Men's Amateur Golf | Goddard maintains Lytham Trophy lead

Goddard maintains Lytham Trophy lead

By ALISTAIR TAIT
Senior Writer

LYTHAM ST ANNES, England – Conventional wisdom says you try to make your score on the outward holes at Royal Lytham and hang on to it as you make your way back to the clubhouse.

Luke Goddard followed that wisdom in compiling a second-round, 1-over 71 Saturday to take a three-shot lead after 36 holes. The twist in the tale is that the front nine was the much harder nine in Round 2.

England A-team member David Coupland and Matt Haines, the reigning Carris Trophy champion (England Under-18 Stroke Play Championship), share second after a 71 and 72, respectively.

The prevailing wind at Lytham dictates that the outward holes are usually played downwind. Then you turn around and have to play into the teeth of the breeze. You need to put together a good score by the time you get to the 196-yard, par-3 12th, when Lytham really bares its teeth.

Mother Nature decided to reverse things for the second round of the Lytham Trophy.

After an opening round played in calm conditions, the field turned up to find strong winds buffeting the Lytham links. Goddard had to play a 3-iron at the 206-yard first hole with many players opting for fairway woods when 5- and 6-irons are the norm.

Goddard’s tee shot ended up 20 feet from the hole and he drained the putt to begin one of the best rounds of the day.

He added a bogey at the 494-yard, par-4 sixth which was converted from a par 5 for this championship. Birdies followed at the 9th and 10th holes, and then he hung on for dear life over the easier back nine, recording bogeys at the 12th, 14th, and 17th holes.

“For some reason I played the front nine easier, even though it was playing really tough,” Goddard said. “I think I was just more focused because I knew it was harder.”

Goddard’s 71 was the second best score of the day, one stroke worse than the 70 shot by Scotland’s Gavin Dear. Considering the strong winds, Goddard’s 1-over tally was at least four shots better than the actual par for the day. Scores in the 80s were not uncommon and several players withdrew.

The plus-3 handicapper from Hendon Golf Club in North London has spent the past winter working on his short game at the Peter McEvoy-designed Northwick Park Golf Course. Northwick Park features The National Short Game Center, and Goddard spent at least six hours a day there over the winter when he wasn’t travelling.

“I didn’t actually play that well today, but I got up and down from everywhere. I’ve worked hard on my short game and it’s really improved as a result. I’m much sharper around the greens.”

Goddard is also a member of the English Golf Union’s A-squad. He is sure to be promoted to the elite squad if he goes on to record the biggest win of his career.

Coupland feels like the Rodney Dangerfield of English amateur golf – he just wants a little respect.

The 22-year-old from Boston in Lincolnshire, England, wants to be recognized for his ability, and is keen to do well in events like the Lytham Trophy.

“I just want to find my feet at this level, get my face known so I can hopefully make the elite squad next year,” Coupland said.

Coupland hasn’t done much in the amateur game, but he did qualify for last year’s Open Championship at Carnoustie after finishing leading qualifier at Monifieth.

He’ll become a big noise in amateur golf if he can win one of Britain’s premier amateur tournaments. However, the smart money at this point is on Goddard to seal the deal.

The cut fell at 7-over 147, with 41 players making the final two rounds.

Scores with relation to par from the second round of the Lytham Trophy, played May 3 at the par-70, 6,882-yard Royal Lytham & St. Annes in Lytham St. Annes, England:

1. Luke Goddard	66-71--137		-3
2. David Coupland	69-71--140		E
2. Matthew Haines	68-72--140		E
4. Gavin Dear	71-70--141	+	1
4. Bryan R. Fotheringham	68-73--141	+	1
6. Dale Whitnell	70-72--142	+	2
6. Jake A. Shepherd	70-72--142	+	2
8. Oscar Sharpe	71-72--143	+	3
8. Craig N. Evans	71-72--143	+	3
10. Farren Keenan	73-71--144	+	4
10. Maximilian Roehrig	72-72--144	+	4
10. John Carroll	67-77--144	+	4
13. Mark Halliday	74-71--145	+	5
13. Shane Lowry	72-73--145	+	5
13. Darren Renwick	71-74--145	+	5
13. Miles Mackman	71-74--145	+	5
13. Billy Hemstock	71-74--145	+	5
18. Niall Kearney	74-72--146	+	6
18. Wallace Booth	72-74--146	+	6
18. Chris Wood	71-75--146	+	6
18. Rhys Black	71-75--146	+	6
18. Gavin P. O'Neill	71-75--146	+	6
18. Max Kraemer	70-76--146	+	6
18. Paul O'Hara	69-77--146	+	6
18. Collin Edwards	67-79--146	+	6
18. Floris De Vries	67-79--146	+	6
27. Scott W. Mann	75-72--147	+	7
27. Eddie Pepperell	74-73--147	+	7
27. Benjamin J. Enoch	73-74--147	+	7
27. Alexander Knappe	73-74--147	+	7
27. John Gallagher	72-75--147	+	7
27. Nicholas McCarthy	72-75--147	+	7
27. Keir McNicoll	71-76--147	+	7
27. Sam Hutsby	71-76--147	+	7
27. Richard Kind	71-76--147	+	7
27. Gordon Yates	71-76--147	+	7
27. Ben Westgate	71-76--147	+	7
27. Gareth J. Evans	70-77--147	+	7
27. Maximilian Kieffer	70-77--147	+	7
27. Jamie Abbott	69-78--147	+	7
27. Andrew Cooley	68-79--147	+	7
42. James Robinson	77-71--148	+	8
42. Ken Benz	75-73--148	+	8
42. Nigel Edwards	75-73--148	+	8
42. Michael R. Swan	73-75--148	+	8
42. Reinier Saxton	73-75--148	+	8
42. Hanspeter Bacher	73-75--148	+	8
42. Dara Lernihan	72-76--148	+	8
42. Shaun McAllister	72-76--148	+	8
42. Mark Bell	71-77--148	+	8
42. Sean Einhaus	70-78--148	+	8
52. Mark Young	77-72--149	+	9
52. Kevin McAlpine	76-73--149	+	9
52. Glenn Campbell	76-73--149	+	9
52. Mark Thistleton	76-73--149	+	9
52. Gary Wolstenholme	75-74--149	+	9
52. Robert Carson	74-75--149	+	9
52. Tommy Fleetwood	74-75--149	+	9
52. Matthew J. Nixon	74-75--149	+	9
52. Jonathan Hurst	74-75--149	+	9
52. Jonathan Gidney	73-76--149	+	9
52. Kris Nicol	73-76--149	+	9
52. Mark Hillson	71-78--149	+	9
52. Matthew Cryer	71-78--149	+	9
52. Alex Christie	70-79--149	+	9
52. Robert Cannon	69-80--149	+	9
67. Daniel Wuensche	77-73--150	+	10
67. Ian Winstanley	73-77--150	+	10
67. Matthew Clark	72-78--150	+	10
67. Ian Kenwright	72-78--150	+	10
67. Scott Henry	71-79--150	+	10
67. Neil Chaudhuri	71-79--150	+	10
67. William Bowe	70-80--150	+	10
74. Glenn A. Taylor	77-74--151	+	11
74. Steven McEwan	75-76--151	+	11
74. Ian J. Crowther	74-77--151	+	11
74. Allyn Dick	74-77--151	+	11
74. Jason Barnes	73-78--151	+	11
74. Richard Prophet	73-78--151	+	11
74. James Smedley	73-78--151	+	11
74. James White	72-79--151	+	11
74. Simon Coumbe	72-79--151	+	11
74. Sven Maurits	71-80--151	+	11
74. James E. Frazer	70-81--151	+	11
85. Darius Van Driel	76-76--152	+	12
85. Adam Best	75-77--152	+	12
85. Miro Veijalainen	75-77--152	+	12
85. Tim Stewart	75-77--152	+	12
85. Neil Dean	74-78--152	+	12
85. Robert McKnight	74-78--152	+	12
85. Philip McLean	73-79--152	+	12
85. Greg Paterson	72-80--152	+	12
85. Gregg Blainey	72-80--152	+	12
85. Callum Macaulay	71-81--152	+	12
95. Stiggy Hodgson	79-74--153	+	13
95. Adam Wills	75-78--153	+	13
95. Andrew Hogan	73-80--153	+	13
95. Jack Clarke	73-80--153	+	13
95. Tano Kromer	73-80--153	+	13
95. Benjamin Sigl	73-80--153	+	13
95. Richard Smith	72-81--153	+	13
102. Jason Palmer	78-76--154	+	14
102. Shaun P. Malone	75-79--154	+	14
102. Zachariah Gould	73-81--154	+	14
102. Jack S. Senior	71-83--154	+	14
102. Pat Murray	71-83--154	+	14
107. Ross McLister	76-79--155	+	15
107. Rohan Blizard	76-79--155	+	15
107. Paul Lowey	76-79--155	+	15
107. Ross Kellett	76-79--155	+	15
107. Roberto Laino	75-80--155	+	15
107. Neil Henderson	74-81--155	+	15
107. Andrew Johnston	72-83--155	+	15
107. Edward J. Richardson	70-85--155	+	15
115. Ben Kerr	78-78--156	+	16
115. Ryan J. Brown	77-79--156	+	16
117. Henri Satama	79-78--157	+	17
117. Andrew Hardie	78-79--157	+	17
117. Steven Uzzell	76-81--157	+	17
120. Jody P. Greenall	76-82--158	+	18
120. Adam Wainwright	76-82--158	+	18
120. John Kemp	75-83--158	+	18
120. Cian Curley	73-85--158	+	18
120. Luke W. Cornford	72-86--158	+	18
125. Ben A. Stafford	83-76--159	+	19
125. Marcel Schneider	77-82--159	+	19
127. James Prince	79-81--160	+	20
127. Marek Novy	78-82--160	+	20
127. Jason Shufflebotham	75-85--160	+	20
130. Scott Borrowman	83-79--162	+	22
130. Allan W. Harrison	78-84--162	+	22
132. David Henderson	84-79--163	+	23
133. Ian D. Hill	83-81--164	+	24
133. Paul J. McKellar	80-84--164	+	24
133. Aaron Fitzpatrick	80-84--164	+	24
136. Tuomas Pollari	81-84--165	+	25
137. Simon J. Robinson	84-83--167	+	27
137. Craig R. Cuthbert	80-87--167	+	27
WD. Daniel Solomon	85-WD
WD. Nicklaez Rasmussen	79-WD
WD. James White	73-WD
WD. Michael Buchan	80-WD
WD. Eliot J. Wise	79-WD
WD. Zach Saltman	73-WD

Posted: 5/3/2008

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