Isle of Man golfer Daryl Callister clinched two gold medals in the men’s competition at the Island Games on Thursday afternoon

The Castletown player looked imperious throughout the four-day competition and held a six-shot lead in the individual standings heading into Thursday’s final round at Orkney Golf Club.

And there was to be no let-up as he carded a round of 70 to bring home the gold in emphatic fashion, finishing five shots clear of his Isle of Man team-mate Robbie Noon who clinched silver.

Team-mate Chris Kneen was ninth, while Liam Cowin was 10th as the Manx golfers remained very much to the fore throughout the event.

All this meant that the Isle of Man quartet also wrapped up team gold in style to round off an excellent week.

Speaking to the Isle of Man Examiner, a delighted Callister said the gold medal was the best moment of his golfing career so far: ‘Ten years ago I played my first Island Games in Jersey - since then, it has always been my number one goal to win the individual gold.

‘I committed myself to my golf this year more than ever. To win in Orkney is the highlight of my golf career to date.’

Those sentiments were echoed by Noon who added: ‘Winning silver is amazing - it was a goal of mine to win an individual medal at the games - but team gold is fantastic! It was a tough few days on the course, but I’m so proud of my achievement.

Robbie Noon sinks a putt on his way to claiming the silver medal in the men's golf competition at the Island Games. Noon enjoyed an impressive week at Orkney Golf Club and, having been team-mate Daryl Callister's nearest challenger in the race for individual gold, was key to the Isle of Man winning team gold (Photo: Gary Weightman)
Robbie Noon sinks a putt on his way to claiming the silver medal in the men's golf competition at the Island Games. Noon enjoyed an impressive week at Orkney Golf Club and, having been team-mate Daryl Callister's nearest challenger in the race for individual gold, was key to the Isle of Man winning team gold (Photo: Gary Weightman) (Gary Weightman)

‘It was a great week for the team, we won the team gold, individual gold and individual silver. We set out to win team gold at the start of the week and the preparation for the games has been going on since the start of the year.

‘We have been looking at the courses, discussing strategies and having team practice sessions on the lead up to the event.

‘Day two is where we took charge of the event as a we shot six under par as a team which is incredibly impressive, especially on a course we have never seen before! This score really cemented our position in the event.

‘The courses were a lot shorter than what we usually play, but demanded a lot of precise and accurate shots, especially as the greens were so small.

‘Overall, it was a great week and we are really proud to be the sixth men’s golf team to win gold at the Island Games.

‘We as a team would like to thank our sponsors who helped make this trip possible.’

Liam Cowin was in fine form throughout the week at Orkney Golf Club and claimed a top-10 finish in the individual rankings to help the Isle of Man claim team gold at the Island Games (Photo: Gary Weightman)
Liam Cowin was in fine form throughout the week at Orkney Golf Club and claimed a top-10 finish in the individual rankings to help the Isle of Man claim team gold at the Island Games (Photo: Gary Weightman) (Gary Weightman)

In the women’s competition, the leading Isle of Man player was Emma Noon.

She finished in fifth place overall - only six shots off the podium - after posting rounds of 79, 78, 74 and 74 throughout the four days of competition in Orkney.

Breeshey Jansen was 20th, with Sarah Wignall 28th and Karen Faragher one place behind her in joint 29th.

These results meant the Isle of Man finished sixth in the team competition.