Kevin McKay wins the Matchplay Championship

These are two big hitters and it was always going to be close.

Here is how the match unfolded:

1st- Dean 3-putted and the hole was halved in bogeys.

2nd- Kevin visited the trees and he lost the hole.

3rd- Two pars. Dean remains 1 up.

4th- Kevin had a birdie, nett eagle, and he squared the match.

5th- Kevin needed his shot to get a half.

6th- Dean found the ditch and paid the price. Kevin goes 1 up.

7th- Dean bogeyed. Kevin won with a par and goes 2 up.

8th- Kevin is on fire. He birdies to go 3 up.

9th- Halved in bogeys

It is looking good for Kevin at the halfway stage.

10th- A difficult hole. Halved in bogeys.

11th- Dean went out of bounds. He is now 4 down.

12th- Dean won it with a par. Deficit is now cut to 3.

13th- Halved in bogeys. Nerves are hitting in.

14th- Kevin found the ravine, a big mistake. He is now only 2 up.

15th- Kevin wins with a par and he is dormie 3 up.

16th- Dean refuses to give up. He wins this hole with a birdie.

17th- The excitement grows. Dean wins with a par. Can he keep the match alive?

18th- Yes, he can. Kevin 3-putts from the back of the green and loses the hole.

After 18 holes, the match is all square. So the two combatants head to the first extra hole. After all the excitement, it was a bit of an anti-climax. Dean got caught up in the trees on the right and had to hack out. Kevin was on the green with two very good shots and he won the hole with a par.

It was a nail-biting finish and Kevin was overjoyed to get over the line. He is now the Champion Golfer for 2014 and that is something to be proud of. It’s congratulations to Kevin and commiserations to Dean.