Final Major of season the perfect stage for Lottie Woad to confirm her arrival as golf's new superstar
none other than Rory McIlroy
. It has also been a season that saw Scottie Scheffler claim two of the men's championships, taking home the Wanamaker Trophy as
PGA champion
and the Claret Jug for his success in the
Open at Portrush
.
That's the men's side of things, with the world's one and two the dominant figures. The women's season has primarily been a story of breakthroughs, with Mao Saigo (Chevron Championship), Maja Stark (US Open) and Grace Kim (Evian Championship) all winning their first majors. Minjee Lee's success in the KPMG Women's PGA – her third major win – was the only one that went to a multiple champion.
There is a strong sense of anticipation about what awaits on the Welsh coast this week. Lottie Woad's seismic arrival on to the women's professional circuit has the feel of a superstar emerging before our eyes.
As the long-time world amateur number one, Woad (21) – winner of the Augusta National women's amateur championship last year and a star turn in Britain and Ireland's Curtis Cup win – had been flagged as one to watch.
READ MORE
However, the English star's win in the KPMG Irish Women's Open at Carton House kicked off the sort of hot form line that only someone like Nelly Korda has managed in recent years on the LPGA Tour. Woad followed that Irish Open win with a third-placed finish in the Evian – a major. That form saw her earn a full LPGA Tour card through the elite pathway route. She brought that momentum to Dundonald Links, where she won the KPMG Scottish Open on her professional debut.
Woad is already in the top 25 on the Rolex world rankings. Her swift impact on the professional game has added a new dimension to women's golf. It must be close to certain that Anna Nordqvist will pencil her in for next year's Solheim Cup in the Netherlands.
Woad has acquired veteran caddie Dermot Byrne, who previously caddied for Shane Lowry and
Leona Maguire
. The partnership has been very successful so far and there is a further Irish connection as Novellus, a
Dublin
finance institution, is one of her main sponsors.
Lottie Woad with her caddie Dermot Byrne during the final round of the Women's Scottish Open at Dundonald Links Golf Course last weekend. Photograph:Of her seamless transition from an amateur to tour life, Woad remarked: 'I think just getting experience is great. I played a lot of majors and pro events before [winning in Scotland]. So it wasn't all new, really. I think the more experiences you give yourself, the better.'
While she is the new poster girl for women's professional golf and clearly has an exciting journey ahead, there are others who will be looking to find a major breakthrough at Royal Porthcawl. Among them will be three Irish players.
Leona Maguire has hit decent form of late, with top-10s in each of the last two majors. She has fond memories of this part of Wales having won her Amateur Championship title at nearby Pyle & Kenfig in 2017.
The two other Irish players in the field for the season's final major are Lauren Walsh, who earned her place off the LET current season order of merit, and rookie Anna Foster, who earned her place in the field through final qualifying at Pyle & Kenfig.
On the PGA Tour, this week's Wyndham Championship is the final event of the regular season before the leading 60 players move on to the FedEx Cup playoffs (Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry are among those guaranteed to progress).
However, Séamus Power will need to deliver something special at Wyndham as he is currently 130th in the rankings. That leaves him in a fight to retain full playing privileges, which go the top 100 in the rankings.
With no event on the DP World Tour this week, the focus is on the Scottish Challenge at Roxburghe on the HotelPlanner Tour where Max Kennedy, Liam Nolan, Daniel Mulligan, Alex Maguire, Mark Power, Dermot McElroy and Jonathan Caldwell are in the field.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
3 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Drogheda United loanee Josh Thomas reveals he snubbed Bohemians before coming off bench to stun them with winner
JOSH THOMAS revealed how he turned down the chance to join Bohemians after sinking them with a late winner. In his first league appearance after a five-month lay-off with a leg injury, Thomas came off the bench at Dalymount Park to earn all 2 Josh Thomas of Drogheda United celebrates his winner against Bohemians on Friday 2 The Swansea City loan star turned down a move to Bohs earlier this year The striker's spell on loan from And he admitted a chat with Doherty helped to convince him to link up with Drogheda rather than Thomas said: 'It's just when I spoke to Kev. I think this style of play really suits me, the counter-attacking, so I think that's why I'm here. 'I'm buzzing. I've been out for a while now. It's a tough place to come so it was good to get the three points. The boys did most of the work, I just topped it off. READ ON FOOTBALL 'That's what a striker dreams of, just to get one chance in a game.' Thomas, 22, suffered a serious quad tear in February and had to abandon a planned comeback the following month. The Welshman said: 'I didn't think it was going to be as long as it was. And then I tried to come back against Cork away and it just completely went again. 'We took extra precaution, went home and did my rehab back at Swansea and we took extra care and, yeah, I'm back now.' Most read in Football Thomas got away from Rob Cornwall and Niall Morahan to finish after being played through by Conor Keeley. The match-winner said: 'I think I back myself against any defender, to be honest, especially when I'm in that position. It's what I've been doing since I was ten years old.' 'Who the hell do you think you are- - Ex-Premier League boss fumes at his own fans who threw CHAIR at opposition player He had already irked Cornwall with a couple of late challenges. And Thomas shrugged: 'That's just the way I go into the game. Everyone says about the first pass, mine's always just getting stuck in, straight away.' The ex-Wales Under-21 international - who has Football League experience from loan spells with Bromley and Port Vale - reckoned Drogs' training camp in Spain, organised after they were excluded from the Conference League, was a perfect tonic. He said: 'For morale it was very good. We trained really hard all week. 'I think it was harder than we all expected it to be. 'It wasn't a holiday like everyone was saying but we had a good night towards the end of the week and came back with all the morale really high. 'I think when something gets taken away from you that's not your fault, it gives you more momentum to show people why we were here in the first place. "We can go head-to-head with anyone in the league when we're on it.' And Doherty reckons having players such as Thomas to bring on underlines how Drogheda have progressed from previous years. BRIGHT FUTURE He said: 'I've been crying out for this for a long time, to have subs who can make an impact, not just subs you make when you're on the floor, which has been the case for most of the time. 'But having him and Warren Davis to come on is really good. The thing about Josh and him is that they're great finishers. 'For the goal, it's not just the pace, it's the timing of the run, it's using their body to get in the right position. Obviously it's the pass from Conor as well. 'We can run all day and we've seen in the first half, Dare Kareem and Thomas Oluwa worked Bohs. 'If they don't do that work in the first half, maybe that goal doesn't happen in the second half. 'That was part of the plan. It's great when it works.'
Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Irish Times
Five things we learned from the Lions' series win over the Wallabies
On the whistle A penny for the thoughts of match officials, a community that takes an enforced vow of silence, foisted on them by world Rugby. This series reminded everyone that it is impossible to get uniformity when it comes to some of rugby's laws. Putting aside the large dose of subjectivity that infected the debate around 'Ruck-gate,' in the second Test, and the advocacy for penalty or no penalty, none of World Rugby, supporters, players, former players, media and pundits were able (or in some cases willing) to adjudicate clearly, and say definitely and publicly what the correct decision should have been in Jac Morgan's clear-out of Carlo Tizzano. The reason? They can't. Too often the breakdown's a lottery. The officiating in the third Test was very poor. Too many cheap shots allowed to go unpunished. Way too lax, especially in the conditions. Collectively weak from the officials. Who is Ireland's greatest ever Lion? Listen | 26:49 Player welfare Garry Ringrose's decision to speak up when he found himself unable to shake off concussive after effects struck the right sort of blow for the future wellbeing of a sport. It also served as a reminder that for all the protocols in place around brain injury and head trauma, unless the players are willing to be forthright in communicating how they feel in the wake of such incidents, there will remain a grey area surrounding the return to play protocols. It's not an exact science and should never be regarded as such, but that advocacy has to come from those who experience the symptoms. Slogans like 'when in doubt, sit them out' push the right policy, but the players have to play a part. Garry Ringrose during the Lions' game against the First Nations & Pasifika XV in Melbourne. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho It took courage for Ringrose to make his decision, the right one, and therefore miss out on fulfilling a childhood dream of playing in a Lions Test match, but his selfless act will hopefully encourage others to be similarly brave. Commander-in-chief Putting aside the relative strength or otherwise of rugby in Australia ahead of the three Tests, the series was hotly contested and Andy Farrell did a great job – despite watching his side lose the Third Test – and in the process reminded all of his standing as a coach. It has not always been an easy task on the basis that potshots were taken as to the number of Ireland/Leinster players in the squad, particularly when the injury-forced call-ups rolled in, but he consistently made informed decisions that had the desired and pivotal effect. Lions head coach Andy Farrell ahead of the Lions' final Test against the Wallabies in Sydney. Photograph: David Davies/PA Perhaps the most obvious one to focus on is in Farrell ignoring the flak about selecting Tadhg Beirne and Tom Curry in the backrow for the first Test. Not only did they produce performances of rare quality in that match, but the former won player of the series, while Curry could only have been a fingernail behind. A favourite to lead the Lions in four years to New Zealand all things being equal in the interim. Forwards win matches The old rugby adage that 'forwards win matches and backs decide by how much,' was given further credence by this series. In the first Test, the Lions' pack dominated the collisions and the gainline for nearly two-thirds of the match, thereby allowing their halfbacks to boss the game and give the three-quarter line the perfect possession and position to play off that dominance. It was only when Australia got a foothold in the game physically following replacements on both sides that they were able to close the gap. Lions forwards Tadhg Beirne, Ben Earl and Tom Curry after the third Test against the Wallabies. Photograph:It was the reverse in the second Test as the Wallabies, with Rob Valetini and Will Skelton to the fore, won the contact battle and therefore were able to play off that front foot ball to great effect. Again, it was the bench, this time for the Lions, that turned the game in their favour, but unlike the Wallabies the previous week, they managed to find the winning line in the nick of time with Hugo Keenan's late try. In the third Test the Wallabies' pack won the match. Home-side pride Winning the third Test represents a huge shot in the arm for rugby in Australia and momentum that Joe Schmidt 's side can hopefully take into the Rugby Championship despite the short-term compromising travel logistics. Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt after Australia's win against the Lions in the final Test of the series. Photograph:The Wallabies were convincing winners in the final Test but it may inspire some frustration on their part that they let a winning position slip through their fingers in the second Test. How much of an edge being 2-0 up in the series took off the Lions' performance in Sydney will be a subject of debate but Australia deserve credit for the way in which they managed the conditions to not alone be physically dominant but also technically better in several facets of the game, notably the lineout, the breakdown and the kicking game. Schmidt has pulled together a squad that shows promise and ultimately one that Les Kiss will look to build on from November.
Irish Times
13 hours ago
- Irish Times
Miyu Yamashita clings to Women's Open lead despite wobbly round
Japan's Miyu Yamashita celebrated her 24th birthday by maintaining her grip on the Women's Open lead but it was hardly the smooth ride she might have hoped for after a stuttering 74 in the third round at Royal Porthcawl on Saturday. Yamashita, who had surged into a three-shot lead on Friday with a sparkling seven-under 65, found herself in a much scrappier battle where she carded four bogeys to slip back to nine-under overall. She was just one stroke ahead of South Korea's Kim A-lim, who applied the pressure with a flawless 67 that featured five birdies, while American Andrea Lee also shot 67 to sit one shot further back in third place. 'I felt quite nervous today and playing in that wind was quite tough. I didn't feel like my game was quite there,' Yamashita told Sky Sports. 'Unfortunately it wasn't quite where I wanted it to be today. It just felt like the shots weren't going my way. 'This is a huge tournament, one I've wanted to win for a long time, being a major. But tomorrow I can't really think of that too much, I just need to take every shot as it comes and that's how I'm going to get myself around the golf course.' Yamashita's troubles began early when she made her first bogey in 24 holes on the fifth, misjudging an uphill birdie attempt before missing her next shot as well to drop to 10-under. The drama continued at the eighth where she found a bunker, though she responded with a brilliant recovery to find the green and salvage par with a simple putt. Another missed putt on the 10th cut her lead to just one stroke before Yamashita steadied herself with back-to-back birdies on the 11th and 12th to restore her three-shot cushion. After two more dropped shots, she then produced a monster putt on the 17th for par with what was arguably the shot of the day from 35 feet after finding another bunker, though she could not convert a birdie chance on the final hole. Leona Maguire , the only Irish golfer to survive Friday's cut, carded a three-over-par round of 75 to leave her on four over heading into Sunday's final round. England's Charley Hull provided some home excitement, storming up the leader board with a 66 that included seven birdies to reach joint-fourth alongside Rio Takeda, Minami Katsu and Megan Khang. World number one Nelly Korda had a look of resignation on her face when she endured a disappointing 74, her poorest round which included four bogeys, to stay level on par overall and tied for 36th.
