Sunday 4th May 2025

Hugo LE GOFF, the highest ranked WAGR player in the field at #93, won the 59th Lytham Trophy becoming the first Frenchman to achieve this honour.

Le Goff also won this year’s Spanish International Amateur Championship at the start of March. He will be moving to the USA in the summer having earned a golf scholarship at the University of Virginia.

Disappointingly the event only generated a WAGR Power Rating of 409.3219, the lowest ever recorded for the Lytham Trophy.

Hugo Le Goff (Royal Lytham G.C.)

Round 4

France’s Hugo LE GOFF produced a superb final round 66, which included six birdies, to come through the field and win the 2025 Lytham Trophy.

Hugo Le Goff’s Scorecard (Graphic: Golf Genius / Royal Lytham G.C.)

Le Goff’s 285 (+5) total was one better than 2nd placed Tom OSBORNE (ENG) who matched the winner’s 33 on the back nine to deliver a well timed 69 of his own.

Max HOPKINS (ENG) finished 3rd, recent Battle Trophy winner Andrew DAVIDSON (SCO) 4th, Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) 5th and Matt ROBERTS (WAL) 6th after they all finished on 288 (+8) and their places had to determined on last 18 and 9 hole count backs.

Gregor TAIT (SCO) +11 8th, Oliver CATON (ENG) +11 9th, Jamie VAN WYK (ENG) +12 11th, Eliot BAKER (ENG) +12 12th and David KITT (IRL) +14 14th were the other GB&I players to finish in the top 15 at Royal Lytham.

The other 54 hole co-leader Michele FERRERO (ITA) will be disappointed with his final round 78 which saw him having to settle for 10th place. 

The average Round 4 score was 75.91 (Rd 3: 75.12). Le Goff and Osborne delivered the only under par rounds whilst two other players, Luke O’NEILL (IRL) and Henry FEATHERSTONE (ENG), shot even par 70s on the final circuit.

Final Results – Leaders (Graphic: Golf Genius / Royal Lytham G.C.)

Click here to view the – 2025 Lytham Trophy Results

Round 3

After rounds of 74 and 76 respectively Matt ROBERTS (WAL) and Michele FERRERO (ITA) fell back to +3, sharing the 54 hole lead at the Lytham Trophy.

Eliot BAKER (ENG) and Oliver CATON (ENG) on +5 and Andrew DAVIDSON (SCO), Max HOPKINS (ENG) and Luke KELLY +6 are all within striking distance.

The average Round 3 score by the reduced field of 43 players was 75.12. As in Round 2 there were no under par scores. Just two competitors managing to deliver an even par 70 on Sunday morning.

Round 3 Leaders (Graphic: Golf Genius / Royal Lytham G.C.)

ME.

________________________________________

Saturday 3rd May 2025

Round 2

Despite starting his second round with a double bogey five and also finishing with a bogey on 18 Michele FERRERO (ITA) managed to negotiate Royal Lytham in a very creditable even par 70 to take a 2 shot lead into the final day.

Michele Ferrero’s Scorecard (Graphic: Golf Genius / Royal Lytham G.C.)

Matt ROBERTS (WAL) and Oliver CATON (ENG) are the Italian’s nearest challengers on 139 (-1). Roberts shot a 72 and Caton a 71 to stay in touch with the leader. They were both 3-over after just four holes of their second rounds so fought back well to stay in contention.

On a tough scoring day only these three players remained under par for the tournament after 36 holes. 

Gregor TAIT (SCO) +1, Luke KELLY (ENG) +2 and Max HOPKINS (ENG), Daniel HAYES (ENG), Eliot BAKER (ENG) & Jackson GARNETT (ENG) +3 will all know that a good final day could still take them to the title.

44 players made the cut which fell at 148 (+8) albeit one of these, Judd SUNDELSON (RSA), withdrew from the competition after his second round.

The average Round 2 score was 77.26 which was over 2 shots worse than that seen in Round 1 (75.03). No under par scores were achieved on the day with just three players producing an even par 70.

Round 2 Leaders (Graphic: Golf Genius / Royal Lytham G.C.)

ME.

________________________________________

Friday 2nd May 2025

Round 1

Jackson GARNETT (ENG) leads the 59th Lytham Trophy after an opening 66 (-4). Jackson’s round contained five birdies including one on the 1st and one on the last.

Jackson Garnett’s Round 1 Scorecard (Graphic: Golf Genius / Royal Lytham G.C.)

Matt ROBERTS (WAL), who finished 4th last year, sits alongside Italian Michele FERRERO in tied 2nd after they both recorded 67’s. Roberts recorded one of 11 eagles in Round 1 ; his coming on the short par 4 13th.

Daniel HAYES (ENG), who enjoyed a top 10 finish in 2024, Oliver CATON (ENG) and Gregor TAIT (SCO) are one shot further back in tied 4th place.

16 players out of the 144 starters finished on even par or better. The average Round 1 score was 75.03. 

There were two holes-in-one on Day 1; David KITT (IRL) on the 163 yard 9th and Charlie ROBB (ENG) on the 196 yard 12th. 

 

Round 1 Leaders (Graphic: Golf Genius / Royal Lytham G.C.)

ME.

________________________________________

30th April 2025

The 2025 Lytham Trophy will be played between 2nd and 4th May at Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club in Lancashire, England.

Traditionally viewed as the first major event in the Great Britain and Ireland (GB&I) men’s amateur golf season it is always a privilege for the players to compete on this superb links course.

Royal Lytham & St. Annes G.C. (Photo: Golf Bible)

Format and Tee Times

144 scratch golfers from across Europe will tee off in what will be the 59th playing of this prestigious competition.

The Lytham Trophy is a 72-hole stroke play event. 18 holes are played on the first two days before a top 40 and ties cut is made. 36-holes are then played on the final day by the leading competitors.

In the event of a tie for the lowest score there will be a 3-hole stroke play play-off on holes 1, 2 and 18. If a winner still hasn’t been determined then the play-off moves to sudden death over the same holes.

Click here to view the – 2025 Lytham Trophy Tee Times (use filter for each round)

Players

Most of GB&I’s leading home-based amateurs are competing. However, due to the popularity of U.S. college golf, where the playing season ends in late May, many notable names will unfortunately be missing.

In 2024 the WAGR Event Power Number for this event was 579.9235. It was 661.0000 in 2022 and 566.2711 in 2023.

Nine players in the field are ranked in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) Top 250 with 19 in the Top 500.

Here are the 15 highest ranked competitors based on the current WAGR rankings (30/04/25 release): –

Hugo LE GOFF (FRA) #93
Pablo ALPERI LOPEZ (ESP) #126
Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) #168
Tomi BOWEN (WAL) #180
Harley SMITH (ENG) #192
Michele FERRERO (ITA) #215
Magnus BECKER FREDERIKSEN (DEN) #224
Oscar COUILLEAU (FRA) #228
Simon HOVDAL (SWE) #236
Tom OSBORNE (ENG) #291
Eliot BAKER (ENG) #300
Daniel HAYES (ENG) #303
Caolan RAFFERTY (IRL) #349
Jarno TOLLENAIRE (BEL) #380
Matt ROBERTS (WAL) #400

The Lytham Trophy and the Winner’s Replica (Photo: Royal Lytham & St. Annes G.C.)

Course

The Royal Lytham course presents a stern test. Playing off the blue championship tees competitors have to meet a 7,091 yard par 70 challenge; the front nine being 3,427 yards, a par 34, and the back nine being 3,664 yards, a par 36.

Players will tee off between 7.10am and 3.30pm on the Friday and Saturday so changes in the weather and wind speeds throughout the first two days can play a big part in scoring.

Weather Forecast (as at Wednesday 30th April)

The weather forecast for this year’s event looks excellent.

Friday 2nd May – Sunny / Wind 15 mph NW / Temp. Min. 6°C, Max. 15°C.
Saturday 3rd May – Sunny / Wind 14 mph N / Temp. Min. 6°C, Max. 17°C.
Sunday 4th May – Sunny Intervals / Wind 15 mph NE / Temp. Min. 4°C, Max. 14°C.

The 2024 Lytham Trophy

Will HOPKINS (ENG) won the 58th Lytham Trophy after a three hole play-off with Tomi BOWEN (WAL) and James ASHFIELD (WAL). All three players finished the regulation 72 holes on 279 (-1).

Matt ROBERTS (Ev) made it three Welshmen in the top 4 with a strong performance on the final day. Ukraine’s Lev GRINBERG finished tied 5th alongside South Africa’s Daniel BENNETT and Lytham member Jamie VAN WYK (all on +1). England Internationals Daniel HAYES (+2) and Ben BOLTON (+3) finished in the top 10.

Click here to view the – 2024 Lytham Trophy Final Results

Will Hopkins (Photo: Royal Lytham G.C.)

History, Past Winners and Records

The competition was first played in 1965 after the Club identified a need for a new top class amateur competition and one that could be played in the North of England.

A date on the first weekend in May was established and a 72 hole stroke play format adopted.

Member’s subscribed to purchase the unique sputnik trophy. This remains at Royal Lytham with a smaller replica handed out annually to the winner.

The event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

As one would expect the list of past winner’s is a who’s who of GB&I amateur golf.

Of the older winners the most notable are: –

Michael BONALLACK – 1965 (s), 1972
Rodney FOSTER – 1967, 1968
Geoffrey MARKS – 1970 (s)
Charles GREEN – 1970 (s), 1974
Michael KING – 1973
George MACGREGOR – 1975
Peter MCEVOY – 1978
Ian HUTCHEON – 1980
Roger CHAPMAN – 1981
John HAWKSWORTH – 1984
Paul BROADHURST – 1988
Gary EVANS – 1990, 1991
Stephen GALLACHER – 1995
Graham RANKIN – 1997
Stuart WILSON – 2003
(s) = shared

In 2004 21 year old James HEATH won with a record score of 266 (-18), recording rounds of 67, 68, 66, and 65. Garth McGimpsey, the then Walker Cup captain, described Heath’s performance as ‘the best amateur golf I’ve ever seen’.

No one else has ever come close to this low scoring mark. The next best scores being Matthew JORDAN‘s 272 (-12) in 2018 and Daan HUIZING’s 273 (-11) in 2013.

In 1999 the Lytham Trophy was won by German Tino SCHUSTER, the first time a non-GB&I player had been successful.

After a spell of overseas winners the last seven tournament winners have all come from England: –

Albert ECKHARDT – 2013 (Finland)
Thriston LAWRENCE – 2014 (South African
Marcus KINHULT – 2015 (Sweden)
Alfie PLANT – 2016 (England)
Jack SINGH BRAR – 2017 (England)
Matthew JORDAN – 2018 (England)
Josh MCMAHON – 2019 (England)
John GOUGH – 2022 (England)
Frank KENNEDY – 2023 (England)
Will HOPKINS – 2024 (England)

Lytham Trophy Honours Board (Photo: GolfBible)

Click here to view the complete list of – Lytham Trophy Past Winners

ME.

Copyright © 2014-2025, Mark Eley. All rights reserved.