Marcus Kinhult keeps rolling with Lytham Trophy win

LYTHAM SAINT ANNES, England — Marcus Kinhult made it back-to-back wins on Sunday, capturing the Lytham Trophy at Royal Lytham & St. Annes by eight shots. Just a week earlier, Kinhult was in the United States becoming the first international winner at the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley. Last week's win, Kinhult said, might have been the biggest of his career. The native of Sweden might have to revise that statement after conquering a stellar amateur field at Royal Lytham. After opening with 68 to share a four-way lead with Cormac Sharvin, John Axelsen, and Oliver Roberts, Kinhult battled difficult playing conditions to break par for the second straight day with a 69 to hold a five-stroke lead entering Sunday, where the field would play 36 holes. The conditions, which reigning British Amateur champion Bradley Neil called "brutal," consisted of 15-25 mile per hour winds, persistent rain, and temperatures that struggled to crawl above 50 degrees. With improved weather on Sunday, Kinhult posted 71-72 to extend his final lead to eight strokes. Kinhult, who decided last summer to skip attending college, will likely turn professional in the 2016 calendar year. Sharvin, one of those four first-round leaders, tied for second place with Richard James of Wales and Robin Roussel of France. James climbed into the shared runner-up position with a final-round 68 after shooting 76 in the morning round. The aforementioned Neil, who received an invitation to the 2015 Masters due to his 2014 British Amateur victory, placed ninth at Royal Lytham.