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Forbes
2 days ago
- Sport
- Forbes
Lottie Woad Wins Scottish Open In Professional Debut
As her wedge shot into the eighteenth hole at Dundonald Links danced around the pin leading to a finishing birdie at the Scottish Open, Lottie Woad announced to the professional golf world that she has arrived. A final round 68 capped off a three-shot victory over a loaded field at the ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open. TROON, SCOTLAND - JULY 27: Lottie Woad of England plays her third shot on the 18th hole during the ... More final round of the ISPS HANDA Women's Scottish Open 2025 at Dundonald Links Golf Course on July 27, 2025 in Troon, Scotland. (Photo by) Woad, the 21-year-old Englishwoman and former world number one ranked amateur's victory shouldn't come as a surprise to those who have been paying attention. In early July, she won the Irish Open as an amateur and backed up that performance with a T3 finish in the Evian Masters, a major on the LPGA Tour. On a windy day at Dundonald Links in Irvine, Scotland, Woad looked unfazed as Hyo Joo Kim made an early move on the front nine with four early birdies in the first seven holes. Woad herself had a clean card on the front nine with a bogey-free 34 as she displayed a very disciplined game, often seen in more seasoned players. After Kim's hot start, she also made birdies on the 11th and 12th holes and briefly shared the lead before Woad birdied the 13th and 14th holes to regain control of the championship. Walking up the eighteenth hole, Woad laid up into the par-5 finisher before sticking a 3/4 wedge to 2 feet to seal the tournament. 'You know, everyone was chasing me today, and managed to maintain the lead and played really nicely down the stretch and hit a lot of good shots, which is nice,' Woad told the press. For her victory, the 21-year old made $300,000 and possibly more importantly, she earned status on the Ladies European Tour for the rest of this season (she also has LPGA status) which will allow her to accumulate points for next season's Solheim Cup. TROON, SCOTLAND - JULY 27: Lottie Woad of England poses with the trophy following victory of the ... More ISPS HANDA Women's Scottish Open following the final round of the ISPS HANDA Women's Scottish Open 2025 at Dundonald Links Golf Course on July 27, 2025 in Troon, Scotland. (Photo by) Young Players Finding Success In Professional Debuts Woad became the second player in the last three years to win her pro debut. In 2023, Rose Zhang, the american stand out from Stanford, won her pro debut at the Mizuho Americas Open at Liberty National. World number one Nelly Korda, who played with Woad the first three rounds, got off to a great start making four-straight birdies on the front nine, before a bulky putter derailed her chances with a final round 71, finishing eight shots behind Woad. Woad hopped on the world stage last year as she birdied three of the final four holes to win the Augusta National Women's Amateur title. She commented that she felt more pressure there than in her professional debut in Scotland. "I think Augusta, that was the biggest tournament I played in at the time and was kind of my big win," Woad said. "So definitely felt the pressure of it more there, and I felt like all those experiences helped me with this." Women's professional golf heads to Wales next week to Royal Porthcrawl for the final major of the season, the AIG Women's Open. Lottie Woad will look to continue her stellar play as she will undoubtedly be one of the favorites to win.
Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Times
Lottie Woad wins Scottish Open on professional debut
Lottie Woad rounded off the month of her life with a consummate win on her professional debut at the Women's Scottish Open. The 21-year-old's cover as a fantastic prodigy has long been blown and so it was no surprise to see her shedding all challengers as she made her way to the title and the $300,000 (£220,000) prize on Dundonald Links. 'It's a pretty good outcome I guess,' she said in her understated way. 'I definitely wasn't expecting to win my first event. I was just hoping to contend. It was the first time playing links golf since the Open last year so I was not exactly sure how it would go — but it was fine.' Woad was utterly unflustered when her two-stroke overnight lead was whittled away by Kim Hyo-joo, and as the Korean faltered, the woman from Farnham whetted every appetite for this week's AIG Women's Open at Royal Porthcawl. Even when she lost a shot on the 16th, her solitary bogey, she managed the climax with a minimum of fuss. On the final hole, a par five, she played it safe with a lay-up but still made a birdie to give her a round of 68 and a three-stroke victory margin at 21 under par. It has been a remarkable July. She followed up her win at the Women's Irish Open with a third place at the Evian Championship, the fourth major of the year. Her amateur status meant she missed out on what would have been about £450,000 in prize money, and the Florida State star decided to turn professional a week ago. This was some start but she looks immune to the spiralling hype. A smile, handshake and then hug for her parents, Rachel and Nick, ensued. 'My dad has been here all week and mum got the train up last night, so I was hoping I would not mess it up,' she said. Kim, a major winner in 2014, drew level on the back nine and a quality field had been reduced to a duel. But the momentum shifted decisively within the space of a minute when Kim bogeyed the 15th and Woad made a birdie on the 14th. That two-shot swing put her back in charge and one of the most impressive things about what followed was the sense of inevitability rather than any understandable sign of nerves. When Kim made a second successive bogey on the 16th the writing was on the wall and the name was as good as on the trophy. The attention is not new and Woad had already been attracting plenty of plaudits by the time she won the Augusta National Women's Amateur last year. She rose to the top of the amateur rankings and her form this year meant the debate quickly turned to when she would join the LPGA. As has also been the case on the men's circuit, Woad is showing how the US collegiate system is producing players ready to compete and win on the pro tours without an acclimatization period. The publicity and expectation will now intensify ahead of Royal Porthcawl but so far Woad, tenth in last year's Open, has taken everything in her stride. Joining her in Wales will be Spain's Julia Lopez Ramirez, who had the round of the day with a 65 to finish third and book her place in the final major of the year. Nelly Korda, the world No1, had a miserable Sunday with four back-nine bogeys dropping her to fifth place, some eight shots adrift of Woad. Padraig Harrington won his second senior major of the year at Sunningdale when he held off Justin Leonard and Thomas Bjorn to win the Senior Open by three shots. The Irishman, 53, also won the Senior US Open in Colorado last month.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Woad wins on pro debut as Aussie challenge withers away
Lottie Woad has claimed her first professional victory on her debut by winning the Women's Scottish Open title by three shots. There was little cheer for Australia, however, with Karis Davidson, Cassie Porter and Minjee Lee all finishing bunched in joint 21st, 16 shots adrift of Woad. Davidson, after firing a stunning 66 on Saturday, and Porter, had been 10 shots behind the leader going into the final round. Lee, who had been joint third after the opening day, had slipped to joint 27th after her penultimate round before going round in 71 to marginally improve her final standing. Hoist it high, @LottieWoad. You've earned it 👏 — LPGA (@LPGA) July 27, 2025 Woad, the 21-year-old former world No.1 amateur from Surrey finished with a final round score of 68 after four days of competition at Dundonald Links. It was her first victory since turning professional earlier in July. She entered the final round with a two-stroke lead and made birdies on the second, third, 13th and 14th before hitting a bogey on the 16th. Woad made par on the 17th before a pinpoint approach set up a birdie on the 18th to wrap up the title. She becomes the first player to win on their professional Ladies European Tour debut since Singapore's Shannon Tan, at the Magical Kenya Ladies Open in February 2024. Woad said on Sky Sports: "It's a pretty good outcome, I guess! Definitely wasn't expecting to win my first event, but I knew I was playing well so I was kind of hoping to contend. "I played really solid today. It was pretty nice in the end, could lay up on the par five. "Links golf is really fun, don't get to play it too often. This is my first time playing links golf since the Open last year. I wasn't exactly sure how it would go, but it went fine!" Woad finished three shots ahead of second-placed Kim Hyo-joo, who fired seven birdies and three bogeys in a mixed fourth round. Julia Lopez Ramirez and Kim Sei-young shared third on 14 under, with world No.1 Nelly Korda a shot back in fifth. English duo Alice Hewson and Charley Hull finished tied for 10th and 21st, respectively. Attention now turns to the Women's Open at Royal Porthcawl, which begins on Thursday. Looking ahead to that tournament, Woad added: "Even if I hadn't won this week, I'd still be trying to win it and just trying to be up there really is all you can ask for going into the final day."
Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- Sport
- Al Arabiya
Lottie Woad, a former Florida State star, wins the women's Scottish Open in her pro debut
Lottie Woad tapped in one final birdie, plucked the ball out of the cup, and gave a simple wave to the crowd as if she had done this before. The English star made it look easy Sunday when she won the Women's Scottish Open in her professional debut. Woad never flinched when Hyo Joo Kim made a charge on a windy day at Dundonald Links, closing with a 4-under 68 for a three-shot victory. Woad is the second player in three years to win on the LPGA Tour in her pro debut, following Rose Zhang in the Mizuho Americas Open at Liberty National in 2023. Woad finished at 21-under 267 and earned $300,000. 'I think it's quite hard to do that but very special to win in my first event,' Woad said. 'Everyone was chasing me today and managed to maintain the lead and played really nicely down the stretch and hit a lot of good shots.' For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app. Kim had opened with four birdies in seven holes, and when the South Korean added birdies on the 11th and 12th, she shared the lead with Woad. Woad was unflappable, making birdie on the 13th and 14th holes to regain control and dropping only one shot late in her round. She finished with a three-quarter wedge over a winding burn to 2 feet for birdie and a reserved celebration. Her victory is certain to get everyone's attention in women's golf. Woad was the No. 1 amateur in the women's ranking when she won the Women's Irish Open on the Ladies European Tour three weeks ago. Then she finished one shot out of a playoff in the Evian Championship in France, an LPGA major. That gave her enough points for an LPGA card, so the 21-year-old decided to forgo her final year at Florida State and turn pro. Now she has an LPGA title – the Women's Scottish Open is co-sanctioned with the LET – as she heads south for Royal Porthcawl in Wales for the final major of the year in the Women's British Open. Nelly Korda, who played the opening three rounds with Woad, ran off four straight birdies on the front nine until missing some putts that stalled her momentum. She shot 71 and finished eight shots behind, leaving the American winless this year after a seven-win season in 2024. Julia Lopez Ramirez closed with a 65 and tied for third with Sei Young Kim (73), earning the Spaniard one of three spots available in the Women's British Open next week. The other spots went to Paula Reto of South Africa and Mary Liu of China. Woad first made a name for herself when she won the Augusta National Women's Amateur last year with birdies on three of the last four holes. She said that was more pressure than she felt in her pro debut. 'I think Augusta, that was the biggest tournament I played in at the time and was kind of my big win,' Woad said. 'So definitely felt the pressure of it more there and I felt like all those experiences helped me with this. The only difference this week was getting paid for it.' Along with winning the Women's Irish Open, Woad tied for 31st in the US Women's Open this year and tied for 10th in the Women's British Open at St. Andrews last summer. She heads to Wales hopeful of keeping the momentum. 'It's been pretty good, yeah. I don't really know how to describe it,' Woad said. 'Just been shooting low scores, which is always nice.' The LPGA Tour now has had a different winner in all 19 tournaments this year, the longest stretch of no multiple winners in its 75-year history.
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Lottie Woad, a former Florida State star, wins the Women's Scottish Open in her pro debut
IRVINE, Scotland (AP) — Lottie Woad tapped in one final birdie, plucked the ball out of the cup and gave a simple wave to the crowd as if she had done this before. The English star made it look easy Sunday when she won the Women's Scottish Open in her professional debut. Woad never flinched when Hyo Joo Kim made a charge on a windy day at Dundonald Links, closing with a 4-under 68 for a three-shot victory. Woad is the second player in three years to win on the LPGA Tour in her pro debut, following Rose Zhang in the Mizuho Americas Open at Liberty National in 2023. Woad finished at 21-year 267 and earned $300,000. 'I think it's quite hard to do that, but very special to win in my first event,' Woad said. 'Everyone was chasing me today, and managed to maintain the lead and played really nicely down the stretch and hit a lot of good shots.' Kim had opened with four birdies in seven holes, and when the South Korean added birdies on the 11th and 12th, she shared the lead with Woad. Woad was unflappable, making birdie on the 13th and 14th holes to regain control and dropping only one shot late in her round. She finished with a three-quarter wedge over a winding burn to 2 feet for birdie and a reserved celebration. Her victory is certain to get everyone's attention in women's golf. Woad was the No. 1 amateur in the women's ranking when she won the Women's Irish Open on the Ladies European Tour three weeks ago. Then, she finished one shot out of a playoff in the Evian Championship in France, an LPGA major. That gave her enough points for an LPGA card, so the 21-year-old decided to forgo her final year at Florida State and turn pro. Now she has an LPGA title — the Women's Scottish Open is co-sanctioned with the LET — as she heads south for Royal Porthcawl in Wales for the final major of the year in the Women's British Open. Nelly Korda, who played the opening three rounds with Woad, ran off four straight birdies on the front nine until missing some putts that stalled her momentum. She shot 71 and finished eight shots behind, leaving the American winless this year after a seven-win season in 2024. Julia Lopez Ramirez closed with a 65 and tied for third with Sei Young Kim (73), earning the Spaniard one of three spots available in the Women's British Open next week. The other spots went to Paula Reto of South Africa and Mary Liu of China. Woad first made a name for herself when she won the Augusta National Women's Amateur last year with birdies on three of the last four holes. She said that was more pressure than she felt in her pro debut. 'I think Augusta, that was the biggest tournament I played in at the time and was kind of my big win,' Woad said. 'So definitely felt the pressure of it more there, and I felt like all those experiences helped me with this.' The only difference this week was getting paid for it. Along with winning the Women's Irish Open, Woad tied for 31st in the U.S. Women's Open this year and tied for 10th in the Women's British Open at St. Andrews last summer. She heads to Wales hopeful of keeping the momentum. 'It's been pretty good, yeah. I don't really know how to describe it,' Woad said. 'Just been shooting low scores, which is always nice.' The LPGA Tour now has had a different winner in all 19 tournaments this year, the longest stretch of no multiple winners in its 75-year history. ___ AP golf:
