Augusta National champ Lottie Woad contending at Chevron Championship
Lottie Woad is taking advantage of her first major exemption, playing her way into contention through 36 holes of the Chevron Championship.
Woad shot 3-under 69 on Friday at The Club at Carlton Woods to sit at 4 under, four shots back of leader Atthaya Thitikul.
Thanks to winning the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, Woad, a sophomore at Florida State, earned spots into four of the LPGA’s five majors this season (all but the KPMG Women’s PGA).
Built for the moment, Lottie Woad delivers championship finish at Augusta
Woad has dedicated herself to golf, and all the hard work paid off in the clutch on Saturday.
The first came with a bit of awkward timing, the same week as the women’s ACC Championship. Woad had to make a quick call between the two, and after discussing with FSU coaches, she opted for the professional major, booking the last seat on her flight to Houston.
And it’s been an eye-opening experience. Woad doesn’t have any teammates to support her at the Chevron, she has a new caddie, and she has to coordinate everything herself.
“Yeah, it's definitely weird. I think in college everyone does everything for you so you kind of don't have to worry about how you're getting to the course and stuff like that,” she said. “This week you're just out a little more, but it's been fine.”
The one thing that hasn’t changed over the last few weeks is the quality of her play.
The 20-year-old Englishwoman birdied her final three holes to prevail at Augusta. So far this week at The Woodlands, she has 10 birdies through two rounds (along with six bogeys).
Her primary goal was to play the weekend. She’ll not only do that, she’ll have a later tee time on Saturday. If she keeps it up, she could find herself battling Nelly Korda, who is only one back in her bid for a fifth straight win, for the title on Sunday.
“That would be cool. I haven't met her yet. I'm kind of scared to go up to her, so ...,” Woad said.
“I just kind of want to continue how I'm playing, and if I can be aroundabouts the lead on Sunday, that would be pretty cool.”
