Lytham Trophy - May 3 - 6, 2012
This week I am in Lytham St. Anne's, England, playing the Lytham Trophy at Royal Lytham Golfclub. 144 best amateurs in the world are invited, and only 40 will make the cut on Sunday and play the final 36. This is one of the four “majors” in amateur golf worldwide. Winner receives an invitation to the British Open. Tino Schuster is the only non-national to have lifted the trophy, in 1999.
Conditions are everything but pleasing, and my luggage looks like that of visitor who’s morbidly terrified of his first encounter with snow. Expected forecast: -1*C to 9*C, light rain with winds constantly shifting from 10-30 mph. “Quite nice” as said by my taxi. Wonderful.
I pull into Royal Lytham surprised to see an empty range and hardly another competitor about. Bullocks - we aren’t allowed to practice until Thursday 6:30 am. I assume everyone must be arriving later tonight and head back to town to explore the city. Turns out 100+ players were 2km down the road practicing at St. Anne’s GC – I found this out one day later. Thanks buddies!
After a few hours in town I’m legitimately glacial and begin back to the hotel. I take an alley and as I walk aside a bar I hear thumping on the glass window. I’m the only one in the street, so I walk over and awkwardly put my hands up to the glass, peering in to see who wants my attention. I see multiple hands flailing but cannot make faces. Must be some players who recognize me. I walk around into the bar and approach a table of 10…none of whom I had ever seen before.
“Hey lad, come have a drink. You’re not from around here, are you?” I think my full body Nike golf attire gave me away.
Long story short, a few locals felt inclined to grab me off the street to come drink with them. I really had no intention, but before I could say my name, the first pint was in my hand. “We” were celebrating Kate’s 25th birthday. I can’t be rude… plus, she’s rather darling. How do I always end up in these situations! 3 hours later and x number of pints deep, I have made a handful of English friends who will now be coming to Royal Lytham to watch me “win” the Lytham Trophy.
Round one – the grind.
7:30 am. I am on the range in 5 layers, trying hard to stay warm. Hand warmers, facemask, the whole set. The high winds don’t bother me, as I have always played an extremely low-spin game, but the cold affects my short game. My hands are numb and I am +4 thru 2, +6 thru 6, but fight back and end the day +7, 77. Royal Lytham, without a doubt, is the toughest course I have ever played. To my surprise, 4 players, out of 144, brought in sub-par rounds. I believed no one would.
Round two – forever a memory.
In Royal Lytham, you have to fight for pars. Make a birdie, that is a bonus. My putter is going strong and I’m making crucial up and downs. After 13 holes, the wind is howling, and I’m -1. I’ve made 2 birdies and only one bogey. I feel like I’m -8. I par 14, 15, 16, 17. I miss my first fairway on 18, but I’m not in a pot bunker – just off to the side in the rough. Normally, if you miss a fairway, you need to accept your bogey and carry on. But I want this under par round in Lytham so badly. I know I can’t hold the green, so I play long left – the only spot without a pot bunker. As we approach my ball, Nigel, my caddy who has been at Lytham his entire life, looks at me and says: Daniel, a lot of famous players have gotten up and down from here to win the Open. You can too. We play a great pitch to 2 meters and make the putt. Yesssss. 69 in Lytham. I played the third best round of the day and jumped from T94th to T21st.
I’m one of 4 German’s to make the cut and play the final 36 on Sunday. I finish with a 73 and another 77 and am completely exhausted. I have tried my best to put the difficulty of this tournament to words, but it still doesn’t do it justice. The 2012 British open will be played here in July. If faced with the same conditions, I predict less than 10 players will be under par for the tournament.
7:30 am. I am on the range in 5 layers, trying hard to stay warm. Hand warmers, facemask, the whole set. The high winds don’t bother me, as I have always played an extremely low-spin game, but the cold affects my short game. My hands are numb and I am +4 thru 2, +6 thru 6, but fight back and end the day +7, 77. Royal Lytham, without a doubt, is the toughest course I have ever played. To my surprise, 4 players, out of 144, brought in sub-par rounds. I believed no one would.
Round two – forever a memory.
In Royal Lytham, you have to fight for pars. Make a birdie, that is a bonus. My putter is going strong and I’m making crucial up and downs. After 13 holes, the wind is howling, and I’m -1. I’ve made 2 birdies and only one bogey. I feel like I’m -8. I par 14, 15, 16, 17. I miss my first fairway on 18, but I’m not in a pot bunker – just off to the side in the rough. Normally, if you miss a fairway, you need to accept your bogey and carry on. But I want this under par round in Lytham so badly. I know I can’t hold the green, so I play long left – the only spot without a pot bunker. As we approach my ball, Nigel, my caddy who has been at Lytham his entire life, looks at me and says: Daniel, a lot of famous players have gotten up and down from here to win the Open. You can too. We play a great pitch to 2 meters and make the putt. Yesssss. 69 in Lytham. I played the third best round of the day and jumped from T94th to T21st.
**Scorecard**
**Lytham Trophy Results**
The grandstands are already set up on the 18th green.
I'm off to Lake Como, Italy tomorrow, to play the International Italian. I'm beyond excited to spend a full week in Como. Our tournament venue is the amazing Villa d'este Golf Course.
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