Woad cements reputation with amateur crown
18-YEAR-OLD THRILLED WITH MATCHPLAY WIN AT CARNOUSTIE
It’s been a good year with a busy run of events. I’m glad to finish it off with victory in, I think, my last junior event.
Lottie Woad
LOTTIE Woad admitted it was one of the highlights of her golfing career to date after she was crowned the girls’ amateur champion at Carnoustie on Sunday.
In the 36-hole final, Farnham’s Woad, 18, defeated Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio, from Spain, 7&6 to lift the trophy.
Woad, who was six-under-par for her 12 holes in the afternoon, said: “I thought it was going to be close after the morning round but I got a few good birdies and holed some putts to give me some more breathing room in the afternoon. I didn’t really miss a fairway in both rounds and was hitting approach shots close to make the putts.
“We both played well, so it perhaps looks a bigger win than it was as we did exchange birdies.
“There was no real wind so it was perfect. It’s amazing to add my name to the trophy, I can’t believe it – it’s great. Winning the gold medal at the Europeans with England was the highlight of my career, but this might top it now. It’s been a good year with a busy run of events. I’m glad to finish it off with victory in, I think, my last junior event.
“I wasn’t really thinking about the exemptions to come, but instead focused on the matchplay. My dad has been here the whole week and we’ve got family in Edinburgh who came to support me too.”
The conclusion to the 93rd Girls’ Amateur, played on an Open venue for the first time, began in overcast conditions with little breeze. But Woad and Fernandez Garcia-Poggio, both ranked inside the top 100 in the world, were soon shining on the links.
Fernandez Garcia-Poggio, 17, made the first move in the morning round, winning the fourth with a birdie three. Woad’s excellent eagle three then drew her back level at the 6th and a lovely birdie at the short 8th took her to one up.
The Surrey teenager – winner of the Sir Henry Cooper Masters this year and a victor with England women at the European Ladies’ Team Championship and the Home Internationals – cemented her lead at the par-3 13th when a poor chip from Fernandez Garcia-Poggio from behind the green left her with too much to do.
Woad maintained her steady play finding fairways and greens and matched her Spanish opponent’s birdie four on the 14th to stay two up.
A cold putter was not helping Fernandez Garcia-Poggio and she narrowly missed birdies on the closing three holes which might have reduced the deficit as Woad stayed two up going into the afternoon round.
Fernandez Garcia-Poggio, the Spanish Ladies’ Amateur winner, bogeyed the 19th to allow Woad to go three ahead but her birdie at the 21st clawed one back. Woad, though, then produced a brilliant run of three birdies in a row from the 22nd thanks to brilliant approach play, and moved to four up after the 24th. The Spaniard found trouble with a bad lie in the fairway bunker on the 27th and Woad moved a commanding five up. The England international, who plays off +7, finished in style with a further run of three straight birdies from the 28th. Woad, who came out on top of a 144-player field, secures exemptions into the Women’s Amateur Championship, the US Girls’ Junior, subject to age eligibility, the AIG Women’s Open Final Qualifying and, by tradition, an invitation to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.