Phenom Lottie Woad wins first LPGA event in her pro debut at Women's Scottish Open
KPMG Performance Insights gave Woad a 40 percent chance of winning heading into the final round of the ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open. Heady stuff for a 21-year-old making her professional debut.
Woad's magical July run continued at Dundonald Links, where the newly-minted pro became only the fourth player in LPGA history to win in her first start as an LPGA member, joining former world No. 1 Jin Young Ko (2018) and Beverly Hanson (1951).
"I don't really know how to describe it," said the humble Woad of her recent stretch of brilliance. "Just been shooting low scores, which is always nice."
A Sunday 4-under 68 put Woad at 21 under for the tournament, capping off a maiden LPGA victory in her native U.K., with a three-stroke win over Hyo Joo Kim. Woad becomes the 20th different LPGA winner in a season in which no player has won twice. She heads next to the AIG Women's British Open in Wales, where she finished tied for 10th last year at St. Andrews.
"It might have looked less stressful than maybe it was at times," said Woad, "but I think I only had like three bogeys, which, I mean, the wind wasn't too bad the first due days. But on links golf, it's definitely about bogey avoidance. That was probably the key to winning."
Woad began the final round of the Scottish with a two-shot lead in Ayrshire and, midway through, found herself knotted with major champion Hyo Joo Kim at 19 under. World No. 1 Nelly Korda, still looking for her first win of the season, made an early run with four birdies in the first six holes. A string of short misses, however, stalled the American and dropped her out of the mix.
Known for her elite wedge play, Woad knocked one close on the 13th to make birdie and regain the solo lead. Another birdie on the 14th as Kim dropped a shot on the 15th stretched the steady Englishwoman's lead back to two with four to play.
Woad becomes the first player since Rose Zhang to win on the LPGA in her first start as a pro. Zhang held a two-shot lead going into the final round of the 2023 Mizuho Americas Open and won in a playoff against Jennifer Kupcho to earn her LPGA card.
Woad, of course, recently became the first player to graduate from the tour's new LEAP program, earning her card for the rest of 2025 and 2026. Immediately after winning the Irish Open on the LET, she missed out on a playoff at the Amundi Evian Championship by one shot. Woad turned pro last week, forgoing her final season at Florida State. She also accepted membership on the LET, which makes her eligible for the 2026 Solheim Cup.
In her last three professional starts, Woad is 55 under par with a 67.4 scoring average. She notched only three bogeys for the week in Scotland.
Woad earns 500 CME points for her victory and is projected to move into the top 50 on the Race to CME. The top 60 at the end of the year get into the CME Group Tour Championship. She came into the week No. 62 in the Rolex Rankings and will move into the top 50 there as well. She also earns a two-year exemption on the LPGA, moving up to the winner's category on the LPGA's priority list (up from the LEAP Category 13 to Category 4), which she'll have through 2027.
After forgoing several big paychecks in recent weeks, Woad takes earned $300,000 for her first pro win. She told Golfweek last week that she needed to buy a car in the U.S. Turns out she also needs to get a driver's license, too. Woad, known for her tireless work ethic at FSU, would often take an Uber to the school's practice facility at 7:30 a.m. on Saturdays. Former teammate Charlotte Heath once said that Woad outworked all the pros at the club.
Woad broke through on a major stage for the first time at the 2024 Augusta National Women's Amateur, where she birdied three of the last four holes to overtake Bailey Shoemaker. When asked if she felt more nerves there or down the stretch at the Scottish, Woad said she felt more nervous at the ANWA.
"I think Augusta, that was the biggest tournament I played in at the time and was kind of my big win," said Woad, who has since played in seven major championships.
"So definitely felt the pressure of it more there, and I felt like all those experiences helped me with this."
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Women's Scottish Open 2025: Lottie Woad wins in pro debut on LPGA
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