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Lottie Woad's second-round charge at Women's Open undone by triple bogey
Lottie Woad's second-round charge at Women's Open undone by triple bogey

The Guardian

time20 minutes ago

  • Sport
  • The Guardian

Lottie Woad's second-round charge at Women's Open undone by triple bogey

Seaside golf can meddle with the most patient of characters. Lottie Woad had played herself firmly into the second-round mix at this Women's Open at five under par, but the 16th at Royal Porthcawl was to bite back at English golf's golden girl. Woad's second shot found trouble – it took Lydia Ko, Woad's playing partner, to find the ball – with her third swing barely causing any movement whatsoever. Woad called for a referee, plus a second opinion, in her belief that her ball was now embedded and worthy of free relief. With the claims refused, she had to declare the ball unplayable. This grisly affair eventually culminated in a triple-bogey seven and a round of 70 which for so long had looked like further demonstrating Woad's rapid ascent to the summit of her sport. 'There was a lot more good in it than bad,' said Woad. 'I played really well for 17 holes, just that one hole cost me a bit. 'I think it's probably the toughest hole on the course. The tee shot is hard to hit the fairway and then you've got three wood into a very strong wind. Anything that's missing the target is going to be exaggerated. So I pushed it and got a pretty unlucky lie. It wasn't too thick around there apart from where I was. So I couldn't really do much with that.' Woad admitted she was disappointed that officialdom had declared that her ball was not embedded. 'I just had to forget about it as quickly as possible,' she added. Woad missed from four feet for a birdie at the last, meaning she remains nine adrift of the lead. By her own admission, and even owing for the vagaries of links, that may already be too far. The broader problem for Woad and all others is that Miyu Yamashita has taken quite a grip of this tournament. The Japanese player's 65 launched her to 11 under, meaning a three-shot lead over her compatriot Rio Takeda. Yamashita's bogey-free round included a stunning back nine of 32. Close inspection of Yamashita's form means her prominence in Wales should be no real surprise. While the terrain might be somewhat different to what the 23-year-old is used to, jousting at the summit of leaderboards appears second nature. She has won 13 times on the Japan Tour and posted 43 top-three finishes since April 2021. In this, her rookie year on the LPGA Tour, she has recorded 10 top-20 finishes from 16 starts. Yamashita shares her name with a Japanese wrestler, which must lead to some interesting moments when observers are punching letters into Google. The golfing Yamashita missed the cut in the Women's Open last year. She appears on a mission to make up for that. Lindy Duncan's 70 moved her to four under, where she has Pajaree Anannarukarn and Chiara Tamburlini for company. Madelene Sagström moved into touching distance of the group behind Yamashita, the Swede's 69 meaning a three-under total at the 36-hole point. At two under, Porthcawl member Darcey Harry comfortably survived for the weekend. 'I keep forgetting that this is actually my home course and I've played it before,' she said. 'I have to keep reminding myself I know the course, so I don't know why I'm stressing. I just have to try to enjoy the atmosphere. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion 'I think the first two days are usually the most nerve-racking because you want to make the cut. Anything can happen on this course. You can get in trouble, big trouble any time. I definitely think today was quite a stressful day for everyone because the cut's on the line. I can reset for tomorrow.' World No 1 Nelly Korda, like Woad and Harry, is at minus two. There was a golden moment for Steph Kyriacou, who made a hole-in-one with her gap wedge at the 8th. 'I didn't see it go in, which sucked, but the crowd went nuts,' said the Australian. 'It didn't damage the hole, which was surprising, so it was quite clean. My first official hole in one with no asterisk. Pretty excited. I had a hole in one in a practice round before. There were witnesses, first ball, but it's not really the real deal, is it? There's footage, people, tournament, major, it counts. I think everyone on my team is going to use it as an excuse to get drunk.' Lilia Vu was among those to crash out of this major at the halfway point. Carlota Ciganda, Jennifer Kupcho and Sophia Popov, who won this championship five years ago, did likewise.

2025 AIG Women's British Open live updates, leaderboard for Friday's second round
2025 AIG Women's British Open live updates, leaderboard for Friday's second round

USA Today

time5 hours ago

  • Sport
  • USA Today

2025 AIG Women's British Open live updates, leaderboard for Friday's second round

It's on to Round 2 at the 2025 AIG Women's British Open, held this year at Royal Porthcawl in Wales. Lydia Ko is the defending champion after claiming the Women's British Open a year ago at St. Andrews and after 18 holes, she is tied for 74th after a 1-over round on Thursday. Keep tabs on the second round of the Women's British Open all day Friday right here. 2025 AIG Women's British Open leaderboard Here's what the top of the Women's British Open leaderboard looks like after 18 holes: Where to watch, follow the 2025 Women's British Open In addition to the options listed below, the R&A will live stream coverage and have R&A radio all four days. The complete daily viewing information can be found here. What are the tee times for the second round of the Women's British Open? The first group is off at 1:30 a.m. ET (6:30 a.m. local time). All the second-round tee times can be found here. Who's in the field at the 2025 Women's British Open? It's a stacked tee sheet at Royal Portcawl in Wales with all 20 LPGA winners, including the winners of the first four LPGA majors in 2025, as well as 11 past champions ready to compete. All of the top 25 in the Rolex Rankings are there, including No. 1 Nelly Korda, No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul, No. 3 Lydia Ko, No. 4 Ruoning Yin and No. 5 Minjee Lee. What is the field, format for the 2025 Women's British Open? The field will be 144 players with the low 65 and ties after 36 holes advancing to the third and final rounds. The format is 72 holes of stroke play. What is the prize money for the 2025 Women's British Open? The total purse at the AIG is $9.75 million with the winner taking home $1.4625 million, a new high in the event's history. That first-place money compares to the $1.2 million Grace Kim won at the Amundi Evian Championship, the $1.8 million Minjee Lee won at the KPMG Women's PGA, the $2.4 million Maja Stark won at the U.S. Open and the $1.2 million that Mao Saigo won at the Chevron Championship.

Golf: Lydia Ko six strokes off the pace at last major of year
Golf: Lydia Ko six strokes off the pace at last major of year

RNZ News

time15 hours ago

  • Sport
  • RNZ News

Golf: Lydia Ko six strokes off the pace at last major of year

Lydia Ko won the event last year when it was held at St Andrews. Photo: Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire / PHOTOSPORT New Zealand's Dame Lydia Ko is six strokes off the pace after the first round of the Women's Open at Royal Porthcawl in south Wales. Japan's Eri Okayama and Rio Takeda topped the leaderboard, with rounds of five-under 67, while Ko had a one-over 73 as she failed to take advantage of calm conditions on the coastal course. Fellow Kiwis Amelia Garvey and Momoka Kobori were a stroke further back, in joint 91st place. Ko won the event last year at St Andrews, but it is her first time playing in Wales. She opened well enough in the final major of the year, with a birdie on the first hole but negated that with a bogey on the par-4 third hole. She had one more birdie, on the ninth hole, while dropping shots at the par-5 13th and the par-3 15th before finishing in a 17-way tie for 74th place. Garvey had birdies on the same two holes that Ko birdied, with four bogeys spoiling her round, while Kobori had a late spree of three consecutive bogeys after an early double-bogey before finishing with her second birdie. Okayama's five-under 67 gave her the lead before she was joined by Takeda after she birdied the 18th, Reuters reported. Japanese players dominated the opening day with Miyu Yamashita at four-under ahead of a large group on three-under that included Chevron Championship winner Mao Saigo, Shiho Kuwaki and Chisato Iwai. World number one Nelly Korda finished two-under par. Okayama, who is world number 139, bogeyed her opening hole but birdied five of the next eight and was rock solid on the way back with another birdie at the 17th moving her ahead. Takeda recovered from a double-bogey seven at the ninth with four birdies on the back nine, putting her joint first. By far the largest galleries assembled just after lunchtime to watch England's Lottie Woad in a group alongside Ko and American Lilia Vu. An astonishing July, which culminated in Woad winning the Scottish Open in her first event as a professional, had made the 21-year-old favourite for the year's final major. But the former Florida State University player found the going tough as she ground out a level-par round of 72 thanks to a birdie at the last. - RNZ Sport / Reuters

Lottie Woad takes top billing in her stride as Japanese set pace at Open
Lottie Woad takes top billing in her stride as Japanese set pace at Open

Times

time17 hours ago

  • Sport
  • Times

Lottie Woad takes top billing in her stride as Japanese set pace at Open

Maintaining her red-hot streak going in to the final major of the year was never going to be easy for Lottie Woad, but she opened her account with a respectable level-par 72 in blustery conditions at Royal Porthcawl. In only her second tournament as a professional, dealing with the pressure of being the bookmakers' favourite and handling the expectation and hype after her extraordinary run of successes last month was never going to be easy, but Woad took it all in her stride. An enthusiastic and packed crowd greeted her group on the 1st tee and she responded with a shy wave. Typically composed, she matched the defending champion, Lydia Ko, and the 2023 winner, Lilia Vu, with a birdie. Woad is in form having won the Irish and Scottish Opens in July DAVID CANNON/GETTY IMAGES However, she was forced to dig deep and rely on her solid short game and clutch putting after struggling on the front nine, before closing with a birdie on the par-five 18th. The 21-year-old, who won the Irish Open and Scottish Open last month — the former while still an amateur — described her round as 'a bit mixed', adding: 'There were a few poor bogeys on the front nine which definitely could have been avoided. I'm not very satisfied, but it's one of those rounds that could definitely got away from me. 'I'm happy with how I hung on in there. It's not a course that's going to give up a lot of birdies, so you can't start attacking pins because you're frustrated. Having a quick turnaround is a good thing for me. Going out and making a good start to get good momentum. Finishing with a birdie definitely makes me feel better.' While Japanese players set the pace on the opening day, with Rio Takeda and Eri Okayama joint leaders after recording five-under-par rounds of 67, England's Mimi Rhodes finished strongly and is two shots off the lead. The Wake Forest University graduate has won three times in her rookie year on the Ladies European Tour and after missing the cut in her past two outings displayed a welcome return to form. The 24-year-old estimated that she was cheered on by 25 to 30 relatives. 'I'm enjoying my golf and I was just trying to stay in the moment and soak it all in,' she said. 'Those three wins put a lot of pressure and expectation on me and I'm learning how to deal with it. I'm trying not to think of the negatives or what everyone else thinks.' Takeda showed why she topped the money list on last year's Japanese tour with a pace-setting round of 67 OISIN KENIRY/GETTY IMAGES Seasoned followers of the women's game are accustomed to seeing a leaderboard packed with Korean players but it took most fans by surprise to note Japan's strong presence on the opening day, with six players in the top ten. Okayama, 29, plays on the Japan LPGA and is in a purple patch, having led after the first round in three of her past five starts. Japan has been reaping the reward for an excellent junior programme as the players have achieved significant wins on the JLPGA and the LPGA Tours. Of the 17 Japanese this week, five are rookies on the LPGA Tour, with last season's rookie of the year, Mao Saigo, capturing her first LPGA win and major title at this year's Chevron Championship. The Japanese tour hosts 37 tournaments a year with a prize fund of £675,000 each week, and £100,000 for the winner. Last year's money-list winner, Takeda, banked £1.25 million. There is a good chance one of her compatriots could also join the millionaires' club this weekend. -5 Okayama (Jpn), Takeda (Jpn); -4 Yamashita (Jpn) Selected others -3 Chun (Kor), Rhodes (Eng), Saigo (Jpn); -2 Harry (Wal), Korda (US), M Lee (Aus), Thitikul (Tha); E Woad (Eng), Maguire (IRL); +1 Hull (Eng), Ko (NZ); +2 Vu (US)

Lydia Ko six strokes off the pace at last major of year
Lydia Ko six strokes off the pace at last major of year

RNZ News

time18 hours ago

  • Sport
  • RNZ News

Lydia Ko six strokes off the pace at last major of year

Lydia Ko won the event last year when it was held at St Andrews. Photo: Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire / PHOTOSPORT New Zealand's Dame Lydia Ko is six strokes off the pace after the first round of the Women's Open at Royal Porthcawl in south Wales. Japan's Eri Okayama and Rio Takeda topped the leaderboard, with rounds of five-under 67, while Ko had a one-over 73 as she failed to take advantage of calm conditions on the coastal course. Fellow Kiwi Amelia Garvey is a stroke further back, in joint 91st place. Ko won the event last year at St Andrews, but it is her first time playing in Wales. She opened well enough in the final major of the year, with a birdie on the first hole but negated that with a bogey on the par-4 third hole. She had one more birdie, on the ninth hole, while dropping shots at the par-5 13th and the par-3 15th before finishing in a 17-way tie for 74th place. Garvey had birdies on the same two holes that Ko birdied, with four bogeys spoiling her round. Okayama's five-under 67 gave her the lead before she was joined by Takeda after she birdied the 18th, Reuters reported. Japanese players dominated the opening day with Miyu Yamashita at four-under ahead of a large group on three-under that included Chevron Championship winner Mao Saigo, Shiho Kuwaki and Chisato Iwai. World number one Nelly Korda finished two-under par. Okayama, who is world number 139, bogeyed her opening hole but birdied five of the next eight and was rock solid on the way back with another birdie at the 17th moving her ahead. Takeda recovered from a double-bogey seven at the ninth with four birdies on the back nine, putting her joint first. By far the largest galleries assembled just after lunchtime to watch England's Lottie Woad in a group alongside Ko and American Lilia Vu. An astonishing July, which culminated in Woad winning the Scottish Open in her first event as a professional, had made the 21-year-old favourite for the year's final major. But the former Florida State University player found the going tough as she ground out a level-par round of 72 thanks to a birdie at the last. - RNZ Sport/Reuters

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