Bookmakers put Lottie Woad as the betting favorite heading into AIG Women's British Open

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6 days ago

Lottie Woad is the betting favorite to win the AIG Women's British Open in her only her second start as a professional. The former top-ranked amateur rose to No. 24 in the Rolex Rankings after winning the ISPS Hands Women's Scottish Open in her professional debut and will tee it up alongside 2024 British Open champion Lydia Ko and 2023 champ Lilia Vu in the first two rounds at Royal Porthcawl.
How dominant is Woad right now? She's 55 under par in her last 12 rounds on the LET and LPGA, beating the field on average by five strokes with a 67.3 scoring average.
Former British Open champ Catriona Matthew captained Woad at the Curtis Cup last year at Sunningdale and compared her to a young Karrie Webb.
'She's not out there for the glitz and the glam,' said Matthew, 'she just wants to be as good a golfer as she can be and go out and beat everyone.'
Lottie Woad's recent run has been impressive
It's how she's doing the winning that's impressive too, Matthew notes, taking Augusta National by storm with three birdies over the last four holes in 2024, running away from the field at the Irish Open to win by six, closing with a 64 at Evian to secure her LPGA card and then staring down major champions in Scotland to win by two.
Woad, now playing in her eighth major championship, certainly isn't scared.
'All the players out there can hit the shots,' said Matthew, 'but what makes her special is that she can do it when she has to.'
After her big win in Scotland, securing LPGA status through 2027, Woad and her family made the seven-hour drive to Wales to prep for her fourth major start of the season. After a missed cut at the Chevron, Woad tied for 31st at the U.S. Women's Open at Erin Hills and finished one shot shy of a playoff at the Amundi Evian Championship, taking a share of third with Minjee Lee.
Woad plans to buy a car with $300K purse
With her first tournament paycheck of $300,000, Woad plans to buy a new car when she gets back to the United States and, as was revealed on the broadcast last week, get a driver's license.
She's seemingly taking it all in stride with a quiet confidence.
'I feel good, obviously,' said Woad. 'I don't feel too different, to be honest.'
World No. 1 Nelly Korda played alongside Woad in the first three rounds of the Scottish Open and was impressed with her composure and process, noting that while others tend to fidget and change things in the heat of battle, Woad stuck to her routine and looked comfortable. The elder Korda, who turned 27 on Monday, called Woad 'absolutely amazing.'
'It was great for me that I got to play with her my pro debut,' said Woad of Korda. 'She's someone I've always looked up to. She's obviously an amazing player and a great competitor, and to hear she said something like that is really nice.'
Lydia Ko, Nelly Korda impressed by Woad
Even Ko, the most recent inductee of the LPGA of Fame, noted in her pre-tournament presser that she's looking forward to seeing what she can learn from Woad playing alongside her in the first two rounds.
'Just because you're a higher-ranked player doesn't mean that there's something that I can't learn from somebody else,' said Ko. 'She's obviously playing great golf. I've seen her swing, and my coach has sent me a video of her swing as well because there's aspects that I'm kind of going for that she has.'
The Irish Open has been on and off the LET's schedule over the past 30 years, but, as noted in the LPGA's KPMG Performance Insights, Woad became only the second player to win the Irish and Scottish Opens in the same season, joining fellow Englishwoman Laura Davies (1994). No player has won the Irish, Scottish and British in the same year.
What's the potential for Woad? Matthew is careful with her predictions, noting that Rose Zhang dramatically won her pro debut two years ago at the Mizuho Americas Open and then stalled.
'Obviously, you don't want to overhype it and go too over-the-top,' said Matthew, 'but the potential is there and the sky's the limit at the moment.'
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Lottie Woad is the betting favorite at Women's British Open