A young fan attracted plenty of attention on the Old Course this week by holding up a sign bearing the words: “Shy kids don’t get sweets”. The saying is one of Charley Hull’s favourites. However, with Hull having had a collapse in form over the weekend, it was 20-year-old amateur Lottie Woad with a tied-10th finish who stole the candy from her compatriots, clear of Hull and Georgia Hall in ties for 20th and 22nd place respectively.
Woad, who hails from Farnham in Surrey, was glowing with delight upon being presented with the Smyth Salver in front of the hallowed Royal and Ancient clubhouse. It was a neat piece of symmetry that the former Justin Rose Telegraph Junior winner was the low amateur to AIG Women’s Open winner Lydia Ko, as the New Zealander twice won the same prize.
Woad has already had success on another of the golf world’s most iconic courses. The Florida State University student made history by becoming the first European to win the Augusta National Amateur last April.
It would seem a combination of that victory, the high level of US women’s collegiate golf and a summer spent practicing in wind and on links courses, which she referred to on Thursday, helped her to eclipse World No 10 Hull who had held a one shot lead after the first round.
Woad’s impressive finish saw her just six shots behind Ko and four shots behind the cohort in second place, which included World No1 Nelly Korda and last year’s winner Lilia Vu. She followed up rounds of 72, 70 and 72 over the first three days with a final effort of 73.
On top of her Augusta win, Woad is currently the top-ranked player in the World Amateur Golf Rankings and finished in a tie for 23rd at the first women’s major of the year, the Chevron Championship, before going on to play in the US Women’s Open and Evian Championship. These accolades showed she had the ability to compete with the best of British in Hull and Hall.
After her round Woad reflected on her breakthrough year and explained the confidence her Augusta win gave her. She said: “It’s been really great for me confidence-wise.
“Getting to play in all these events, as well, and playing well in a few of them has definitely given me a lot of confidence going into my next year of college.”
Her round on Sunday did not have a spectacular moment as she did on Saturday with her eagle on the 18th. With modesty her response when asked about the round: “It was good. I knew what I had to do the last few holes. It definitely played quite tough. So, it was a little bit of a grind, but you know, got it done in the end.”
Despite not taking away a pay cheque, Woad has been doing good business off the course as she signed with Excel Sports Management earlier this month which represents the likes of Rose, Tiger Woods and Justin Thomas.
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