Aidan took full advantage, holing from twenty feet for a winning birdie two to take a lead onto the final hole.

At the last, both players found the green in two and were both around twenty feet from the hole. Putting first, Andy's effort fell off to the right of the hole and although Aidan's effort also failed to drop, the hole was ultimately halved in par fours to give Aidan a single hole victory.  

Jason Butler & Steven McEwan

In the other semi final Jason Butler was up against three time former winner Steven McEwan
(Caprington).

Jason raced to an early three hole lead after six holes but Steven hit back, taking the seventh, eighth, and ninth to square the match at the turn.

Jason restored his advantage at the eleventh and extended his lead to two holes at the fifteenth, before Steven again hit back with a winning birdie at the sixteenth to go back  to just one down. A half at the seventeenth took the match to the final hole with Jason one up. 

At the final hole both players cam up short of the green with their approach shots and when Jason's chip pulled up well short of the hole an opportunity opened for Steven to win the hole ant take the match to extra holes, but his chip pulled up around ten feet from the hole. Jason's par effort slipped past the hole but Steven was ubnable to convert his own putt for par, the ball slipping past the left of the hole, leaving the last halved in fives and giving Jason the place in next week's final by virtue of a single hole victory.

The final next week will be new territory for both players, neither having appeared at the final stage of the event in the past.