Based on her performance over the past few weeks, you would never guess that Lottie Woad still had amateur status.
Lottie Woad, ANWA winner, exhibiting prodigy status at Chevron Championship
Young Englishwoman Lottie Woad, fresh off her win at Augusta National, is back in the mix at the Chevron Championship.
Jack Milko has been playing golf since he was five years old. He has yet to record a hole-in-one, but he did secure an M.A. in Sports Journalism from St. Bonaventure University.
But the Englishwoman, who triumphed at Augusta National in dramatic fashion, is a current sophomore at Florida State. And yet, this week, she had to skip out on the ACC Championships to make her major championship debut—a good excuse that her coach approved of.
Her victory at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur earned her a spot in the Chevron Championship, the first of five majors on the LPGA calendar. And unsurprisingly, Woad is making the most of her opportunity. She sits at 4-under through 36 holes, three strokes behind Nelly Korda at the midway point.
“It’s definitely been a whirlwind,” Woad said of her recent experiences.
“I didn’t really have a chance to let Augusta sink in. I was just coming here straightaway. I obviously took a lot of confidence from Augusta, so I’m just trying to use that for this week.”
She has leaned heavily on her confidence thus far, and it shows.
Woad opened with a 1-under 71 and followed that up with a 3-under 69 on Friday.
“I’m feeling good. I’m playing well,” Woad assessed.
“I would probably grade [my play thus far] pretty highly. I was trying to make sure I made the weekend—that was my aim for this week. I didn’t know what position exactly, but I’m in a good position now, so I am just going to keep trying to move up.”
No matter where she finishes over the weekend, Woad has already cemented herself as a prodigy—similar to how Rose Zhang did this year ago. What the Florida State Seminole has accomplished this week is otherworldly, as she is right in the mix with some of the best female players in the world.
“I just want to continue how I’m playing,” Woad added.
“If I can be aroundabouts the lead on Sunday, that would be pretty cool.”
It would be more than cool.
It would be historic.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
