On Tuesday the Sarnian teenager became the first Channel Islander to win a US college tournament, capturing the Post Eagles Fall Invitational individual title at the Watertown Golf Club in Connecticut.
Representing St Thomas Aquinas Spartans, the former CI men’s champion produced a masterpiece of composure.
McKenna opened the tournament by carding two identical one-under-par rounds of 70 before holding off the chasing pack with a superb final round of 69 to win by three shots at four under par. Only two players finished in the red.
With this milestone victory, McKenna will enter the Official World Amateur Golf Rankings for the very first time.
He is the first Guernsey player to achieve a world ranking since Trystan Perkins and stands as the only world-ranked men’s player from the Channel Islands following Jo Hacker’s transition to the professional ranks.
Prior to this breakthrough, McKenna had been in excellent form throughout the autumn season.
While two impressive runner-up finishes had already put him in contention, earlier frustrations at not getting over the line made this maiden victory all the sweeter – a testament to his growing maturity on the course.
It was a double celebration for St Thomas Aquinas, which secured its second consecutive team victory and third overall of the season.
McKenna now heads to his final tournament of the month in New York, where he will test his skills against Division I golfers at the Wykagyl Collegiate.
With their stellar performances led by the Sarnian star, the team has qualified for the 2027 NCAA Division II Atlantic/East Regional Championship finals at the end of the spring season.
The regional winners will advance to compete at the national finals in May.
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