Lottie Woad nearly wins Evian Championship as an amateur, settles for earning an LPGA card

By

[PHOTO: Stuart Franklin]

Lottie Woad earned her LPGA card in a unique way – she nearly won a major.

Woad, the 21-year-old who is the top-ranked amateur in the world, came close to winning the Amundi Evian Championship in France. She fired an impressive seven-under 64 on  the final day at Evian Resort Golf Club and even led at different points during the round. Ultimately, she finished at 13-under-par total, one shot shy of playoff between Jeeno Thitikul and our own Grace Kim, which Kim won with an eagle on the second hole of sudden death.

RELATED: Grace Kim’s incredible eagle, birdie, eagle finish delivers her first major title in playoff at Evian Championship

Woad needed to simply finish in the top 25 to earn the 20th and final point to collect her card through the LPGA Elite Amateur Pathway (LEAP) program, and she did much better than that. She’s the first to earn her card through this new program, designed to get the best players in the world onto tour faster. That’s exactly what will happen for the English star; it’s just unclear when she’ll turn professional.

“Very excited. It’s always been my dream to play on the LPGA, so yeah, really looking forward to it and grateful for the opportunity of this program,” Woad said.

When Woad finished her round, she was tied for the lead with world No.2 Thitikul. But Thitikul still had four holes to play and made a short birdie putt on the 17th hole to move ahead by one. Thitikul then missed an eight-foot birdie putt to win on the 18th hole, and she and Kim went to a playoff after Kim eagled the last hole.

In a post-round interview with the Golf Channel, Woad didn’t say when she’d turn professional.

“Not sure about that,” she said. “I’m just going to take the next week and discuss with my family and coaches and then I’ll make a decision after that.”

Woad is a junior at Florida State University and still has eligibility left, but it’s doubtful she’d return for her senior year. She can turn pro immediately and accept status all of this year and next, or return to college and delay becoming a professional until next season.

With an endless smile, Woad watched the television coverage on a phone outside for a while with her dad, Nick, and caddie and coach, then went to the driving range to hit some golf balls as the final holes played out. Even when Woad learned that Thitikul took the lead at 17, she was still smiling. She had eight birdies and just one bogey on the day.

RELATED: Lottie Woad is blazing path towards LPGA card through new LEAP program

“It was really fun. I knew starting the day I was only like five off, so I needed to have a quick start, and I did,” Woad said. “Then it was really just really fun after that.”

The last time an amateur nearly won a major before this was Hye-Jin Choi, who finished second to Sung-Hyun Park at the 2017 US Women’s Open. Last week, Woad won the KPMG Women’s Irish Open by six shots on the Ladies European Tour, her first victory in a professional event.

Woad was already scheduled to play in the Scottish Women’s Open and AIG Women’s British Open these next two weeks. Asked what her mindset will be now, Woad said: “It’s probably going to be pretty similar coming into this. Trying to be in contention and just going to try and do the same for those.”

Since her victory in 2024 at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship, Woad has had plenty of success playing in amateur and professional competition. This was her seventh major start and the fourth time she’s made the cut.