FOR the first time their history, Troon Welbeck are celebrating Ayrshire Club Championship glory.

The competition, for the RL Crawford Trophy, took place in glorious sunshine, with a testing breeze, over a course which, following the recent dry spell, was looking and playing to its full traditional links test.

The early leaders in the competition wee Loudoun Gowf Club who posted a 141 total in the opening few games, Stuart Brown (70) and Tommy McInally (71) posting the counting scores with Barry O'Rourke's 76 being discarded.

The total, though providing a stiff target for the teams following, would ultimately only give Loudoun third position in the competition.

Craig Hamilton (Ballochmyle) carded a superb five under par total of 66, but his two clubmates were unable to score low enough to challenge Loudoun's lead. The score did, however win Hamilton the prize for the best individual return of the day, by a single shot.

Despite some good individual scores, many of the teams could not challenge the Loudoun total until David Orchiston (70), Ian Smith (69) and Sam Findlater (77) combined for a team total of 139 to overtake the Loudoun score by two shots.

John Shanks (Irvine) just failed to match Craig Hamilton's leading individual return, carding a 67 which, along with George Robertson (73) and Alan Connery (78) gave Irvine a team total of 140 to fall agonisingly short of Troon Welbeck's winning score by a single shot.

At the close of play, Ayrshire Golf Association President John Rushbury presented vouchers to the prize-winning individuals and teams before handing the RL Crawford Trophy over to the Troon Welbeck team as 2018 Ayrshire Club Champions.

Troon Welbeck will now go forward to represent Ayrshire in the Scottish Club Championship competition at the Montgomery course, Kinross, on Saturday, September 23.