
Lottie Woad wins the ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open
After her six-shot victory as an amateur at the Women's Irish Open at the start of July, as well as a third-place finish in a major at the Evian Championship the following week, this was another significant statement of intent from a truly special talent.
As she marched off the final green, having put the tin lid on another thrilling conquest, she was greeted with a triumphant skirl of the pipes.
Perhaps a rehashing of a tune from the Beethoven collection would've been more appropriate. Woad to Joy, anyone? No, I thought not.
A week ago at The Open, we were all waxing lyrical about the calm, composed feats of a man called Scottie. On Sunday at Dundonald, it was a Lottie that everybody was talking about after her serene march to glory.
Leading by two heading into the final round, Woad staved off the menacing advances of Kim with a terrific display of frontrunning golf.
Even when Kim drew level at the top for a spell, Woad remained unflustered and upped the ante with a clinical burst of back-to-back birdies as she neared the closing stretch.
'It's very special to win in my first event as a professional and it's quite hard to do that,' said the former world amateur No 1.
'Everyone was chasing me today, but I managed to maintain the lead and played really nicely down the stretch.
'I'd played a lot of majors and pro events before this, so it wasn't all new. Those experiences helped.'
The final day developed into a two-horse race as Woad and the experienced Kim separated themselves from the rest.
Woad cemented her place at the top with a couple of birdies at the second and third while Kim, playing in the match ahead, made a telling thrust with four birdies in her opening seven holes to bolster her assault on the title.
A major winner back in 2014, and a multiple champion on both the LPGA Tour and her native Korean circuit down the years, Kim tried her best to put the pressure on as she nibbled into Woad's advantage.
Not that Woad paid much attention to her push, mind you. 'I didn't really know the score for most of the back nine,' admitted Woad.
Having briefly manoeuvred her way into a share of the lead just after the turn, Kim's hopes suffered a damaging dunt as she stumbled to a brace of bogeys at 15 and 16.
Woad's little flurry of birdies gave her a three-shot lead and despite spilling her only shot of the day on the 16th, the former Curtis Cup player didn't let that slip faze her.
With a two-shot cushion playing the last, Woad plotted her way safely up the fairway then flicked a wedge into a couple of feet of the flag to set up a birdie which gilded the lily.
'I felt pretty good going down 18 because I knew I had a two-shot lead and just hit an 80-yard lay-up and an 80-yard shot,' she said of her stress-free meander up the closing par-5.
'I felt pretty confident coming down there.'
During her shimmering summer, Woad has forfeited around £480,000 in prize money due to her amateur status. Now that she's a professional, she could finally shove a cheque into her pocket.
'I don't even know what the winner gets,' she said with a smile. How does £223,000 sound, Lottie?
'A lot of people have talked about me not winning any money,' she added. 'I knew going into all the events (as an amateur) that I wasn't going to win any money. It didn't make too much difference.
'I knew if I kept playing how I was, then it would all work out.'
Kim's 68 gave her second place on 18-under, four shots ahead of Julia Lopez Ramirez and Sei Young Kim who shared third.
Nelly Korda, the world No 1 who was making her first appearance in the Women's Scottish Open, signed off with a 71 for 13-under while Gemma Dryburgh, the only Scot to make the cut, finished down the field on seven-over.
All roads now lead to Porthcawl for this week's AIG Women's Open, the final major of the season.
Woad will hurtle into south Wales on the crest of a wave.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mirror
4 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Scottie Scheffler backed to follow in Tiger Woods' footsteps as 'weakness' claim made
Scottie Scheffler, 29, blew the rest of the field away to win his fourth major title last week and add the Claret Jug to his two Masters victories and win at the PGA Championship Ernie Els insists Scottie Scheffler is every bit as dominant as Tiger Woods was at his peak and has backed the Texan to become one of the all-time greats after winning The Open. Scheffler, 29, blew the rest of the field away to win his fourth major title last week and add the Claret Jug to his two Masters victories and win at the PGA Championship. It was a performance that had more than a trace of Woods at his very best. Scheffler is the first world No.1 to win The Open since Woods in 2006 and has now won all four of his majors having led after 54-holes - a trait Woods was famously known for after converting an overnight lead into a major title 14 times. Both men also took 1197 days to win their fourth major from the date of their first triumph, and the pair are two of only four players – the other two being Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player – to win the Masters, The Open and PGA Championship before the age of 30. And two-time Open Champion, and fellow four-time major winner, Els thinks as long as Scheffler continues to dominate, his name will carry on being mentioned alongside Woods'. 'There's always going to be similarities between Scottie Scheffler and Tiger because of the way he's performing and the way he's winning,' said Els, speaking at the launch of his new golf club, Els Club Vilamoura. 'It's very much the way Tiger did things. He takes leads and he doesn't relinquish those leads. He's not scared of winning anymore, he knows how to win. He's becoming ruthless in that manner. 'His game is awesome. He's got no real weakness. His putting is one of his strengths now, so all in all, he's very, very interesting to watch. I'd love to see what he does in the next five to 10 years.' Scheffler's triumph at The Open also continues the recent stronghold on the competition held by US players. The last three Claret Jugs have been lifted by those who hail from across the Atlantic thanks to Xander Schauffele and Brian Harman's wins in 2024 and 2023 respectively. For Els, it dispels the myth about Americans struggling on links courses. 'I think you adapt,' continued the South African, who won his first Open at Muirfield in 2002 before winning the Claret Jug 10 years later at Royal Lytham & St Annes. 'When you're a good ball striker, and you have to be a good ball striker on links land, if you can strike the ball out of the middle of a club, you will learn how to play on links. 'It's normally a good ball striker who will get himself to learn how to play. Scottie Scheffler has learned how to do that. David Duval did that, Phil Mickelson too. 'There are a lot of players that have done that and had success on links course] that have never really played links. 'When you find your way around links, you're going to have success, and that's what's going on.' Els played a nine-hole exhibition to open the Els Club Vilamoura alongside Scottish legend Colin Montgomerie and 2001 Open Champion David Duval. The Algarve course is a championship-standard 18-hole golf course that features a luxury clubhouse and signature amenities such as the 261 Bar, and was built on the redesigned Victoria course, which hosted the Portugal Masters from 2007 to 2022. It will host the new PGA Champions Tour event, the Portugal Invitational, after signing a five-year deal. The first edition of the event is set to be held between 31 July to 2 August 2026. Els said: 'Golf is in the pretty sweet spot at the moment and [creating this course] has been a really nice venture. We want the conditions to be absolutely perfect and for people to have a great experience and good food.' Montgomerie added: 'The golf course is superb, and the clubhouse is fantastic. It's not just a course for the present; it's a course for the future as well.' PGA TOUR Champions announces the Portugal Invitational to be held at The Els Club Vilamoura on course designed by Ernie Els. PGA TOUR Champions, Arrow Global Group, Turismo de Portugal, and Turismo de Algarve will deliver a five-year partnership and will debut the week of July 27, 2026, and will feature a field of 78 players. For more information visit


Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Golf star dubbed ‘female Tiger Woods' admits she doesn't do ‘rubbish' training
One AIG Women's Open contender was just nine when she was compared to Tiger Woods, but she has always remained her own person, and she has the results to prove it English golf sensation Charley Hull was just nine years old when she first grabbed the spotlight and was hailed as the next Tiger Woods. The prodigy made waves by clinching the 2005 Ladies Golf Union Championship before even hitting double digits. Today, the 29-year-old is still on the lookout for her maiden major victory. Known for her unconventional habit of lighting up cigarettes on the course, Hull could snap up that elusive title at the upcoming AIG Women's Open at Royal Porthcawl this weekend. Granted special permission to smoke during last year's Solheim Cup, Hull has been a force to reckon with since her pre-teen days of beating adult competition. Yet even as a youngster, she had the maturity to shrug off comparisons with a legend like Woods. "I want to be my own person really," a nine-year-old Hull said after her landmark victory 20 years ago. "Everyone is saying you're the new Tiger Woods and I think yeah, well, whatever. I want to be myself." True to her word, Hull has carved out her own identity, not just due to smoking on the course but also in her approach to practice. With top-six finishes in all five women's majors under her belt, Hull is certainly doing things her way. The Kettering-born star, who wed MMA fighter Ozzie Smith in 2019 before divorcing two years later, has confessed she's not a fan of training specifically for her sport and favours her own fitness regimes. She also takes part in Hyrox competitions and was gutted when illness hampered her training at the Evian Championship earlier this year. "I've not been [to the] gym in two weeks and I'm not going to go to the gym for another two weeks," she said upon making a comeback at the Scottish Open last week. "I need my immune system to catch up. It drives me bonkers not being able to go to the gym." To Hull, staying active is integral to her lifestyle rather than just her golfing pursuits. And the two-time LPGA Tour winner has dismissed golf-specific workouts as "a load of rubbish," admitting she finds it hard to engage with them. In an interview with BBC Sport, she said: "I don't train for golf, I train to keep my body and mind fit. I've no interest in doing it for golf. I just do it for myself, as a hobby, trying to beat my own fitness goals. "It's all this boring movement stuff I've been doing since I was 14. It's just not for me." Regarding her notorious smoking habit, Hull recently owned up to puffing on up to 40 cigarettes a day until not long ago. She has said smoking helps her unwind on the course, although she had to abstain during the 2024 Paris Olympics due to a ban. Since then, she seems to have quit after placing a £10,000 bet with mate Ryan Evans that she could abstain for two months. Hull, who caught the public's eye by sitting on a tee box at the Women's US Open, doesn't seem to have touched a cigarette since. "I think it's the easiest thing I've ever done in my life," she said at the Black Desert Championship in May. "Yeah, it's pretty, pretty, pretty easy. I'm a strong-minded person. Usually when I put my head and my mind to something I can do it."


Scotsman
a day ago
- Scotsman
Notable absentees in Scottish Amateur Championship at Gullane
Connor Graham and Cameron Adam among star players sitting out national championship Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Alexander Farmer's bid to become the first player since 1983 to successfully defend the Scottish Amateur title has been boosted by some notable absentees for this week's event at Gullane. Showing that the national championship no longer holds the standing it once had, Connor Graham, Cameron Adam and Jack McDonald are all playing instead in other events. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Blairgowrie teenager Graham, who played in The Open a fortnight ago, is teeing up in the Farmfoods Scottish Challenge at Roxburghe Schloss, where McDonald is also in the field as an amateur. Alexander Farmer shows off the trophy after winning last year's Scottish Amateur Championship at the St Andrews Links Castle Course | Chris Young/Scottish Golf Meanwhile, 2023 winner Adam, who also played at Royal Portrush two weeks ago, is competing in the Western Amateur in the US along with Niall Shiels Donegan, who would have been another leading contender for the Scottish crown. It means that the likes of Farmer, 2022 winner Oliver Mukherjee and two-time beaten finalist Gregor Tait are some of the top names heading into battle on the East Lothian coast. Not since Charlie Green achieved the feat 42 years ago has a player successfully defended this title but, on the back of his victory at the Castle Course in St Andrews 12 months ago, Farmer is ready to give it a go. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I've never played Gullane, so I'll get two practice rounds in and get to know the courses and, hopefully, make it through to the match play,' said the 20-year-old Kilmacolm player. 'In match play anything can happen. You can play really well one day and the other guy plays better, or you can play badly and win. Match play is weird that way.' Fraser Walters among the locals to look out for A field of 256 players will tackle Gullane No 1 and No 2 over the opening two days on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the top 64 progressing to the knock-out stage.