McKenna spearheads challenge
McKenna came in seven shots behind the winner, Heysham’s Jack Senior, last year when one of the players in joint second was a certain Tom Lewis, who subsequently made his mark in The Open and then won early in his professional career in Portugal.
The scoring was high 12 months ago, with Senior claiming the spoils with a 19-over-par total of 299.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdIt will be another stern test over the next three days as well after the Royal Lytham course was toughened up ahead of the Open Championship returning there this summer.
McKenna is a man in form, having already chalked up two wins on the Scottish circuit this season. Now he’s aiming to join the likes of Charlie Green, Stephen Gallacher, Graham Rankin, Lorne Kelly, Stuart Wilson and, most recently, Lloyd Saltman by winning this eevent on Sunday.
The tall McKenna is among 16 Scots in the field, joining the likes of South African Amateur champion Brian Soutar (Leven) and Glenbervie’s Graeme Robertson.