Oldcastle youngster showcases his talent

Oldcastle’s Mark Cadden chalked up a notable achievement when he became only the fifth player from Meath to claim the top prize at the National u-16 Strokeplay Pitch & Putt Championships at Lakeside, Co Tipperary recently.

Cadden, who is only 14 and a student at St Oliver's Post Primary School in Oldcastle, was in unstoppable form, not only claiming top spot but racking up the highest winning score in 41 years.

In taking the title Cadden emulated his fellow county players – Junior Smyth, Tony Lacey, Shane Farrelly and Evan Carry - who also achieved memorable victories in the competition.

Cadden, however, went a step or two further by clocking up 102, the highest winning aggregate score since David Kineen who won with the same tally at Mellows Pitch & Putt Club, Galway back in 1980. It is only the second time in the history of the competition 102 has been the winning score.

This is the second consecutive year that Cadden has won a National Strokeplay title following his success in the u-13 grade last year. He is also the first National Matchplay runner-up to win the National Boys’ Strokeplay Championship.

A member of both the Oldcastle Pitch & Putt Club and Headfort Golf Club, Kells, Cadden has been on a crest of wave over the past few years chalking up a number of notable triumphs in both codes.

As a golfer he won the prestigious Gary Player Trophy in September 2020. The large, much-coveted trophy is presented to the winner of Ireland's biggest junior golfing tournament - the Irish Junior Open Tour - with Cadden holding off some very strong competition from many of Ireland's top young golfers to win.

In presenting the trophy at the time tour founder Michael Gallagher from MG Pro Golf said that Cadden had shown "lot of heart and determination to claim the top prize."

Cadden's successes were highlighted on national television last November when he took part in RTE’s ‘After School Hub’ programme which featured young players who excelled at their chosen sports.

Still only at the foothills of his career as a golfer and pitch & putt player, the Oldcastle youngster (whose caddie is his father Michael Cadden) has underlined with victories such as the National Strokeplay title how strong a talent he is on courses both in Meath and further afield.