On Tuesday, preparing for her first start as a professional, Lottie Woad was asked if it felt any different to be a pro versus an amateur.
“Not really,” she said. “No. Just try and do the same as I was doing before.”
That means shooting really low golf scores, which she has accomplished so far at the midway point of this week’s Women’s Scottish Open.
Woad shot a bogey-free seven-under 65 at Dundonald Links in Irvine, Scotland, on Friday, which comes a day after she opened with 67. She was one off the lead after the first day, but now she takes a solo lead into the weekend in her first pro event.
At 12 under, Woad leads Nelly Korda and Nanna Koerstz Madsen, who are both tied at 10 under.
Surprised? Woad isn’t.
“I played in seven majors now so I’ve had all that experience, and obviously the LET events, too,” she said. “So wasn’t really new things I guess. Kind of knew how to deal with it.”
Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised, either.
The 21-year-old English pro first landed on golf fans’ radar when she won the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in 2024 and finished second at the NCAA Championships a couple of months later. Playing at Florida State, she eventually took hold of the top spot in the women’s amateur rankings. She proved she could play with the pros, too, finishing 10th at the Women’s British Open last summer and winning the Ladies European Tour’s Irish Open earlier this month.
Then two weeks ago, at the Evian Championship, an LPGA major, she finished a shot out of a playoff. But that third-place finish was good enough to give her LPGA Tour membership, which she accepted. This week is her first official start.
What’s even more impressive is the fact that Woad can’t hide from the spotlight this week. Besides a highly anticipated pro debut, she was also grouped with Korda and Charley Hull for the first two rounds, making that threesome the most popular group for the first two days.
On Friday they started on the 10th hole and Woad birdied three of her last five to turn in 33. She birdied all four par-5s and added her final birdie on the par-4 9th hole, which pushed her lead to two at the halfway point.
“I’m just going to stick to the plan I’ve had all week and same strategy, and just keep trying to play well,” Woad said. “Obviously people will be chasing me but just not going to change anything.”
Why would she?
