Lottie Woad makes a big impression and already is the talk of women's golf
Florida State coach Amy Bond had been recruiting the English girl with a strong work ethic, limited to chatting online and studying the swings Woad posted on social media because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
When travel restrictions loosened, Bond headed to Carnoustie for the British Girls Amateur.
'The first hole I saw her, she made birdie. I knew we were going to have a great relationship," Bond recalled with a laugh.
Woad went on to a 7-and-6 victory on the links reputed to be as tough as any.
The next week she arrived on the Florida State campus for the first time to begin a distinguished college career. Woad won five times, set the school record for career scoring average, reached No. 1 in the women's world amateur ranking and finished in the top 10 in 25 of her 30 tournaments.
What first brought her acclaim was a Saturday at the home of the Masters, where Woad birdied three of her last four holes to win the Augusta National Women's Amateur.
Now she is the talk of women's golf, winning the Women's Scottish Open in her professional debut with such precision the 21-year-old Woad made it look routine.
'I guess that's a pretty good first week at work,' Woad posted on social media.
Next up is the Women's British Open this week at Royal Porthcawl in Wales. Woad has been a professional for all of two weeks, and BetMGM Sportsbook already lists her as the favorite at +650, followed by Nelly Korda and Jeeno Thitikul, Nos. 1 and 2 in the women's world ranking.
This could be the spark that women's golf needs.
Korda is winless this year, surprising after her seven-win season in 2024. Rose Zhang, who also won an LPGA title in her pro debut in 2023, is trying to play and finish her degree at Stanford.
LPGA Commissioner Craig Kessler seized on Woad's big moment by getting the final round of the Women's Scottish Open — available on streaming and then tape delay — live coverage on linear TV (CNBC).
'It's fun that everybody gets to see what I saw,' Bond said.
She saw a player with a relentless work ethic who would often take an Uber to the course in the morning. Woad said she wanted to buy a car with her first check — $300,000 from the Women's Scottish Open — only to reveal Sunday she first needs a U.S. driver's license.
She appears to be on the superhighway to success.
It started earlier this month when Woad won the Women's Irish Open on the Ladies European Tour by six shots over Madelene Sagstrom, who earlier this year won the LPGA Match Play at Shadow Creek.
The next week, she was leading in the final round of an LPGA major when Woad failed to birdie the par-5 18th at the Evian Championship and wound up missing a playoff by one shot.
But a tie for third gave her the final point she needed in the LPGA Elite Amateur Pathway program to get an LPGA card, and it made sense for her to turn pro.
Bond posted a series of photos when Woad decided to turn pro two weeks ago, including the day she signed with the Seminoles and when she first set foot on campus. She was with Woad in France and couldn't help but notice that she looked 'eerily comfortable.'
'Sometimes it can be a hard transition from amateur golf to professional golf,' Bond said. 'But she has great people around, her parents, her swing coach Luke Bone, who is phenomenal. You've got to have that for the ease of things to work out.'
Ease was an appropriate description, for that's how it looked at Dundonald Links.
Woad is plenty long off the tee. She is renowned for her elite wedge play, which Bond says she honed the last two years at Florida State.
'She keeps track of all that stuff every day,' Bond said. 'We have a set routine for different yardages, and she writes down everything. If she's trying to hit it 65 yards and hits it 68 or 72, she's writing it down to see if she can get it close.'
Most remarkable about her win at the Women's Scottish Open — beyond making only three bogeys over 72 holes — was the composure she showed while playing the first two rounds with Korda and the high-charged Charley Hull.
Staked to a two-shot lead in the final round, Hyo Joo Kim made a charge to tie for the lead. Woad eased on the accelerator and pulled away with four birdies on the last six holes.
Pretty good first week at work. That's how it looked at the end. Woad rapped in a final birdie, took the ball out of the cup and slid it into her pocket, offering a polite wave to the gallery.
It had the look of someone who had been there before. Woad is 55-under par in her last three tournaments, a scoring average of 67.4. She now is No. 24 in the women's world ranking.
She has the look of someone just getting started.
___
On The Fringe analyzes the biggest topics in golf during the season. More AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Doug Ferguson, The Associated Press
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