John and Gillian Donald didn’t want it to happen, but they wrote their own little piece of history recently when the married couple qualified to play against each other in the Seniors Championship at Gardiners Run Golf Club outside Melbourne.

Gillian Donald, a past women’s captain at the club, was triumphant 3&2 over her husband of 45 years in the matchplay final.

It is the first time any couple has played in the club’s matchplay final, and possibly the first time anywhere in Australia.

“I did the right thing to save our marriage,” said John Donald, with tongue implanted in cheek.

Gillian Donald, who was the only woman to reach the 16 who qualified, said she took no pleasure in winning. “When I actually won, I couldn’t really celebrate it,” she said. “I just felt bad that I beat him.”

Both had progressed through three rounds of matchplay to reach the final, and both played off 13 handicaps in the climax.

“We were on opposite sides of the draw,” said Gillian. “We just thought, ‘there’s no way we’ll play each other’.”

As the weeks passed and each got through their matches, a rendezvous became more likely. One Monday, John Donald returned to their Chirnside Park home and announced that he was in the final. “She said to me through gritted teeth, ‘well played’.”

A few days later, Gillian Donald had secured her place in the final as well, and in the three weeks that passed before they were due to face off, friends around the club found plenty of amusement in the quirky draw.

“Everyone in the club was saying ‘when are you playing?’ ‘we’re backing Gill’, all this sort of stuff,” said John.

The final was a gritty affair with John coming back from 4-down through nine holes to move within two through 15, upon which a white hot Gill sunk a four-metre par putt at the 16th green to win the match.

“It was the putting,” she said. “I omitted to tell him that I went up and practised my putting for 45 minutes on the Wednesday. I made everything.”

John Donald, who plays golf with his wife most Fridays, has accepted defeat and moved on. “I was a terrific sport,” he said, a point confirmed by his wife.