The Final of the Open

“Gobsmacked” is the word Gary McKinstry, IFA with Premier Financial Planning in Belfast,  uses to describe his reaction to his win at Turnberry. The 18 holes on the Ailsa Course brought to an end the three months of fierce competition among advisers in the Investec Structured Products Open 2010.

Qualifying rounds were played around the country with the two highest scorers from each qualifier plus the next ten best regional qualifiers from throughout the tournament going through to the final at Turnberry, Ayrshire.

And with a prize of an all expenses paid two-night break at the 5-star luxury Old Course Hotel and Spa, St Andrews, including two rounds for the winner and a guest and spa treatments for their partners, the pressure was on from the start in the hotly contested final.

Going for it

Things began very badly for Gary. A terrible first hole convinced him that he had blown his chances of winning. “I was hitting into the wind and had to take a drop, and I did not score on the first hole. I thought :‘That’s it, I’ve no chance now’. So from then on I just went for it.”

At the second hole he ended up against the bunker “but then I had a wonder shot which put me back on the straight and narrow.”

From that point his game picked up, although he still felt he had nothing more than an outside chance of winning. “But surprisingly, I had a really good last five holes, including a cracking last two holes – which is when I usually bend under the pressure – and that helped my score tremendously.” By “cracking” Gary means he birdied the 17th and 18th.

The qualifying round at Portrush was a similar story, with Gary starting off poorly but just “going for it”. “I think I started off nervously and because I did so badly on the first few holes I relaxed and my game improved as a result,” he says.

Gary was one of the wild cards at Turnberry. He was outside the first two at Portrush but came to the final as one of the next ten best from regional qualifiers.  He had played Turnberry six years ago and believes playing at Portrush, a links course, and then playing the final on another links course may well have helped him win the competition.

Gary and his playing partners were first out onto the course and having scored 38 he spent the rest of the day on the balcony watching the score board update as each successive group of golfers came off the 18th.

“Every time I was thinking, someone was going to better my score. John Yuille, who played off scratch at Gleneagles came in second and I was keeping a keen eye on him.”

His only disappointment on the day was that he missed getting a hole in one at the 15th , the prize for which was a new car.

Golfing in the blood

Gary comes from a golfing family. His brother competed for the Northern Ireland team and his nephews play for the under 16 and under 18 Northern Ireland teams. “I was the black sheep of the family in golfing terms, so it was nice to win something high profile.”

Although Gary has been playing for 32 years, man and boy, he is now a Saturday and occasional Sunday player at the Cairndhu Golf Club in Larne, Northern Ireland. His handicap has swung between 4 and 6, but for the Investec Open he played off a 5.  His regular games have turned into a family event, with his wife having taken up the sport three years ago and his daughters of 12 and 9 have just begun to play also. He  also captained a local team, “which meant I played more than I might have normally, and that helped tune my game,” he says.

Professional standard

Gary praises the caddies on the day.  “They were great. They all had our names on their back so it felt like we were professional. My caddy’s clubbing was A1, and we had a good laugh going round, so that eased the tension and probably helped me win.”

If he had a professional player he would emulate it would be Rory McIlroy, Gary admits, while top of his list of courses is Lough Erne, Enniskillen. “It is the only course Rory has put his name to.”

Having been in financial services for 24 years, first with Pearl and seven years as an IFA, Gary joined Premier Financial Planning when it was established five years ago and specialises in pensions.

He sees golf as “a great sport for finding new business – about half my club are on the books” and finds a social round or two on the golf course does help cement client relationships.

Alongside golf Gary played amateur football for a number of years but breaking his leg on two separate occasions put paid to his football ambitions. “I still can’t put too much weight on the leg at times which can affect my golf game,” he says.

So, apart from his wife, who will he be inviting to accompany him to the great weekend at St Andrews that Investec has lined up as the prize for winning?

“Ah,” Gary muses. “My boss was the one who gave me the lift to the airport and, as you do, I said if I won I would take him and his wife to St Andrews. So, I am going to keep my promise and we will all be going for what will be a fantastic  experience I’m sure. I can’t wait for it.”

As to the overall competition, Gary says: “I have been playing at corporate events for over 23 years and I can honestly say this was the most professionally organised event I have ever attended. The entire competition from start to finish was first class.” It’s hats off to Investec, then? “Definitely – it was absolutely superb.”

The Final - the course

The final of the Investec Structured Product Open 2010 Investec was played at Turnberry – The Ailsa Course.

The course on which the final of the Investec Structured products Open 2010 was played was named after the third Marquess of Ailsa, who owned the land on which it was built.

A par-70, 7,211-yard championship course Ailsa has been the host course for three Open Championships.

The course is described as having a fairly tough opening in the first three holes, which can be affected by the wind blowing from the direction of the brooding isle of Ailsa Craig, 11 miles out to sea.

The 4th hole to the 11th, provide magnificent coastal scenery but the course is demanding, needing a passage of stout hitting throughout. The 5th to the 8th holes are framed by sandy hillocks, while the 9th, 10th and 11th are flanked by craggy rocks.

The official website describes the 9th accordingly: “On its stony ridge on the edge of the sea, the 9th hole is Turnberry’s trademark. The landmark lighthouse casts shadows over the 13th-century ruins of Bruce’s Castle, the reputed birthplace of Scotland’s hero king Robert the Bruce, and the narrow path to the tee and the drive across the corner of the bay fill players with trepidation.”

The back nine, like the front nine, require both cleverness and control. The steep incline of the plateau green on the 13th hole – known as Tickly Tap or ‘Tricky Little Stroke’ - makes one of the largest putting surfaces on the course look rather small.

Likewise, the subtle contours of the 17th hole, Lang Whang, slightly obstruct each shot—also characteristic of the trickery of Turnberry.

On the 18th, although the red-roofed hotel may be in sight, gorse running down the right side and the distracting tops of small dunes, which slightly obstruct the view of the landing zone, make finding the fairway difficult.

For more details on Turnberry, Tel: 
01655 334032 or visit: www.turnberry.co.uk