Lottie Woad (Royal and Ancient Photo)
Lottie Woad finished T10 at 1-under and earns the 2024 Smyth Salver award at the AIG Women's British Open at The Old Course.
Woad recorded consistent rounds of 72-70-72-73 to get to 1-under. Her total of 287 and 1-under beat Julia Lopez Ramirez of Spain by four strokes and set a new record total for an amateur at St Andrews.
"The last few holes definitely played really tough, so it was a little bit of a grind, but I got it done at the end," Woad said.
Woad added, "I was a bit frustrated on the greens today. I had a couple of looks at Birdie early that lipped out that would have put me up there, so I was definitely a bit frustrated, but you can't get too frustrated when the conditions are like they are."
The Florida State standout is currently ranked No. 1 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Rankings.
"It has been great for me confidence-wise to play in these events, and it has given me more confidence heading into my final year of college," Woad said about her summer.
Julia Lopez Ramirez finished in T29 and 3-over after a final round 1-under 71.
"It has been a good week," Lopez Ramirez said. "I played really solid golf."
"Conditions got together as the end, so it got the timing off a bit, but finishing 1-under par in these conditions, I am still happy about it."
The Mississippi State standout was 5-under through the first ten holes of the final round, but five bogeys on the back nine and four consecutive on holes No. 14 to 17 saw her fall back to 1-under for the day.
Of the other amateurs to make the cut, Louise Rydqvist finished T60 at 7-over, and Ela Anacona finished T78 at 10-over.
THIRD ROUND RECAP
Lottie Woad is T10 and only five shots back of the lead heading into the final round of the AIG Women's British Open at the Old Course.
Woad has handled the difficult conditions masterfully, recording two bogeys and an eagle on her round.
Standing in the fairway on No. 18, she was 2-over for the round, with 15 pars and two bogeys. Then, she holed her approach shot for a walk-off eagle, assuring Dinner would taste that much better tonight.
“It was difficult,” Woad said about the conditions after the opening round. “I am kind of glad to be done. It was a mental battle.”
Woad added about her round, “Definitely, very happy. I was just trying to make as many pars as possible. Everyone is going to make bogeys, and birdies are hard to come by, so I just wanted to keep the numbers low.”
Louise Rydqvist was T5 heading into the day, but a third-round 6-over 78 saw her fall to 3-over for the championship and T43. Julia Lopez Ramirez and Ela Anacona are T58 and 4-over.
SECOND ROUND RECAP
After a stellar second round, Louise Rydqvist finds herself in the top five of the AIG Women's British Open at The Old Course heading into the weekend. Rydqvist shot a second-round bogey-free 5-under 67 to propel to the top of the leaderboard and five shots back of Nelly Korda, who holds a three-shot lead at 8-under.
Rydqvist is T5 at 3-under and Lottie Woad is T11 at 2-under.
Julia Lopez Ramirez and Ela Anacona also made the cut, with Lopez Ramirez sitting at 2-over and T36 and 4-over and T60.
FIRST ROUND RECAP
Lottie Woad, Julia Lopez Ramirez, and Ela Anacona all shot even par 72 in the opening round of the AIG Women’s Open at The Old Course in St. Andrews.
The group of three amateurs are T18 heading into the second round.
Woad recorded three birdies and three bogeys, capping off her round with a birdie on No. 18.
The Florida State standout recently received the Mark H. McCormack medal awarded to the world’s leading female amateur golfer in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.
Woad and Lopez Ramirez are currently ranked tied for first with Rachel Kuehn in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com Women's Rankings.
Lopez Ramirez recorded four birdies and four bogeys, and Anacona recorded one birdie and one bogey in her round. She made par on the first 15 holes.
PREVIEW
Lottie Woad and Julia Lopez Ramirez highlight the five amateurs in the field for the AIG Women's Open at the Old Course in St. Andrews. Ela Anacona, Louise Rydqvist and Chun-Wei Wu join Woad and Lopez Ramirez as the amateurs in the field.
144 golfers will descend on the Old Course for just the third time in the majors history since it was established in 1976.
Woad and Lopez Ramirez are currently ranked tied for first with Rachel Kuehn in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com Women's Rankings.
You can view the tee times for Thursday and Friday HERE.
Amateurs in the field
Lottie Woad: Woad is one of the top amateurs in the world and was just named the Mark H. McCormack Award as the world's leading female amateur golfer. She won the 2024 Augusta National Women's Amateur and finished in solo second place at the NCAA championships at Florida State. She also was the medalist at the Ladies British Amateur but fell in the Final 16.
Julia Lopez Ramirez: Lopez Ramirez won the SEC Women's Championships and recently finished in the final 16 of the Ladies British Amateur. She won the 2023 European Ladies Amateur.
Ela Anacona: Anacona won the 2023 Women's Latin America Amateur and finished in solo eighth place at the 2024 South American Women's Amateur.
Chun-Wei Wu: Wei Wu is in the field from her win at the 2024 Women's Asia-Pacific Amateur and finished T11 at the Australian Women's Amateur. She also made the final 64 of the U.S. Girls Junior.
Louise Rydqvist: Rydqvist is the most recent amateur addition to the field. A couple of weeks ago, she won the 2024 European Ladies Amateur to earn her spot. She also made the semifinals of the 2024 Ladies British Amateur and finished in solo second place at the SEC Women's Championships behind Lopez-Ramirez.
Past champions
A dozen past champions of the AIG Women’s Open are poised to play in what is a rare opportunity to compete at the Old Course at St Andrews. World Golf Hall of Fame member Karrie Webb, a three-time winner of the AIG Women’s Open in 1995, 1997 and 2002, headlines an impressive list of major champions that will be teeing it up this week at the Home of Golf. Also in the field are Jiyai Shin (2008, 2012), Catriona Matthew (2009), Stacy Lewis (2013), Ariya Jutanugarn (2016), In-Kyung Kim (2017), Georgia Hall (2018), Hinako Shibuno (2019), Sophia Popov (2020), Anna Nordqvist (2021), Ashleigh Buhai (2022) and defending champion Lilia Vu.
The Old Course
One of the biggest characters in the story of this year’s AIG Women’s Open is no doubt the championship’s return to St Andrews and the Old Course. For just the third time in the major’s history, it will be played at the Home of Golf. In 2007, Lorena Ochoa made history as the first woman to win the AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews with an impressive four-stroke victory. In 2013, Stacy Lewis etched her name beside Ochoa’s as just the second woman to win at the famed venue. This year, the best in women’s golf will compete in Fife, Scotland, at the Old Course, which will play to a par 72 at 6,784 yards with just a single par 5 and par 3 on each nine-hole stretch.
TV schedule
Thursday, August 22: 7 a.m.-2 p.m. (USA)
Friday, August 23: 7 a.m.-2 p.m. (USA)
Saturday, August 24: 7 a.m.-12 p.m. (USA); 12-2 p.m. (NBC)
Sunday, August 25: 7 a.m.-12 p.m. (USA); 12-2 p.m. (NBC)
The LPGA contributed to this report