If the Ladies Professional Golf Association needed a boost, Lottie Woad (Titleist Pro V1) will certainly provide that.
The 21-year-old from Fareham, England has transferred her university skills to the pros with relative ease. After winning her debut professional event last week in the ISPS Handa Sottish Open by three strokes, she is the favorite for the AIG Women’s Open (British Open). If she wins, it will be a tournament win and a major win in her first two pro starts. That would be quite impressive.
Woad and Jenno Thitikul (Callaway Chrome Tour X) are the top two betting favorites. Some sites have Woad on top, others have Thitikul, followed Nelly Korda (Taylor Made TP5x), Minjee Lee (Callaway Chrome Tour X), Hyo Joo Kim (Titleist Pro V1x) and Angel Yin (Titleist Pro V1).
Woad decided to abandon her senior year at Florida State University because there was little left to accomplish. She had already demonstrated talent playing as an amateur against pros, winning the Irish Open on the Ladies European Tour by six strokes.
She will be courted by sponsors looking to align with her. And I think it will go beyond the golf community.
She tipped her hand placing T3 in The Amundi Evian Championship and said afterward she would talk to her parents about turning pro. But everybody knew she’d turn pro and all that was left was an official announcement. Can you imagine how big it would be if a native of England won events in Scotland and Wales in her first two pro tournaments, preceded by a win in Ireland? That would be huge in the United Kingdom, but it would be big overall in the golf world.
Woad placed T10 last year in her debut at the AIG Women’s Open.
Is there any reason to believe she wouldn’t duplicate that finish? The bigger question is can she win it the next year in only her third pro start?
There hasn’t been this kind of excitement since Rose Zhang (Callaway Chrome Tour X) turned pro in 2023 and won the Mizuho Americas Open in her debut. She became the first player in 72 years to win first time out after turning pro.
It only took two years to duplicate that.
Though Zhang won an event in 2024, for the most part she has struggled. She’s missed the cut in three of six tournaments this year. Expectations were through the roof when she turned pro, but it has quieted down.
Zhang could have been the young star to give the LPGA a boost beyond the golf world. Now Woad carries that with her.
It’s interesting that Woad emerges on the LPGA while fellow countrywomen Charley Hull (TaylorMade TP5x), who is one of the most interesting personalities on the Tour, is back in action following a virus that caused her to collapse and withdraw midway through the first round of the Evian Championship. She finished T21 in the Scottish Open and said afterward she was only playing at 80 percent. She went into great detail about what happened. Frankly, I could do a blog on it. Notwithstanding Woad, Hull would make for a great story if she won. The 29-year-old from Kettering, England would become even more legendary in England than she already is.
Thitikul placed second in a playoff to Grace Kim (Srixon Z-Star Diamond) in The Amundi Evian Championship, then missed the cut in the Scottish Open.
Korda placed fifth in the Scottish Open, her second top five in only five starts this year in which she has battled a neck issue.
THE PGA TOUR: All is quiet with all the majors having been played and minor tournaments left to determine who qualifies for the playoffs. It’s also a chance for some players to make their final push for Ryder Cup consideration. The big question is whether Keegan Bradley (Srixon Z-Star Diamond) will go ahead with being a playing Captain of the U.S. team, assuming he either qualifies by FedExCup points or is a Captain’s pick.
Team Europe captain Luke Donald (Titleist Pro V1 Left Dash) has agreed to a rule change to allow Bradley to play on the team without sacrificing his captain’s duties.
It is a strange situation, more so because Bradley was not picked for the Ryder Cup two years ago. Who would have ever expected the scenario now?
