Wonderful Woad

In a year of special moments, winning the Smyth Salver at the home of golf is right at the top of the list for England’s Lottie Woad.

The 20-year-old collected the coveted prize for low amateur at the AIG Women’s Open following her impressive one-under-par tally at St Andrews.

It caps a phenomenal year for the Florida State University student who, in April, became the first European winner of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship on her way to climbing to the top of the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

“It’s definitely been a great year for me,” said Woad. “It’s obviously special to win the Smyth Salver [at St Andrews],” said Woad. “It was just a really fun week overall, getting to play here in my first AIG Women’s Open.

“I was looking to play all four days, to try to see how far up I could finish and to try to be the low amateur.

“Winning was a big step and now I just want to take all of that confidence into my next year of college and continue to do well.”

Woad joins an illustrious list of Smyth Salver winners which includes 2024 AIG Women’s Open Champion Lydia Ko [below, right], who won the low amateur prize – alongside Georgia Hall – the last time the Championship was staged at St Andrews, in 2013.

Other big-name winners include Michelle Wie West, Anna Nordqvist and Rose Zhang.

“It means a lot to be following in their footsteps,” said Woad, “especially seeing what they have done in their careers afterwards. It’s definitely going to give me a lot more confidence.”

Woad led home a quartet of amateurs who were battling it out for honours over the weekend – the joint-highest number to make the cut since Royal Liverpool in 2012.

Julia Lopez Ramirez [below] – number two in the World Amateur Golf Ranking – Louise Rydqvist and Ela Anacona all threatened for supremacy at various stages.

Rydqvist extended her stay in Fife with an impressive bogey-free, five-under 67 on Friday to make the mark comfortably, while Lopez Ramirez moved to within one of Woad when she went five-under through 10 in the final round.

A double-bogey on the 8th and a dropped shot on 12 threatened to derail Woad’s Sunday charge but she held firm, coming home with five straight pars before birdieing the 18th.

“Four out of five making the cut was amazing,” said Woad of her fellow amateurs.

“Most of us were playing in the opening morning which was pretty brutal weather-wise, so it definitely shows that there’s a lot of talent coming through. We’re pretty much all in college in America so we play each other quite a lot over there and we know each other pretty well too.”

Standing on the 18th green holding the Smyth Salver rounded off a terrific four days for Woad, who will compete in the Curtis Cup in Sunningdale later this week.

Impressing on her debut in the major she loves the most and a hole-out eagle on 18 on Saturday were just two highlights from a standout week.

Woad said: “Every day was great fun. Conditions weren’t the best so I guess it shows that I can play in the worst of it. The wind was a struggle so I’m kind of glad that I shouldn’t be playing in any more wind for a few more weeks!

“The eagle is definitely up there. I was struggling a bit on Saturday but managed to hole it on the last and everyone went wild, so that was definitely a cool memory. And walking up the last and making birdie was also pretty cool.”

Ko is the third golfer to win both the AIG Women’s Open and the Smyth Salver, after Nordqvist and Hall – a feat Woad admitted she would love to emulate.

“It would be amazing,” she said. “I started Sunday only five off the lead so I was thinking ’you never know…’

“Obviously being from England, this major is the best one in my opinion and it’s one that I’ll always dream of winning.”