Talented McKinstry is making his Marc

At just 16, the Cairndhu GC member is the youngest ever player to win this title.

His consisent performances saw him scoop top spot by a significant 13-point margin.

“To win this over all the events throughout the year is a great honour for myself. I never thought for a minute that I could ever win this Under-18 boys’ trophy,” said Marc.

From a strong golfing family, McKinstry, who has already represented Ireland in the ‘4 Nations in Holland’ and more recently showed what he can do at the Italian Open near Milan, puts a lot of time and effort into improving his game.

“I do play a lot of golf, but realise that I do have to put a lot more work into my game on the practise ground. Working on my short game will be a priority this year,” he admitted.

His dad, John, who is also captain of the Ulster Boys’ team, told the Times: “Marc needs to perform to justify his selection in the Ulster team. To finish first in Ulster certainly made my job a lot easier when it came to the selection process.

“Both my wife, Nicola, and myself are very proud of Marc’s achievements.

“He has two years left in Under-18 boys’ golf and hopefully he will continue to improve.”

Reece Black, also from Cairndhu, won the Under-15 Order of Merit, while Ryan Long was fourth in the Under-18s category.