30th April 2023

Frank KENNEDY (ENG) won the 57th Lytham Trophy after rounds of 70, 68, 68 and 72 gave him a 278 (-2) total.

Frank was the only competitor out of a starting field of 144 players to finish under par despite the playing conditions being generally very good, mainly dry with only a modest breeze, for all three days.

Frank Kennedy (Photo: Golf Bible)

Whilst Fanny Sunesson didn’t play any shots for the Florida-based Englishman one can only assume having an experienced, world class caddie on the bag on a Championship course, helped the 17 year old get over the line. Kennedy said afterwards “She told me not to attack when I didn’t need to and to play to areas where I could make birdie. There was a lot of hitting to zones all week.”

Frank won the 2022 Portuguese International Amateur but this victory must go down as the best of his short amateur career to date. Playing in front of The R&A selectors and captain, Stuart Wilson, himself a past winner of this event in 2003, it will also have greatly enhanced his chances of being selected for this year’s Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup team.

Frank Kennedy and Fanny Sunesson (Photo: Golf Bible)

James ASHFIELD (WAL) and Luis MASAVEU (ESP) finished tied 2nd on 280 (Ev) and Hugh FOLEY (IRL) and Sam EASTERBROOK (ENG) tied 4th on 282 (+2).

Foley will have enjoyed his final round 69,which included bogeys on the similar 15th and 17th par 4 holes and therefore could have been even better, having recently been over-looked by the Irish selectors for the Men’s European Nations Championship in Sotogrande. A top 5 finish here will be just the response he will have been hoping to provide.

Reigning Scottish Men’s Amateur champion Oliver MUKHERJEE (SCO) and England’s Mason ESSAM both finished off the competition strongly with a 71 and 68 to take solo 6th and 7th on 283 (+3) and 285 (+5) respectively.

Defending champion and pre-tournament favourite John GOUGH (ENG) never quite got going and ultimately had to settle for a 292 (+12) tied 22nd finish.

Here are the final results: –

Final Results (Photo: Royal Lytham G.C. / Golf Genius)

Here is the winner’s full scorecard: –

Frank Kennedy’s Scorecard (Photo: Royal Lytham G.C. / Golf Genius)

Click here to view the – 2023 Lytham Trophy Final Results

Here are the event scoring statistics, covering all four rounds: –

All Rounds Scoring Statistics (Photo: Royal Lytham G.C. / Golf Genius)

ME.

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30th April 2023 – Round 4

Round 4 commenced at 12.30pm with the last group setting off at 3.02pm.

Far from being the procession for Frank KENNEDY (ENG) many expected it proved to be an enthralling final round with many twists and turns.

Kennedy missed the opening green to the left with his tee shot and despite a first class chip was unable to make par.

However, there was no early pressure being exerted from the chasing pack with Ashfield, Masaveu and Easterbrook all dropping shots in their opening holes.

Matters became more interesting on the par 3 5th hole. Easterbrook birdied it to move back to +3 and shortly afterwards Masaveu went one better with a stunning hole in one. Kennedy, who was playing with the Spaniard, missed the green and having failed to get up and down walked to the 6th tee having witnessed a three shot swing against his playing partner and now main rival. Masaveu was now on +1 for the tournament, three shots behind Kennedy, with James Ashfield having fallen into 3rd on +2.

Even though it was still early on the 6th hole felt pivotal at the time. Kennedy missed the green long with his approach only for Masaveu, now playing with obvious momentum and the door ajar, to go fully 30 yards over the green. If only he could have hit the green at that particular moment. Kennedy got up and down impressively whilst Masaveu missed his long putt to hand the initiative straight back to the leader.

However, the see-saw nature of the opening nine continued on the 589th yard 7th with Kennedy bogeying after requiring a drop from a wayward drive which wasn’t too far away from going out of bounds. He was now 3-over for the round and 1-under for the tournament and clearly feeling some pressure. Ashfield and Easterbrook playing ahead had both birdied this hole to move to +1 and +2 for the tournament respectively. Masaveu’s par on the 7th left him on +2 tied in 3rd with Easterbrook.

To his credit Kennedy was then able to give himself some breathing space after fine approaches led to well-timed birdies on 8 and 9, in the process moving back to -3. Only Ashfield was able to respond from the chasing pack, his birdie on 9 taking him to Even par for the event and three back of the leader at this point.

Masaveu refused to rollover though and reeled off three consecutive birdies on the 10th to 12th holes to move under par and within two shots of Kennedy (-3). A birdie on 12 for Ashfield also move him to -1 and with Easterbrook birding 12 and 13 he was now on Even par too.

Masaveu bogeyed 14 and with news coming through that Easterbrook had bogeyed 15 and 16 and Ashfield the 17th the path to victory suddenly looked clear for Kennedy. However, he then bogeyed the 15th, three putting after his approach from a severe downhill lie in the semi-rough on the left had only just reached the green. When Masaveu then birdied the short par 14 16th after a superb up and down from the front bunker he was back within one shot with two difficult holes to play.

Both players parred the 17th before Masaveu, pressing to force a play-off bogeyed the last, leaving Kennedy to two putt for the win. Frank embraced his caddie Fanny Sunesson in relieved celebration with the crowd left feeling that they had both had to work much harder than they may have expected when they set off four and half hours earlier from the nearby first tee. Sunesson revealed afterwards that this was the first time she had caddied an amateur to a win in her illustrious career.

Luis MASAVEU (ESP) and Mason ESSAM (ENG) recorded the two best final rounds with 68’s.

Luis Masaveu’s Round 4 Scorecard (Photo: Royal Lytham G.C. / Golf Genius)

Mason Essam’s Round 4 Scorecard (Photo: Royal Lytham G.C. / Golf Genius)

The average score in Round 4 was 73.07 reflecting the good playing conditions throughout the round as well as the quality of players on show. As in the morning only three players broke par with four scoring 70.

The shot of the day was obviously Luis MASAVEU‘s (ESP) hole-in-one on the 216 yard par 3 5th which was enjoyed by a large crowd who were following the final group.

ME.

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30th April 2023 – Round 3

Round 3 started in rainy conditions at 7.30am on Sunday morning. With the weather forecast predicting rain until mid-afternoon it looked like the day would turn into a real slog for the majority of the remaining 40 players. However, by 10.30am the rain had fully abated and we enjoyed sunny intervals for the rest of the day.

The weather proved to be good news for the leaders who had the advantage of playing nearly all of their two rounds today in dry conditions.

Andrew HASWELL (ENG) was first off on Sunday morning and therefore he played most of his third round in heavy rain. His 2-under 68 was arguably the best round of the tournament and unsurprisingly lifted him nicely into the top 5 with 18 holes to play.

Andrew Haswell’s Round 3 Scorecard (Photo: Royal Lytham G.C. / Golf Genius)

Teeing off two and half hours after Haswell Frank KENNEDY (ENG) took sole possession of the lead after equalling the Ormskirk player’s score of 68. His unblemished card was highlighted by two birdies on his back nine and left him with a 4-shot lead heading into the final round.

Frank Kennedy’s Round 3 Scorecard (Photo: Royal Lytham G.C. / Golf Genius)

James ASHFIELD (WAL) shot a 71 to move up a place to 2nd, albeit rather than being one shot behind the co-leaders at the start of the day he was now four with 18 holes to play.

Sam EASTERBROOK (ENG) came back well after three bogeys in his opening five holes to record a 71 which lifted him a place to tied 3rd where he was joined by Spain’s Luis MASAVEU (ESP) who slipped back after a 74 in Round 3.

Another promising youngster, Oliver MUKHERJEE (SCO), was the only other player to break par in Round 3. His 69 took him from tied 11th to tied 5th.

Oliver Mukherjee’s Round 3 Scorecard (Photo: Royal Lytham G.C. / Golf Genius)

The poor weather early on Sunday morning was offset by the limited field of 40 players, all of whom had made the cut, when it came to scoring. The average score in Round 3 was 74.93 (+4.93).

ME.

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29th April 2023

Luis MASAVEU (ESP) and Frank KENNEDY (ENG) share the lead on 138 (-2) after both recording 68’s on Day 2.

Both players made unpromising starts to their second rounds. Masaveu was 3-over after five holes and Kennedy 3-over after six. However, they then showed impressive resilience to bounce back with five and seven birdies respectively as they made their way back to the clubhouse.

Kennedy who resides in Florida surprised the field by turning up this week with major winning caddie Fanny Sunesson on his bag and it certainly appears to be paying dividends so far although I am sure she will have been disappointed to see two double bogeys on her player’s card today.

Fanny Sunesson With Frank Kennedy (Photo: GolfBible)

Round of the day (and of the the tournament so far) belonged to James ASHFIELD (WAL) whose 4-under 66 quickly turned his tournament around after an opening 73. He now starts the final day in 3rd place and again highlights how an under par round, so hard to achieve at Royal Lytham with its challenging par of 70, can catapult a player up the leaderboard.

James Ashfield’s Round 2 Scorecard (Photo: Royal Lytham G.C. / Golf Genius)

Sam EASTERBOOK‘s (ENG) 67 and Nicola GERHARDSEN‘s (SUI) 68, both of which were unblemished, alongside Hugh FOLEY‘s (IRL) 68 and Darren STRACHAN‘s (FRA) 69 were all noteworthy efforts amongst the leading players.

With the weather conditions proving to again be favourable – sunny with only a modest breeze all day – the top 40 and ties cut fell at +5. Having dodged the weather over the first two days there appears to be no way of missing out tomorrow with rain showers forecast from early morning until late afternoon. The organisers will therefore have been quietly pleased to see exactly 40 players, only seven shots separating the leaders from those who just made it, progress to the final day 36 hole shoot-out.

Round 2 Leaderboard (Photo: Royal Lytham G.C. / Golf Genius)

Despite the pleasant weather in Lancashire there was no improvement in the scoring. It was similar to day 1 with only eight players again able to break the par of 70 with seven more meeting it.

The average score in Round 2 by the field was 75.03 (+5.03).

ME.

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28th April 2023

Joshua HILL (IRL), Jack MURPHY (IRL) and Conor BYERS (ENG) all shot 68’s (-2) to share the lead after the opening round of the 57th Lytham Trophy.

Murphy’s round was notable for the fact he double bogeyed the 3rd and bogeyed the 6th to be 3-over early on before reeling off five birdies over the remaining holes.

Scotland’s Oliver MUKHERJEE had the most birdies – six – in his round to finish tied 4th on -1. He finished with two bogeys to slip out of the lead.

Simon HOVDAL (SWE) is well placed heading into Day 2. He birdied all three of Royal Lytham’s par 3’s on his way to a 69 -1

Whilst there is still a lot of golf to be played it is fair to say the favourites largely disappointed on Day 1 and a number of them are now in serious danger of missing the 36 hole top 40 and ties cut.

With 51 players on +3 or better at the close of play and poorer weather conditions expected tomorrow I expect the cut is likely to be around +7.

Round 1 Leaderboard (Photo: Royal Lytham G.C. / Golf Genius)

It was in theory a good scoring day in Lancashire; cloudy but dry, with only a modest breeze to contend with. Despite this just eight players out of a field of 144 were able to break Lytham’s stringent par of 70 with six more meeting it.

The average score by the field was 75.37 (+5.37) on Day 1.

Big hitting Markus O LUOMA‘s (FIN) holed second shot for eagle on the 480 yard par 4 2nd hole was the ‘shot of the day’.

ME.

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18th April 2023 

The 2023 Lytham Trophy will be played between 28th and 30th April 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 players and spectators to visit this magnificent club and course.

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

Format and Tee Times

144 scratch golfers from 18 different countries will tee off in what will be the 57th 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 – 2023 Lytham Trophy Tee Times (use filter for each round)

Players

Whilst most of GB&I’s leading home-based amateurs will be competing the field strength sadly continues to decline.

This is primarily due to the growing popularity of U.S. college golf where the academic year and NCAA playing season only come to a close in late May.

Here are the players, based on form and rankings, that I expect to feature highly this year: –

Alejandro AGUILERA MARTIN (ESP)
Louis ANCEAUX (FRA)
James ASHFIELD (WAL)
Angel AYORA (ESP)
Caolan BURFORD (WAL)
James CLARIDGE (ENG)
Will COXON (ENG)
Arron EDWARDS-HILL (ENG)
Hugh FOLEY (IRL)
Nicola GERHARDSEN (SUI)
John GOUGH (ENG) – defending champion
Connor GRAHAM (SCO)
Albert HANSSON (SWE)
Seán KEELING (IRL)
Marc KELLER (SUI)
Luis MASAVEU (ESP)
Matthew MCCLEAN (IRL)
Robert MORAN (IRL)
Peter O’KEEFFE (IRL)
Gregor TAIT (SCO)

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

Course

The famous Royal Lytham links course certainly 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 this week.

Players will tee off between 7.30am 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

The weather forecast (as at Thursday 27th April) has improved in recent days albeit Sunday looks like it will be wet.

Friday 28th April – Sunny Intervals / Wind 11 mph NW / Temp. Min. 7°C, Max. 13°C.
Saturday 29th April – Drizzle / Wind 5 mph E / Temp. Min. 9°C, Max. 15°C.
Sunday 30th April – Light Rain Showers / Wind 6 mph S / Temp. Min. 9°C, Max. 15°C.

The 2022 Lytham Trophy

John GOUGH (ENG) won the 2022 Lytham Trophy with a 280 (Ev) total.

Gough has played many great shots in recent years on his way to winning a number of amateur events but his chip-in for birdie from the edge of the 17th green in the final round, the defining moment for him here, will no doubt live long in his memory.

John Gough (Photo: Royal Lytham & St. Annes G.C.)

15 year old Scottish protege Connor GRAHAM +1 finished 2nd, Ben QUINNEY (ENG) +3 3rd, Connor ROCHON (SCO) +5 4th and Robert MORAN (IRL) +5 5th on count back.

Here are the top 25 results from last year: –

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

Click here to view the full – 2022 Lytham Trophy Results

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 and more recently world 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 before or after. 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.

The following list of the last 10 winners shows just how international the amateur game has become. However, after a spell of overseas winners the last five have all come from England: –

Jack SENIOR – 2011 (England)
Daan HUIZING – 2012 (The Netherlands)
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)

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

ME.

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