Latest news with #ISPSHandaWomen'sScottishOpen
Yahoo
30-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Nelly Korda celebrates 27th birthday by preparing to end victory drought at British Open
The final major of the LPGA season began with Nelly Korda's 27th birthday. The World No. 1 celebrated on Monday with her caddie, coach and a good friend who came to Wales from London. She also got her first glimpse of Royal Porthcawl. At this time last year, Korda had won six of her first 12 starts on the LPGA. In 2025, however, Korda has yet to win in her first dozen starts heading into the AIG Women's British Open – yet boasts a lower scoring average and better strokes gained total and strokes gained putting averages to this point last year, according to the tour's KPMG Performance Insights. While Korda dominated last season with seven wins, no player has won twice so far in 2025. This marks the first playing of the AIG at Royal Porthcawl, and Korda comes into the week after trying something new: playing the Scottish Open the week before. 'Typically with my body structure, I don't love to play two weeks in high winds because I start to sway a lot more,' said Korda, who finished fifth at Dundonald Links. 'Just something that I've noticed throughout the past couple years, but it just lined up perfectly with my schedule. For me, everything is about my schedule flowing.' Softer conditions at Dundonald led to more aggressive play, which won't be the case this week in Wales. Korda played the front nine at Royal Porthcawl on her birthday and chipped and putted around the back nine. She called the views on the first four holes breathtaking and said that with some wind, it will be a 'really, really hard test.' The forecast calls for gusts up to 25 mph on Thursday and 30 mph on Friday. 'I feel like it's maybe a little bit more demanding off the tee,' said Korda, 'as in maybe with other links courses, you can hit driver and there are some bunkers in the way, but here you definitely can't hit driver. It sometimes may be an iron off the tee, but then with the wind direction and the wind strength, there's just way too much trouble on the fairway. 'Once you're in one of those bunkers, like in all links golf courses, it's just a pitch-out.' Korda played alongside the hottest player in golf – Lottie Woad – for three rounds at the ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open and called her achievements 'absolutely amazing.' In the month of July, Woad won the Irish Open as an amateur, finished tied for third at the Amundi Evian Championship to earn her tour card and then won in her pro debut in Scotland. 'I was very impressed with her composure, her process,' said Korda. 'I think, when it comes to her shot routine, especially under pressure and in the heat of the moment, sometimes people seem to fidget and kind of doubt themselves, but she stuck to it, she stuck to her process every single time, and I think that's one of the main things that I noticed is how mature she is for her age and how comfortable she was in the heat of the moment.' Korda noted earlier in her press conference that golf is a 'game of confidence,' and there's certainly no shortage of that right now with Woad. 'I've really been just enjoying myself,' said the humble Englishwoman who now ranks 24th in the world. 'Enjoyed being in these events and competing and being in contention, just try to have fun with it and not add too much stress really.' This week marks Korda's 10th appearance in the AIG. She has five top-15 finishes in nine starts, including a share of second last year at the Old Course. Her eight top-5 finishes in the majors – including two wins – since 2019 are the most on tour, with Minjee Lee coming in second with seven (and three wins). Korda was asked how important it is to her to be successful in an event like the British Open and establish herself as a global force. 'I feel like I don't really have anything more to prove to people ever,' said Korda. 'For me, it's just, I'm passionate about the game. I love the game. I love playing in these kind of conditions, testing my game, and getting to play against the best players in the world. "Having something to prove to myself, I don't think I really need to do that. For me, it's just enjoying it and being in the heat of the battle.' This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Nelly Korda turns 27, preps to end victory drought at Women's British
Yahoo
30-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Phenom Lottie Woad wins first LPGA event in her pro debut at Women's Scottish Open
Majestic. Sublime. Extraordinary. Flawless. The television announcers were running out of adjectives for the phenom Lottie Woad. KPMG Performance Insights gave Woad a 40 percent chance of winning heading into the final round of the ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open. Heady stuff for a 21-year-old making her professional debut. Woad's magical July run continued at Dundonald Links, where the newly-minted pro became only the fourth player in LPGA history to win in her first start as an LPGA member, joining former world No. 1 Jin Young Ko (2018) and Beverly Hanson (1951). "I don't really know how to describe it," said the humble Woad of her recent stretch of brilliance. "Just been shooting low scores, which is always nice." A Sunday 4-under 68 put Woad at 21 under for the tournament, capping off a maiden LPGA victory in her native U.K., with a three-stroke win over Hyo Joo Kim. Woad becomes the 20th different LPGA winner in a season in which no player has won twice. She heads next to the AIG Women's British Open in Wales, where she finished tied for 10th last year at St. Andrews. "It might have looked less stressful than maybe it was at times," said Woad, "but I think I only had like three bogeys, which, I mean, the wind wasn't too bad the first due days. But on links golf, it's definitely about bogey avoidance. That was probably the key to winning." Woad began the final round of the Scottish with a two-shot lead in Ayrshire and, midway through, found herself knotted with major champion Hyo Joo Kim at 19 under. World No. 1 Nelly Korda, still looking for her first win of the season, made an early run with four birdies in the first six holes. A string of short misses, however, stalled the American and dropped her out of the mix. Known for her elite wedge play, Woad knocked one close on the 13th to make birdie and regain the solo lead. Another birdie on the 14th as Kim dropped a shot on the 15th stretched the steady Englishwoman's lead back to two with four to play. Woad becomes the first player since Rose Zhang to win on the LPGA in her first start as a pro. Zhang held a two-shot lead going into the final round of the 2023 Mizuho Americas Open and won in a playoff against Jennifer Kupcho to earn her LPGA card. Woad, of course, recently became the first player to graduate from the tour's new LEAP program, earning her card for the rest of 2025 and 2026. Immediately after winning the Irish Open on the LET, she missed out on a playoff at the Amundi Evian Championship by one shot. Woad turned pro last week, forgoing her final season at Florida State. She also accepted membership on the LET, which makes her eligible for the 2026 Solheim Cup. In her last three professional starts, Woad is 55 under par with a 67.4 scoring average. She notched only three bogeys for the week in Scotland. Woad earns 500 CME points for her victory and is projected to move into the top 50 on the Race to CME. The top 60 at the end of the year get into the CME Group Tour Championship. She came into the week No. 62 in the Rolex Rankings and will move into the top 50 there as well. She also earns a two-year exemption on the LPGA, moving up to the winner's category on the LPGA's priority list (up from the LEAP Category 13 to Category 4), which she'll have through 2027. After forgoing several big paychecks in recent weeks, Woad takes earned $300,000 for her first pro win. She told Golfweek last week that she needed to buy a car in the U.S. Turns out she also needs to get a driver's license, too. Woad, known for her tireless work ethic at FSU, would often take an Uber to the school's practice facility at 7:30 a.m. on Saturdays. Former teammate Charlotte Heath once said that Woad outworked all the pros at the club. Woad broke through on a major stage for the first time at the 2024 Augusta National Women's Amateur, where she birdied three of the last four holes to overtake Bailey Shoemaker. When asked if she felt more nerves there or down the stretch at the Scottish, Woad said she felt more nervous at the ANWA. "I think Augusta, that was the biggest tournament I played in at the time and was kind of my big win," said Woad, who has since played in seven major championships. "So definitely felt the pressure of it more there, and I felt like all those experiences helped me with this." This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Women's Scottish Open 2025: Lottie Woad wins in pro debut on LPGA
USA Today
30-07-2025
- Health
- USA Today
Charley Hull talks weight loss, Lottie Woad success, a Porthcawl blooper with Georgia Hall
While this is a first look of Royal Porthcawl for most of the field, Charley Hull played a junior event there in 2011 with Georgia Hall. Charley Hull returns to a major championship stage this week after leaving the last one on a stretcher. Hull, who met with the press on the eve of the biggest women's sporting event ever held in Wales, said she's lost four kilograms (9 pounds) over the past three weeks and 8 mph of swing speed. "I'm not hitting it the best coming into this week," said Hull ahead of the AIG Women's British Open at Royal Porthcawl, "which is very frustrating because it's an event I've been looking forward to playing all year. I've just got to go out there with what I've got." Hull came down with a nasty virus at the Amundi Evian Championship in France earlier this month and was carted off the course after a fainting spell on what was her back nine. "Every time I stood up, I fainted," said Hull, who first returned to action last week at the ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open. "That's why I to had to get a stretcher out, off, which was quite embarrassing, but there you go. Caught on IV drip on me. They took my blood pressure. It was 80/50 which is quite low. My blood sugar was 0.4. I think I just had a really bad virus." Unable to work out on doctor's orders, Hull said she's feeling better but not quite yet up to strength. It didn't help that she recently tweaked her back taking a box out of her car and hasn't been able to rehab. While this is a first look of Royal Porthcawl for most of the field, Hull played it back in 2011 at the Junior Vagliano alongside good friend Georgia Hall, a future Women's British Open champion. "I remember in the practice round I always used to play with a No. 3 marker and three orange dots, and in tournament my ball would be a 1," said Hull. "So we went out in foursomes. On the third hole, I've hit it right, but the day before I've hit it right in the practice round. "Anyway, she gets down there and just sees three dots on the golf ball and she whacks on the green. I get up to the green, I think I've got a putt to win the hole. I look at ball, and I said, 'George, we've got No. 3 here. I play with 1.' She's like, 'It's got your marks.' I said, 'Yeah, that's my ball I lost yesterday in the practice round.' Lost the hole immediately. It was quite funny." Though she's never been a big fan of links golf, Hull praised Porthcawl and noted that Welshman Nigel Edwards, a three-time Walker Cup captain, helped her out during a practice round in May at the championship's media day. Currently No. 20 in the world, Hull took a share of 12th at both the U.S. Women's Open and KPMG Women's PGA before falling ill after a fourth-place finish at the KPMG Women's Irish Open. "I feel like the last two years I've been on autopilot, where even when I'm hitting it bad, I've got enough confidence to go out and rip it," said Hull, before rattling off her recent finishes for the press. "It annoys me because it's such an important part this time of the season, and it's something I look forward to all year. And it's just like, damn it. At the end of the day, just get me making a few birdies to start with and I think I'll get my confidence back straightaway." At last week's Scottish Open, Hull played the first two rounds alongside English sensation Lottie Woad, who in only her second start as a pro is the betting favorite in Wales. Woad counted Hull among her sporting heroes growing up and will surely be taken by what Hull had to say about her recent play on Wednesday. "I think what Lottie Woad has done is absolutely unbelievable," said Hull. "I played with her in the practice rounds in Ireland, and I played with her in the first two rounds last week, and at the minute I feel like she's playing with such confidence she can't miss a shot. I think it's great to see. She's a breath of fresh air for the game. "At the end of the day, I want to win the tournament and everything, but I don't care when people say, oh, I'm still here. I am still here. I'm out there enjoying it. No, I'm actually really proud of Lottie for what she's done. That's like goose bumps kind of stuff."
USA Today
29-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Nelly Korda celebrates 27th birthday by preparing to end victory drought at British Open
The final major of the LPGA season began with Nelly Korda's 27th birthday. The World No. 1 celebrated on Monday with her caddie, coach and a good friend who came to Wales from London. She also got her first glimpse of Royal Porthcawl. At this time last year, Korda had won six of her first 12 starts on the LPGA. In 2025, however, Korda has yet to win in her first dozen starts heading into the AIG Women's British Open – yet boasts a lower scoring average and better strokes gained total and strokes gained putting averages to this point last year, according to the tour's KPMG Performance Insights. While Korda dominated last season with seven wins, no player has won twice so far in 2025. This marks the first playing of the AIG at Royal Porthcawl, and Korda comes into the week after trying something new: playing the Scottish Open the week before. 'Typically with my body structure, I don't love to play two weeks in high winds because I start to sway a lot more,' said Korda, who finished fifth at Dundonald Links. 'Just something that I've noticed throughout the past couple years, but it just lined up perfectly with my schedule. For me, everything is about my schedule flowing.' Softer conditions at Dundonald led to more aggressive play, which won't be the case this week in Wales. Korda played the front nine at Royal Porthcawl on her birthday and chipped and putted around the back nine. She called the views on the first four holes breathtaking and said that with some wind, it will be a 'really, really hard test.' The forecast calls for gusts up to 25 mph on Thursday and 30 mph on Friday. 'I feel like it's maybe a little bit more demanding off the tee,' said Korda, 'as in maybe with other links courses, you can hit driver and there are some bunkers in the way, but here you definitely can't hit driver. It sometimes may be an iron off the tee, but then with the wind direction and the wind strength, there's just way too much trouble on the fairway. 'Once you're in one of those bunkers, like in all links golf courses, it's just a pitch-out.' Korda played alongside the hottest player in golf – Lottie Woad – for three rounds at the ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open and called her achievements 'absolutely amazing.' In the month of July, Woad won the Irish Open as an amateur, finished tied for third at the Amundi Evian Championship to earn her tour card and then won in her pro debut in Scotland. 'I was very impressed with her composure, her process,' said Korda. 'I think, when it comes to her shot routine, especially under pressure and in the heat of the moment, sometimes people seem to fidget and kind of doubt themselves, but she stuck to it, she stuck to her process every single time, and I think that's one of the main things that I noticed is how mature she is for her age and how comfortable she was in the heat of the moment.' Korda noted earlier in her press conference that golf is a 'game of confidence,' and there's certainly no shortage of that right now with Woad. 'I've really been just enjoying myself,' said the humble Englishwoman who now ranks 24th in the world. 'Enjoyed being in these events and competing and being in contention, just try to have fun with it and not add too much stress really.' This week marks Korda's 10th appearance in the AIG. She has five top-15 finishes in nine starts, including a share of second last year at the Old Course. Her eight top-5 finishes in the majors – including two wins – since 2019 are the most on tour, with Minjee Lee coming in second with seven (and three wins). Korda was asked how important it is to her to be successful in an event like the British Open and establish herself as a global force. 'I feel like I don't really have anything more to prove to people ever,' said Korda. 'For me, it's just, I'm passionate about the game. I love the game. I love playing in these kind of conditions, testing my game, and getting to play against the best players in the world. "Having something to prove to myself, I don't think I really need to do that. For me, it's just enjoying it and being in the heat of the battle.'
NBC Sports
29-07-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Confident, composed, comfortable: Open favorite Lottie Woad has everybody else on notice
Lottie Woad is unconcerned with her odds ahead of this week's AIG Women's Open – odds that, for the record, aren't just pretty good but better than anybody else in the field at Royal Porthcawl in Wales. At +750, Woad is the favorite, just ahead of the top two players in the world, Nelly Korda and Jeeno Thitikul, who are each +900. No other player is better than +1600. 'I don't know how they do it, but I feel like I'm playing well, so I guess I was going to be one of the favorites,' Woad said Tuesday. 'Obviously, everyone's so good, so I feel like anyone can win really. You've seen it this year – I think every winner has been different, so there's many people it could be.' But only one player has won two of their past three tournaments. For Woad, it started earlier this month when she cruised to victory at the KPMG Women's Irish Open. She then contended at the Amundi Evian Championship in her final start as an amateur before settling for a share of third, a shot out of a playoff. And then last week, Woad took down Korda and other top names to win in her professional debut at the ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open. With Woad already up to No. 24 in the world rankings, others are already taking notice. 'Absolutely amazing,' said Korda, who played alongside Woad for two days in Scotland. 'I was very impressed with her composure, her process. I think, when it comes to her shot routine, especially under pressure and in the heat of the moment, sometimes people seem to fidget and kind of doubt themselves, but she stuck to it, she stuck to her process every single time, and I think that's one of the main things that I noticed is how mature she is for her age and how comfortable she was in the heat of the moment.' Added Korda: 'Golf is a game of confidence, and she's definitely high up there right now, so she's going to be trusting everything. ... I think she's also riding a confidence high too with how well she's playing.' And Lydia Ko, who shares a management company with Woad, Excel Sports: 'I think there's a little bit more experience under her belt than what people probably give her credit for. But when I've seen the coverage or how she composes herself, she doesn't seem like she rushes into things or gets like overly emotional. I'm sure that's going to help her with that transition as well.' Confident, yet unassuming. Woad reckoned she'd use some of her winnings from last week to purchase her first car. The 21-year-old still doesn't have her license, though she'd planned to use Florida State head coach Amy Bond's car to take her driving test when she returned stateside. Surely, Woad will ace that, too. The moment just doesn't seem to get to her, even now. 'There's always pressure obviously,' Woad said, 'but I don't think there's any more than there was, like from my perspective, before any of the last few weeks.' That pressure is arguably on everybody else.
