10 years on since the infamous ‘Collapse at Kinross’ 24 players arrived at the spiritual home of the EuroDov Tour determined to write their names in the history books.

Led out by 2 players who took part in the very first match, Andy Love and Kevin Brannan were poised for a monumental battle over the day.

When the Captain’s set out their line-ups we were given the glimpse of some tasty matches, and none more so than the opening match which saw Captain v Captain. As the opening tee shots were sent down the par 3 first, the match was underway, and the excitement built.

The early exchanges were very favorable to Team Love in the opening groupings Andy Love and Stuart Allan would reach the 4th tee 2 UP a piece with the leader board looking decidedly red. Brannan pulled one back on 4 but back-to-back wins for Love saw him 3UP with 6 holes played.

On the course alongside them Stuart Allan was winning the battle of the big hitters as he got to the 6th hole also 3 Up over Allan Kinnear.

Barry Cunningham in match 3 continued the march for Team Love halving the first hole then winning the 2nd and 3rd reaching the 6th hole at 3Up.

Team Brannan had some blue on the board though in the shape of Ally Greenshields. Playing David McColgan, he halved the first hole but won holes 2 thru 4 and reached the 6th at 2UP.

There was more blue on the board for Team Brannan in the 5th match as Andy McGregor won holes 2 thru 4 against Paul Gowens and reached the 7th tee 2Up also.

The first three matches were fairly one sided. Brannan got the opening match back to all square after winning holes 7, 9 and 10 but then lost holes 11 thru 14 to find himself 4 down, when Love won the 16th hole he sealed the win and the point for his side.

Playing alongside them Stuart Allan had long sealed his team’s point with a 7&5 win on the 13th hole. His relentless march against Allan Kinnear included no lost holes in an impressive display of golf.

Cunningham’s charge in march 3 was almost as imperious getting to 6Up after 10 holes, however a revival from Baxter dragged the contest out to the 16th hole where Cunningham managed to close out the match 3&2 and put Team Love 3-0 up on the leaderboard.

Greensheilds was the only glimmer of hope for Brannan in match 4, but he had to fight for it. After getting to 3Up thru 4 holes he was pegged back to all square after 8 and would find himself pulled back to all square after 11 also. Greenshields would win the 12 and 13th holes only to be pegged back on 14, win 15, then pegged back on 16. As the pair headed to the 17th hole Greenshields had the narrow advantage of 1Up, and he wouldn’t slip up here. He held his nerve and won the hole and the first point for Team Brannan.

Match 5 got to all square on the 8th hole before Paul Gowens ran of 3 holes in a row to open up a 3Up lead and never got pinned back.

Stuart Sutherland and John Hedges had a real battle in the middle order with the lead change 8 times and no player going more than 1UP until the 17th hole where Stuart Sutherland capped of a 3 hole win streak on 15, 16 and 17 to win 2&1 and give Team Love a 5-1 lead at the half way point.

Jim Robertson overcame a slow start winning the 6th hole to go 1Up on Kieran Lynch and never looked back. He closed his match out 4&3 to give Team Brannan a point back on the board.

Alan Duncan recorded one of the quickest wins in RyDov Cup history sealing his match 8&6 on the 12th hole. He never lost a hole the entire match and only halved 4 holes. Team Brannan were suddenly back in it at 5-3.

The rookie of the year in 2023 Richard Mair had no intention of taking his foot of the gas winning his match 4&3 over Stephen Hedges. After being 2Dn thru 4 Mair clawed it back to all square after 7. He’d then push on and not lose a hole the rest of the match sealing the win on the 15th hole. Mair’s point made it 5-4 and the tide seemed to be turning.

The final 3 points came in almost simultaneously and had profound effects on the outcome of the tournament.

The first point on the board was Graeme Rose for Team Love. After a back and forth front 9 he took control of his match on the 10th hole and never looked back, despite the best efforts of Denis Duncan he pushed on and sealed a point for Team Love with a 3&2 win.

Up ahead the match of the day was coming to a close on the 18th green. Callum McNeill and Daniel Peck were facing off against each other in a SanWedge battle to the death. The match started with 2 halved holes before Peck went on to win holes 3-6 and take a 4Up lead.

The 4Up lead would be maintained through the front 9 with McNeill with all the work to do on the back 9. And work he did.

McNeill won holes 11 thru 13 to cut the lead to 1UP and by the 16th he’d managed to square the match in an incredible turn of events. After clawing Peck back McNeill didn’t settle there but pushed on with wins on 17 and 18 sealing one of the greatest comebacks in RyDov Cup history.

The final match of the day also went the distance after a ding dong battle between Graeme Connor and Stuart Harwood. Connor led 1Up for the first 3 holes before being begged back and the match staying level thru 6, then Harwood took the initiative reaching 2UP before being pegged back to level after 10.

It was Connor’s turn to lead again, and he did so, winning 11 and 12 before getting brought back to level thru 14, a win on 15 was cancelled out by a win for Harwood on 16 and a half on 17 sent them down the last with all to play for.

After such a tight match it is agonizing to see the match go anyway other than a half, but Connor managed to step up one last time and win the 18th hole and the last point of the morning.

As the players retired for lunch it was Team Love in command with an 8-4 lead heading into the afternoon matches.

First out for Team Love was Andy Love and David McColgan. They faced off against Allan Kinnear and Andy McGregor – with Kinnear looking to make it is 6th win out of 6 with a different partner each time!

The match as a whole was a fairly tight affair. Kinnear/MacGregor won the first hole but were back at all square after 4. They’d lose 5 but win 6, then lose 7 but win 8 and win on the 9th hole saw them take the lead into the back 9.

A win on 10 took them 2UP but wins for Love/McColgan on 12 and 13 saw the match square again.

Kinnear/MacGregor took the initiative winning 14 and 15 but were pulled back on 16 and when they won 17 the sealed the first points of the afternoon for Team Brannan.

Almost simultaneously one hole behind Team Brannan sealed another 2 points through Greig Baxter and Stevie Orr. The pair were playing Stuart Allan and Paul Gowens and the Team Love pairing of Allan and Gowens had the wind behind their sails in the first 7 holes keeping themselves just ahead of the Team Brannan pairing.

But the match was halved after 8 and stayed that way into the back 9, however Baxter/Orr pushed on 4 of the next 5 holes and sealing the match 3&2.

Barry Cunningham and Stuart Sutherland were the only thing keeping Team Love ahead. After squaring the first hole against Kevin Brannan and Jim Robertson they won 4 of the next 5 holes to go 4UP, a position Team Brannan couldn’t recover. The match bounced along more competitively than the opening holes before Team Love won out 5&4.

With 3 matches played the score sat poised at 10-8 to Team Love and has matches 1 & 2 came to an end the board was very blue indeed.

Anderson/Lynch in match 4 had won the first hole for Team Love then lost 5 of the next 6 holes to find themselves 4 down. Despite a rally in the later half of the match Greenshields/Mair held on to win 2&1 and level the match at 10-10.

In the final two matches Team Brannan were dominant and were 2Up and 3UP respectively.

In the second from last match Denis Duncan and John Hedges were in control against Graeme Connor and Callum McNeill. When the players left the 10th green, they were 3UP and just 8 holes away from reaching the 12-point mark and retaining the cup.

However, Connor/McNeill had other plans. Winning 11 thru 14 they pulled their match back to all square in scenes reminiscent of McNeill’s morning heroics. The match would remain halved through to the 17th hole where Connor/McNeill would win to go 1Up, the first time they were head since the opening hole and a half on the 18th was enough to seal the 2 points for Team Love and keep the match alive.

After all that had gone before them the final match of the day would determine the outcome of the tournament. Team Brannan needed a win, anything less and Team Love would win the trophy. So when the players passed thru the 10th hole and Team Brannan were 4Up, it looked like it would be all over for Team Love.

However, Hedges/Rose had other plans and a win on the 11th hole and 13th and 14th pulled it back to 1UP, but when Duncan/Harwood won 15 it seemed all was lost.

But cometh the hour cometh the men. As Duncan/Harwood missed the par 3 16th from the tee, Graeme Rose hit a perfect 9 iron to 25 feet, and the only ball on the green. As their opponents got ready to play their chip shot, Stephen Hedges stalked the putt and when his time came, he stroked it perfectly into the hole for the win to pull the match back to 1.

The nerves were beginning to show on the 17th tee and Hedges and Rose sent two perfect tee shots down the middle of the fairway to increase the tension more. Harwood, opting for a hybrid over a driver sent his down the middle of the fairway in a show of defiance, with Duncan leaking his right it was still a tight affair.

It was Team Brannan’s turn to play first, and Alan Duncan was in the middle of the fairway 105 yards out as Team Love watched on Duncan thinned his wedge, over the green and into deep rough. Advantage Hedges/Rose.

It is never easy following a player who has just thinned a shot, but Stephen Hedges steadied himself over the ball, his trust 7 iron in hand and played the perfect little pitch shot to 8 feet, leaving Graeme Rose and uphill putt for the hole.

Harwood and Duncan deliberated over their shot from all angles but in the end the combination of the rough and boundary wall made any shot impossible and had to concede the hole and the match was all square walking on to 18.

High drama indeed, just three holes earlier Team Brannan held a 2 hole lead and now were faced with the prospect of winning or nothing on the 18th hole.

Leading off for Team Love Hedges found the centre of the fairway allowing Graeme Rose to open up his shoulders and launch a 3 wood down the left-hand side of the fairway just short of the fairway bunker 40 yards short of the green.

Duncan, still reeling from his mistake on 17, followed Hedges into the centre of the fairway and Harwood with a driver in hand sent his tee shot left and up the first hole, finding himself 40 yards short of the green with a shot to the pin.

As the crowds gathered round the 18th green high drama was developing. Hedges/Rose had already opted to use Rose’s tee shot and stood whilst Duncan and Harwood debated. Spooked by his shot on 17 Duncan delegated the second shot to Harwood and sent him back 100 yards to his tee shot.

Harwood sent his shot towards the green and despite being pin high, found the greenside bunker. Advantage Team Love.

Hedges looked at his shot, surveyed the landscape and with a wedge in hand lifted his ball over the fairway bunker and on to the green and watched as the ball released to 15 feet. Realistically Hedges’ had left Duncan no option but to hole his bunker shot.

As Duncan steadied over the ball and took his swing, the tournament was over the moment the ball failed to clear the lip of the bunker and make the green.

Hedges/Rose had won the last 3 holes of the tournament to seal the win for Team Love 14-10.

It was one of the most dramatic finishes in the history of the tournament and was witnessed by the entire field surrounding the 18th green, it’ll no doubt go down in the history of the EuroDov Tour and will be part of its folklore forever.

What seemed a runaway victory in the morning became a dog fight in the afternoon but Team Love were left holding the trophy in 2023 and in the most dramatic of circumstances.