The line that separates boys from youths and youths from men was blurred a little more this season with some outstanding individual performances both at national and international level.

At 17 years of age, Holywood’s Rory McIlroy is still technically a boy, yet he played just once at youths level, won two domestic senior championships and then took the European Individual Amateur Championship to finish the season as the top ranked amateur in Europe and one of the best half dozen in the world.