Woad wins Augusta with birdies
Lottie Woad birdied three of her last four holes for a 3-under-par 69 and a one-shot victory over Bailey Shoemaker in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur on Saturday.
Two shots behind with five holes to play, the 20-year-old from England delivered a charge that would hold its own against some of the greatest finishes at Augusta National.
Woad, a Florida State sophomore, did it with a wedge to 10 feet for birdie on the 17 th, and a 9-iron to 15 feet to set up the winner. Woad finished at 8-under 208.
Shoemaker, a USC freshman, could only watch after finishing with a bogey-free 66, the best round of the day that looked like a winner until Woad came through in the clutch.
Woad started the final round with a two-shot lead and fell behind when Shoemaker made her sixth and final birdie, and posted at 7 under.
And then it got worse. Woad did just about everything wrong on the par-5 13th — a bad tee shot, the wrong layup, a terrible wedge, and a putt down the slope she thought might go into the tributary of Rae’s Creek. It added a bogey on a birdie hole, and she was two behind.
And then she drove into the trees on the 14th and had no chance of hitting the green. Woad made a 10-foot par putt that she considered more valuable than any of her closing birdies.
“If I made bogey there, I was definitely out of it,” Woad said.
PGA — Akshay Bhatia birdied his last two holes at TPC San Antonio for a 4-under 68, taking a four-shot lead over Denny McCarthy into the final round of the Valero Texas Open as he tries to get the last spot in the Masters.
McCarthy was the only player who managed to stay close to the 22-year-old Bhatia, and his three birdies in a four-hole stretch in the middle of the back nine enabled him to cut the lead to two shots. He closed with three pars for a 67.
After McCarthy, the next closest player to the lead was Brendon Todd, who shot 70 and was seven shots behind.
LPGA — Nelly Korda raced out to an early lead and beat the self-destructing Narin An, 4 and 3, in the semifinals of the T-Mobile Match Play at Shadow Creek Golf Course in North Las Vegas to put herself a match away from her fourth straight LPGA Tour victory.
The world’s top-ranked player will play Leona Maguire in the final Sunday. The Irish star beat Sei Young Kim, 3 and 2.
Korda is trying to become the first LPGA Tour player to win four consecutive starts since Lorena Ochoa in 2008. The record is five, set by Nancy Lopez in 1978 and matched by Annika Sorenstam in 2004-05.
Korda advanced by defeating Angel Yin, 3 and 2, and Maguire beat Moriya Jutanugarn, 4 and 3. Also, Kim routed Rose Zhang, 6 and 5, and An beat Minami Katsu, 1 up.
LIV — Sergio Garcia birdied his final hole for a 4under 68, giving him a two-shot lead in LIV Golf Miami as he goes after his first title in the Saudifunded circuit.