In winning the final domestic ‘major’ before he departs on his golf scholarship at St Thomas Aquinas College in New York, the 18-year-old’s five-under-par aggregate of 135 in the Le Riche Cup 36-holer, which included his second round of 65 in just two days, has seen him set a new standard that will be difficult to match.
‘I’m chasing that point one,’ the teenager said with a chuckle, looking for the nice round plus-five mark.
‘It doesn’t mean much to me, really. I just still try and go out there, shoot under par, knowing that I’m not going to win any nett competitions unless I shoot about a 55.’
The Le Riche triumph came the day after shooting his first ever 65 at L’Ancresse in winning the scratch prize in the Rihoy & Son Junior Open.
The following morning he opened with a level-par 70 to find himself three behind first-round leader and playing partner Lewis Marley at the halfway stage before he stormed to the top of the leaderboard thanks to seven birdies in the afternoon.
Though he revealed that 65 could have been even better.
‘The wind wasn’t too bad, so I had a lot of wedges into greens and gave myself a lot of lot of looks and got the putter going on the front nine – then it went cold on the back,’ he said.
‘I quite like being in the position of chasing because then it gives me an excuse to go aggressive, so it’s like I just start throwing stuff at pins.
‘The greens were surprisingly soft, as it was quite damp out there. But it was just playing aggressive and just getting away with it, really.’
While McKenna is pleased to be in such good touch less than a fortnight before heading on his US adventure, it means that Guernsey will be missing their form player in both the junior and men’s inter-insulars.
‘People have been saying that, but it’s something I’ve looked forward going to for so long, there’s no point putting it off, as I can still come back,’ he said.
‘After four years the Inter-Insular will still be here, but the opportunity to go away and play isn’t always there.’
Read more on the Le Riche and Tradesmen’s Cups in Monday’s Press
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