Lottie Woad Claims 36-Hole Lead at Augusta National Women's Amateur
Lottie Woad of England plays her stroke from the No. 6 tee during the second round of the Augusta National Women's Amateur at Champions Retreat Golf Club, Thursday, April 4, 2024. Photograph by Augusta National Women's Amateur
Lottie Woad of England leads by two strokes after the second round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur with a 36-hole score of five-under 139.
Making her second appearance in the event, the Florida State sophomore carded a bogey-free 68 in the opening round and followed with a one-under 71 in Thursday’s second round.
Woad, the No. 4 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, started with a double bogey at the first hole before spreading two birdies and two bogeys across the rest of her first nine.
The 20-year-old had a bogey-free second nine and tallied three birdies, including at the last hole, to become one of five players to break par in the second round. Woad also becomes the first player representing England to lead after any round in the history of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
“I didn't think I'd be leading when I was three-over through [No.] 8 today. Just trying to hang in there with it being so difficult,” Woad said.
“Just trying to get the numbers right because on the front nine I was either flying the green or leaving it short. Just trying to calculate how much the wind was affecting it, and then I just holed a few putts on the back nine, which helped.”
She added: “I think I reset on [No.] 9. I had like 130 in, and I hit 7-iron because it was so into the wind, and I hit it to like one foot, so finally made a birdie, and that just set me back.
“I kind of saw the leaderboard at that point because at the time I thought I was doing terribly, but I was actually like maybe fifth or sixth at that point. That kind of gave me a little bit more momentum because I was being a bit harsh on myself on the front nine.”
Miscellaneous
Lottie Woad finished 13th in the 2023 Augusta National Women’s Amateur, her only other appearance. Woad and Gianna Clemente are the only players this week to break par in both rounds.
Clemente and Maisie Filler are tied for second at three-under 141, while Amanda Sambach birdied her final hole to sit solo fourth at two-under 142.
Mirabel Ting becomes the first player from Malaysia to advance to the final round. She is one of eight players at T-5 with a score of one-under 143.
First-round leader Hannah Darling is T-5 after a second-round five-over 77.
A total of 35 players made the cut, which fell at three-over 147, to advance to Saturday’s final round at Augusta National.
All participants will play a practice round at Augusta National Golf Club on Friday, while the players who made the cut will compete in the final round on Saturday. NBC will broadcast three hours of live final-round coverage from noon – 3:00 p.m. ET on Saturday.
