Lottie Woad Storms Back In Final Four Holes to Win Augusta National Women’s Amateur
The Florida state sophomore held off a charging Bailey Shoemaker and sank a 12-footer on the 18th to claim victory in the event.
AUGUSTA, Ga.—A picture-perfect day on the impeccably manicured Augusta National Golf Club was always going to make for a special occasion for those competing in the women’s amateur event that has been an annual tradition preceding the Masters.
But an epic ending made it all the better Saturday.
Lottie Woad, a 20-year-old sophomore at Florida State, birdied three of the last four holes including a 12-footer at the 18th to defeat Bailey Shoemaker by a stroke to capture the fifth Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
Woad, who is from England, became the first European to win the 54-hole event that began in 2019.
“I was hoping it was going to be a nice stress-free day,” said Woad, 20, who is from Farnham, England, which is southwest of London. “It was far from that. In the end, it was a cool way to finish.”
Lottie Woad
Maddie Meyer/GettyImages
It was a heartbreaking ending for Shoemaker, who trailed by four strokes at the start of the day and shot a 6-under-par 66 to lead by two strokes after Woad made a bogey at the 13th hole.
Shoemaker, 19, who was making her third ANWA start and missed the cut each of the past two years, is a freshman at USC and in 2018 was a Drive, Chip and Putt National Finalist at Augusta National.
She was on the driving range getting ready for a playoff when Woad made her winning putt.
“Good for her,” Shoemaker said. “Especially under pressure, knowing she had to do it, that’s amazing. That’s awesome. I think super clutch.
“I’m obviously disappointed, but at the end of the day, I played about as good as I could have. Maybe a couple of putts could have dropped. But I made just about everything too. It is what it is.”
Woad was just a shot behind when she pulled her approach at the par-5 13th and failed to get it up and down, leading to a bogey.
But it was the next hole where she saved par that she believed was the most important. After hitting a tree off the tee, she had 215 yards to the flag and was unable to get her approach on the green. She saved par from 10 feet, setting up the strong finish.
“I looked at the scoreboard pretty much every hole when I saw it,” she said. “I always look at the scoreboard, so I wasn’t going to change that.
“It helped me know where I was. It helped me know that I had to go low the last few holes. … Then I looked at the scoreboard and saw I was only two back, and I knew there’s chances every hole coming in.”
A week from Sunday, a player competing in the Masters would dream of making birdies at the last hole to win by a stroke. Arnold Palmer did that in 1960. So did Mark O’Meara 1998. In 2011, Charl Schwartzel birdied the last four holes to win by two strokes.
Woad’s approach to the 18th from 130 yards with a 9-iron gave her the 12-footer for birdie, which she converted.
With the victory, Woad gets several perks. She’s exempt into this tournament for five years if she remains an amateur.
She’ll also get spots in the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open, the 2024 Women’s Open, the 2024 Chevron Championship and the 2024 Evian Championship, all major championships. She’s also exempt into any USGA, R&A and PGA of America amateur championships for a year.
“It means a lot,” she said. “It’s what I want to do. I want to be a professional and to be playing in these events. To get this experience so early on is going to be great for me. I haven’t played in a major before. I think I’ve played in a couple of pro events, but never like an LPGA event. So this is going to be really exciting for me.”
