Martin Couvra has been named the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year for 2025, becoming the second French player to win the DP World Tour’s prestigious award.
Couvra won the Turkish Airlines Open in May and registered six other top ten finishes to end the 2025 season in 19th position on the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai.
The 22-year-old is the first French golfer since Olivier Edmond in 1998 to win the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award.
Couvra said: “I am really, really happy to win this award. You only have one time in your career when it is your rookie season.
“For my first year I just wanted to be in position in each tournament and to play in the final event.
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“It surprised me winning so early in Turkey, but we work every day for it. So it was a surprise, but my team and me wanted it for my first year, so I was surprised but happy.
“That win gave me a lot of confidence. To play great and make a lot of putts is fine, but to win a tournament is different. When you win one tournament on this tour, you think you can do it again, so it is all about confidence for me.”
Couvra earned his DP World Tour card for the 2025 season after graduating from the HotelPlanner Tour, finishing 17th on the 2024 Road to Mallorca rankings. That came after he won the 2023 Challenge de España in the previous season when he became only the seventh player in history to win as an amateur on the HotelPlanner Tour.
He made an equally impressive start to his DP World Tour career in 2025, posting top ten finishes at the Alfred Dunhill Championship (tied seventh), Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship (tied fourth), Commercial Bank Qatar Masters (tied fifth) and the Hainan Classic (fifth), before his maiden victory in Turkey.
Couvra started the final round of the Turkish Airlines Open four shots back at Regnum Carya, but claimed a breakthrough win courtesy of a superb final round of 64 to finish two strokes clear of China's Haotong Li and Spain's Jorge Campillo.
He followed that victory by adding further top ten finishes in the Austrian Alpine Open presented by SalzburgerLand (tied eighth) and the Italian Open, where he finished runner up to his compatriot Adrien Saddier.
Couvra earned the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award by finishing as the leading eligible player on the Race to Dubai Rankings Delivered by DP World. He ended the season in 19th position, one spot ahead of his nearest competitor for the award, 21-year-old Spaniard Angel Ayora.
Guy Kinnings, Chief Executive Officer of the DP World Tour, said: “On behalf of everyone at the DP World Tour, I would like to congratulate to Martin on winning the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year for 2025.
“He enjoyed a hugely impressive debut season on the DP World Tour, not only in terms of his results but also in terms of the manner of his performances.
“Martin clearly has the talent to build on the considerable success of his rookie campaign, and his development so far is testament to the strength of our pathways system, having emerged from the amateur game to earn his place on golf’s global Tour via the HotelPlanner Tour.
“He is also part of a strong group of French players currently competing on the DP World Tour, as one of eight to finish in the top 100 on the 2025 Race to Dubai, reflecting the enduring legacy of the country hosting the 2018 Ryder Cup.
“We hope Martin has a big future ahead of him and we will certainly look forward to observing his progress.”
