England’s Lottie Woad claimed her maiden LPGA Tour title on her first professional appearance on the LPGA Tour thanks to an impressive three-shot victory at the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open.
Coming into the final day at Dundonald Links, Woad held the overnight lead, two shots ahead of Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim. She maintained the advantage all the way through, posting a round of 68 on Sunday to finish at 21-under for the week.
She made her first birdie of the day early at the 2nd, followed by another at the 3rd. But Kim cut Woad’s lead to one with a series of birdies of her own at the 5th, 6th, and 7th. The Korean bogeyed the 8th but bounced back with two birdies coming onto the back nine that saw her sit alongside Woad at the summit. But the rookie charged ahead, birdieing holes 13 and 14. By the 16th, Kim had fallen back after consecutive bogeys and Woad was three shots ahead. A brief struggle with the thick rough at the 16th saw Woad make her first bogey of the round but she quickly recovered to close in style with a final birdie on the 18th and seal a magical maiden victory.
“It [winning] is a pretty good outcome, I guess!” Woad said afterwards. “I definitely wasn’t expecting to win my first event, but knew I was playing well. I was just hoping to contend and played really solid today. It was pretty nice in the end, being able to lay up on the par five.
“I didn’t know I’d got level [with Kim]. I knew it would be quite tight, as I was only a couple under at the turn. When I had the two birdies early on the back nine I knew I probably had a bit of a lead by then.
“I don’t get to play it too often – this is my first time playing links golf since the AIG Women’s Open last year. I wasn’t exactly sure how it would go but it went fine!”
The impressive milestone comes just a few weeks after the 21-year-old secured her maiden Ladies European Tour title at the KPMG Women’s Irish Open.
Woad becomes just the 12th Englishwoman to claim victory on the LPGA Tour, and only the third player ever to do so on their first start as an LPGA Tour Member.
Kim ended the tournament in second on 18 under with a final-round 68. Spain’s Julia Lopez Ramirez closed with a final-round 65 that earned her a share of third alongside Korea’s Sei Young Kim on 14 under. World No. 1 Nelly Korda, still in search of her first 2025 victory, rounded off the top-5 on 13 under.
What is the next event?
The next event on the LPGA Tour is the AIG Women’s Open taking place on 31 July – 3 August at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in Wales.