The world’s number one women’s amateur Lottie Woad stormed to the KPMG Women’s Irish Open title with a six-shot triumph to claim a maiden LET Tour victory.
The 21-year-old Englishwoman went into Sunday’s final round with previous rounds of 68-67-67 which set her well ahead by seven strokes of the trailing pack at the Carton House O’Meara Course. Woad maintained her focus throughout the final round not allowing anyone to put her under pressure at the summit of the leaderboard. By the end, she clinched a first Ladies European Tour (LET) title closing with a final-round 69 to end on 21 under.
Woad started off strong with early birdies at the 2nd and 4th. At the 5th she rolled in only her second bogey of the week but she was quick to recover with birdies at the 8th and 13th. Another bogey followed at the 15th, but again she bounced back with back-to-back birdies at the 16th and 17th. She parred the 18th in a strong finish that secured her a second win as an amateur after the Augusta Women’s National Amateur in 2024.
“It means a lot to get the win,” said Woad. “Obviously, I had a big lead coming into today, but I still had to really focus as I was being chased by some really good players. I’m happy to get it done. It’s perfect. I feel like I’m playing well, and I hope to continue that into Evian next week.”
Woad is now in need of only two more points to gain her LPGA Tour membership through the LPGA Elite Amateur Pathway (LEAP). But she’s in no rush.
“No, I’m not tempted to turn pro yet,” she added. “I’m still trying to get my final two points for the LPGA. I’m trying to get those and then we will see what happens after that.”
Despite her victory, Woad will not receive any of the 67,500 euro ($79,200) prize money due to the fact that she is an amateur. As a result, the winner’s share goes to Sweden’s Madelene Sagström in second.
Sagström recorded a final-round 68 to finish on 15 under. When faced with the overnight scores, the Swede knew it would be a tough task to overhaul Woad.
“The only chance I would have had today would have been with a really hot start and I did not,” said Sagström. “She [Lottie] played wonderfully. It was going to be a hard task with the scores from yesterday.”
Trailing a shot further behind at 14 under was New Zealand’s Amelia Garvey who took third, while England’s Charley Hull ended the tournament on 12 under to end in fourth.
What is the next event?
The next event on the Ladies European Tour is The Amundi Evian Championship taking place on 10-13 July at Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-Les-Bains, France.