Lottie Woad rounded off her junior career in the best possible fashion at Carnoustie yesterday as she put in a dominant performance to win the Girls Amateur Championship.
FORMAT: 36-hole stroke play / 6 rounds of matchplay
The Surrey player, who this week heads off to start her golf scholarship with Florida State University, beat Spain’s Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio 7&6 to secure the biggest win of her life.
The Farnham player has been England’s best junior for the past two seasons and showed her class as she romped to victory. Having started the second 18 two up, she birdied 4, 5, 6, 10, 11 and 12, repeatedly peppering the pin at the Open venue.
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“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,” said the new champion. “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.”
How Lottie Woad won it:
• 1st round: Cloe Amion Villarino 2 holes
• 2nd round: Juliette Demeaux 4&3
• 3rd round: Paula Balanzategui Garcia 2&1
• Quarter-finals: Emily James 6&4
• Semi-finals: Rachel Gourley 5&4
• Final: Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio 7&6
Woad has been a picture of consistency as she has risen into the top 100 in the WAGR rankings. In March she won the traditional season opener – Sunningdale Foursomes – alongside Rachel Gourley and also dazzled on her full international debut as England retained the European Team Championship. The teenager won all her six matches.
At Carnoustie she has just got stronger as the week went on. In the quarter-finals she saw off Wales and Royal Lytham’s Emily James 6&4 and again was under par as she overcame Gourley 5&4 in Saturday night’s semi-final.
Woad added: “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.”
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, AIG Women’s Open Final Qualifying and, by tradition, an invitation to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
“I wasn’t really thinking about the exemptions to come, but instead focused on the match play. 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 Girls’ Amateur, played over an Open venue for the first time this week, 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 drew her back level at the sixth and a lovely birdie at the short eighth took her to one up.
The English girl – winner of the Sir Henry Cooper Masters this year – cemented her lead at the par-three 13th when a poor chip from 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 wasn’t helping Garcia-Poggio and she narrowly missed birdie putts 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 this year, 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 her opponent moved a commanding five up before finishing it all off in style with a further three straight birdies from the 28th (10th).
For all the scores click here