Lottie Woad rarely takes a day off.
When she wins – which, as the world’s top-ranked amateur, is a lot – it’s quickly back to the range to prepare for the next tournament.
No wonder Woad’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur trophy, made of sterling silver and 24k yellow gold vermeil, sits in her room back in Farnham, England, still in its box. Woad says she doesn’t want it to rust, but in reality, she doesn’t compete for trophies but rather the personal satisfaction of winning – and what it took to get there.
Woad is known as a workhorse, at Florida State’s practice facility every day, so much so that Seminoles head coach Amy Bond helped create the narrative that the soccer-loving Woad had never attended a college football game, opting instead to spend her Saturdays refining her craft.
It’s a white lie, Woad asserts, though it’s not far off – she’s never sat through a whole game. And why would she? Florida State went 2-10 last season.
The same cannot be said of the golf teams, both ranked in the top 11 nationally with each claiming the top-ranked amateur – Woad and Luke Clanton – as well as the No. 1 player in women’s college golf, junior Mirabel Ting, who has five wins this season in six starts. Woad has been somewhat overshadowed, which is hard to do when one considers she has not finished outside the top 3 in eight events. Her last finish outside the top 10 in a non-pro event came in July … of 2023.
Woad’s success could now be rewarded with an LPGA card – and without the stress of Q-School. The tour officially rolled out its LEAP program last November, and Woad has already earned 16 of the required 20 points needed to take up membership. The final four points seem inevitable, though when they come could determine Woad’s future as an amateur. Should she reach the 20-point mark before July 1, she could accept her card immediately for the current season only, or defer until after July 1 and receive membership all the way through next season.
If she does nothing else but remain No. 1 in WAGR at summer’s end, she’ll earn the four points as a repeat winner of the McCormack Medal. Then she’ll need to determine if she wants to return to Florida State for a senior year or go pro.
Decisions, decisions.
But for now, Woad is enjoying the ride, which takes her into her title defense in Augusta.
GolfChannel.com sat down with Woad during last month’s Moon Golf Invitational. Here’s that conversation, which has been slightly edited for clarity:
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA – APRIL 06: Lottie Woad of England and her caddie Steve Robinson celebrate on the 18th green after her birdie putt to win during the final round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur at Augusta National Golf Club on April 06, 2024 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
BRENTLEY ROMINE: The last time you finished outside the top 10 in a non-professional event, do you know when the last time that was?
LOTTIE WOAD: A while ago.
BR: 2023 European Ladies. How do you explain that?
LW: Yeah, I don’t really know how. I guess just being consistent with what I’m working on and, you know, I feel like my bad rounds have got a lot worse, so like if I don’t play great, I feel like I’m still kind of around the top 10 and not out of it going into the last day, whereas before it’d be like nowhere near.
BR: Where’s your game at right now compared to last year around this time?
LW: I feel pretty similar. I feel like I’m playing really good, improved some of my wedges and stuff like that. Could maybe improve my putting a little bit at the moment; it’s not really terrible, but I feel like that’s the area I’m trying to work on right now, just kind of in the 10- to 15-foot range I’m not really making as many as I probably was last year.
BR: It might be game over if you start making 15-footers with regularity.
LW: Yeah, like the last like however many college events I’ve played, like five, I didn’t putt good at any of them, and generally, I feel like you can’t put terrible and win, so I’ve been working a lot on that. Technique and all that is feeling good, just starting to see the ball go in the hole.
BR: How has your life off the golf course changed since this time last year?
LW: Before I was probably unknown and no one really knew about me. I guess now people do, so I guess that’s a little different, but I don’t think I’ve changed really. I think the team would agree, and I just have a lot of fun when I’m playing golf or hanging out with the team, so I don’t think anything else has really changed.
BR: How do you not let the expectations now, the increased notoriety, all of that, how do you not let it affect your golf?
LW: It’s difficult. At the start, it was new to me, so that was a little challenging, but, you know, I worked with psychologists and stuff like that, and I’ve always had high expectations for myself anyway, so, it’s kind of, I guess, ignoring other people. It kind of sounds bad, but I just kind of set little goals for myself, like at each round, whether that be green in reg or birdies or something like that, just so that it kind of takes my mind off of, you know, someone’s expecting me to win or play well.
BR: What…
