English amateur leads by seven shots heading into the final round at Carton House
Lottie Woad continued her standout performance at the 2025 KPMG Women’s Irish Open, shooting a bogey-free 67 on Saturday to stretch her lead to seven shots with one round remaining.
The 21-year-old from England, the current world number one amateur, began the day with a three-shot advantage and showed no signs of slowing down at Carton House’s O’Meara Course. Her six-under-par round took her to 17-under for the tournament.
Smooth Start, Strong Finish
Woad opened with a birdie on the first hole and added three more on the front nine to make the turn at four-under. She then birdied the 15th and 16th before making a critical par save on the 17th to close out another flawless round.
“I was trying to extend the lead today if possible and keep playing how I was playing the previous days,” Woad said after her round. “The front nine was really nice and stress-free. On the back nine I had to make a few par-saves, but I chipped well and made some up-and-downs that kept the momentum.”
With no amateur having won on the Ladies European Tour since Jana Melichova at the 2022 Tipsport Czech Ladies Open, Woad stands on the verge of making history.
Confident Yet Cautious
Despite her sizeable lead, Woad plans to stay aggressive heading into Sunday’s final round.
“I want to win it,” she said. “I’m going to keep playing my game and see where it puts me. There will be spots where I’ll play it safe, but I’ll definitely stay aggressive — you can score well out here and I don’t want to play too conservative.”
Chasing Pack Struggles to Keep Pace
Sweden’s Madelene Sagström sits alone in second at 10-under after a three-under 70. Sagström had birdies on 4, 6, 15, and 18, but also dropped a shot on the ninth.
“It’s tricky when it’s windy,” she said. “I struggled a bit off the tee, but I’m happy I hung in there. Lottie is obviously playing great golf. It doesn’t mean we can’t go low, but it’ll be a big task.”
Australia’s Kirsten Rudgeley is third at nine-under after a 71. She managed three birdies and one bogey but admitted it was tough to keep up with Woad’s momentum.
“I didn’t have my best golf out there,” Rudgeley said. “It’s another day tomorrow, we’ll see what happens.”
Other Notables
Five players are tied for fourth at eight-under: Anne-Charlotte Mora (France), Blanca Fernandez (Spain), Amelia Garvey (New Zealand), Charley Hull (England), and Chiara Tamburlini (Switzerland). Ireland’s Anna Foster and Alexandra Swayne of the U.S. Virgin Islands are one shot back in a tie for ninth.
Foster and England’s Meghan MacLaren both shot 67s on Saturday, joining Woad as the lowest rounds of the day.
The final group tees off at 11:45 a.m. local time on Sunday. Fans can follow the action on social media @LETgolf and on the Ladies European Tour’s YouTube and Facebook pages.
