To say Kimberley Beveridge was shocked to win the Scottish Women’s Amateur Championship was something of an understatement.
The smiling, gasping 24-year-old from Aboyne just about had to re-attach her jaw to her face after it had dropped in wonderment at the magnitude of her success here at Barassie. “I really can’t believe this,” she said with a disbelieving smile.
During three days of surprises, upsets and shock results on the Ayrshire coast, Beveridge overcame the odds to beat the highly-rated Chloe Goadby on the final green with a shot that will live long in the Aberdeenshire youngster’s memory.
“It was the shot of my life,” said Beveridge of her superbly flighted 8-iron from just over 130 yards into the last which rolled to within a couple of feet of the hole and set up a title-winning birdie.
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In a nip-and-tuck final of fluctuating fortunes, Beveridge rallied from two down early on to forge a two hole lead with just three to play only to be pegged back to all-square when Goadby took advantage of the par-fives at 16 and 17 with birdies to draw level.
Regularly 40 to 50 yards behind her opponent off the tee, Beveridge, who recovered from a shoogly spell on the front nine, used her accuracy and canny short game to her advantage and the fact she was, more often than not, hitting into the greens first seemed to suit her game. The 18th summed up her approach.
🎥 | Hear from your 2019 Scottish Women’s Amateur Champion, @KimboBeveridge.
— Scottish Golf (@ScottishGolf) June 30, 2019
Read the end of tournament report 👉 https://t.co/fQES5vhH0V pic.twitter.com/HRRbMmHbYy
As the tension mounted, she asked a big question of her opponent with that terrific second shot to up the ante. Goadby couldn’t come up with an answer and Beveridge added her name to a celebrated roll of honour which includes her decorated Aboyne clubmate of yore, Janette Wright.
“My brother Keil (her coach and PGA pro) told me just to play my own game and to just find the fairways and the greens,” said Beveridge. “I’ve always hit a short ball and I’m used to hitting into the greens first. It suits my game.”
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Goadby had trundled in a 40-footer for birdie on the second and a 30-footer on eight to move into a two hole lead but she would lose four of the next five as Beveridge settled into the tussle.
Goady three-putted the ninth to give her rival a toe hold and a birdie on the next drew Beveridge level. She missed a short eagle putt on 11 which would have given her the lead but birdies at 12 and 13 had Beveridge two holes to the good.
The pendulum of a ding-dong battle swung back in Goadby’s favour with a brace of birdies at 16 and 17 but Beveridge delivered the decisive blow on the last to finish with a flourish.
“My Aboyne clubmate, Shannon McWilliam has done really well recently and that motivates me,” added Beveridge of the exploits of McWilliam, who played in the Curtis Cup last year.
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“I work in the pro shop at the club. Hopefully I get the day off after this. I think I deserve it.”
Elsewhere in the unpaid ranks, Euan Walker lost out on a second major title - and a place in the Open - within the space of seven days after finishing runner-up in the European Amateur Championship in Austria.
The Barassie man, who was pipped to the Amateur Championship on the final green a week past Saturday, closed with a surging 66 for a 12-under 276 but couldn’t reel in Matthias Schmid of Germany.
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