The 21-year-old arrives at Royal Porthcawl as one of the game’s hottest players — and remains impressively unfazed
Lottie Woad isn’t acting like a newcomer. The 21-year-old English golfer enters the 2025 AIG Women’s Open with two consecutive titles under her belt — and a wave of attention to match. But for all the momentum and mounting expectations, Woad remains grounded, composed, and focused. It’s the same demeanor that’s made her one of the most talked-about young players on tour this summer.
“Everyone’s been really nice,” she said this week in Porthcawl. “Everyone’s been coming up to say well done. So, yeah, it’s been great.”
Woad’s breakthrough month included a near miss at the Evian Championship — where she narrowly missed a playoff — and back-to-back wins at the Scottish and Irish Opens. The latter, clinched just days ago, gave her plenty to reflect on. But that will have to wait.
“I don’t think I’ve reflected too much, to be honest,” she admitted. “After this week, I’ve got a week before I go out to America. That’s probably when I’ll look back at the last few months and kind of reflect on that.”
A Major Debut, But Not a Newcomer
While this is Woad’s first major as a professional, she’s no stranger to top-tier competition. Her amateur career was highly decorated, and since turning pro just over a year ago, she’s been on a steep upward curve.
She credits her collegiate experience in the U.S. for some of that development — particularly off the course.
“I think probably golf maturity came first,” she said. “I’d never been to America before [college]. As an 18-year-old, I definitely wasn’t life mature, so I had to learn a bit about it.”
Those lessons are paying off. Woad has looked poised and collected under pressure, even in the heat of final rounds. During her most recent win, she didn’t even realize she was leading until late on Sunday.
“There wasn’t any scoreboard. I didn’t actually know I’d been caught on the back nine,” she said. “When I birdied 13 and 14, I found out I had the lead, and I was pretty comfortable coming down 18 just laying up.”
Testing Ground at Royal Porthcawl
This year’s Women’s Open marks the tournament’s first visit to Wales, and Royal Porthcawl promises to be a stern test. Woad, who played the course a month ago, says it’s more demanding off the tee than last year’s venue, St Andrews.
“There’s a lot more to mind off the tee,” she explained. “Definitely got to keep in play. A lot of holes, par is a good score, and then you’ve got to take a chance on the par-5s really.”
She also highlighted the unusual routing of the course, where players hit over parts of other holes — a quirk that requires mental focus and perhaps a bit of creativity.
“You’re going over people’s heads on 17, which is cool. Hopefully it doesn’t cause too many pace of play issues,” she said with a smile.
Blocking Out the Noise
For someone attracting increasing media attention and even betting favoritism, Woad handles the spotlight with remarkable steadiness.
“I think it’s still a learning process,” she said. “I don’t think you can ever really fully handle it. I just try and block out the noise as much as possible really.”
When asked if she felt any added pressure given her recent results, Woad shrugged it off.
“There’s always pressure obviously, but I don’t think there’s any more than there was before any of the last few weeks,” she said. “Kind of still was wanting to contend there, and that’s still the aim.”
Even her travel to the Open was low-key: she drove to Wales with her parents after her Irish Open win — a seven-hour car ride that doubled as a modest celebration.
“There wasn’t really much to do, but it was nice to be together,” she said.
A Player to Watch — and a Voice to Inspire
Now one of the game’s rising stars, Woad is also aware of her growing platform. Asked what advice she’d give to young girls watching her ascent, she kept it simple:
“Just try to have fun with it and not add too much stress,” she said. “Enjoy being in these events and competing and being in contention.”
Praise from her peers — including Nelly Korda, who described her as “absolutely amazing” — has made an impression. Woad remembers teeing it up with Korda in her pro debut and says the comment meant a lot.
“She’s someone I’ve always looked up to,” Woad said. “She’s obviously an amazing player and a great competitor, and to hear she said something like that is really nice.”
As for what’s next? Woad is hoping her run continues — and that she’ll find a car in America soon with her prize money.
