Not many amateurs make an impression when competing with the professionals. Lottie Woad left a lasting impression last year as an amateur. However, playing as pro makes a major difference, especially when it comes to expectations and pressure.
When it came to the 2025 Women’s Scottish Open, Lottie Woad did not disappoint on any level during any round in her professional debut on LPGA Tour.
Lottie Woad, a former No. 1 amateur in the world, stepped up at the Women’s Scottish Open to take home the victory and prize money. The English phenom took on Dundonald Links and did not let off the gas until she was raising the trophy to symbolize her first victory on the LPGA Tour.
In her pro debut, @LottieWoad becomes an LPGA Tour champion 🏆
This victory should more than proved she’s ready for the pressure of the professional game. Her final round of 68 led to her finishing the tourney at 21 under par. That was enough to clear secure her first professional victory while competing with Nelly Korda and other top LPGA pros. This victory marks Wood’s start and makes an impressive statement about what she plans to do on the LPGA Tour this year.
What else can we expect from this English golfer who has snagged the attention of women’s golf for the moment?
She should focus on staying on top of her game throughout this initial pro season. Even if she doesn’t kill another tournament like she did this one, she can remain relevant. It’s best that she not go dark or end up in some dark place due to depression and disappointment from the onslaught of public pressure .
No matter how you may have heard about this story, this is how it really went that day:
It was Christmas Eve. I was off of work for the winter holidays. I was off-duty from managing anything and everything related to my mom because my cousin was visiting and she wanted time with Mom that afternoon. Cool! I set up a tee time and loaded the clubs to hit Mission Trails.
I was worry-free. Mom’s care at the facility was going well and I figured we’d celebrate Christmas and the new year before making any decisions beyond that.
I was so carefree that day that my swing was on target. I hit the 2nd and 3rd holes in regulation. I had a par on the 2nd hole after opening the round with a par on a long par 5 1st hole. The 3rd hole give me grief with a my par shot lipping put of the hole.
I tackled the 4th hole like I owned it.
Anyone who has played Mission Trails before knows that the 4th hole starts with an elevated tee shot aimed at an equally-elevated green nestled in the side of a hill that makes anything that isn’t perfect roll down that hill into running water. I teed up from the whites on that elevated block of grass and ripped a shot that felt like it just absorbed all my power into it. I lost sight of the ball in the trees and i figured I was chipping from the ravine down below.
I went in search of my ball along with the rest of my foursome. I didn’t see it near the ravine and I continued to ride along the ravine, hoping that it hadn’t rolled down with so much momentum that it went on the other side of the ravine.
Leave it to me to leave the positive thinking back in the car while on the golf course.
“Hey, Man!” one of my foursome called out from just above the green overhead. “Your ball is up here.”
I made my way up there with haste. In my thinking, “up here” had to mean on the fringe or even on the side of the hill just above the green. As my cart eased into position behind the others, I could not believe my eyes. My ball was about 10 feet from the hole.
I walked up to the ball on the green to mark it, but the reality of it all was that I was checking to ensure that this was really my Pinnacle Rush with my mark on it. It was mine. I left my marker there and commenced to cleaning my ball as I pondered how my TaylorMade Burner 3 wood had proven worthy of its weight in my bag.
After the other guys worked their way onto the green with some nice chipping and pitching, even a recovery shot from behind some pine trees, we started working our way to getting the ball into the hole. I was up third with a straight but bumpy 10-foot ride to the hole. I stroked it a little too heavy and it rolled and bounced its way right beyond the cup.
I settled for a birdie.
And how does that sound?
Me. . . settling for a birdie. . . as if, you know.
That’s when I got the call.
Mom had just passed.
I had leave. I excused myself from the foursome and wished them the best as I rolled the cart at a high speed back to the clubhouse. I dropped off the cart in an obscure spot and facing the wrong way near the bar that is perched above the green of the 18th hole. I drug my clubs to my car.
I wanted to change my clothes or at least my shoes, but I couldn’t do it.
I just cried for a moment.
Breast cancer had defeated my mom after a long and hard fought battle.
She was gone now. And I felt like someone had punched me in my gut and gave me the whooping of a lifetime.
The plan is to host 2 golf tournaments. One golf tournament in December to honor the passing of my mother and the other in August to celebrate my mom’s birthday. The tourney in December would focus on a drive for donations to the American Cancer Society (San Diego), while the tourney in August would focus on supporting minority education in the greater San Diego area (a cause that my mother thrived to support throughout her lifetime in San Diego).
Subscribe to this blog and stay updated as we prepare to launch these special events in honor of Mom.
Monday's Image of the Day needs no introduction. This one goes out to our 2024 RBC Heritage champion and world No. 1, Scottie Scheffler.🥇 pic.twitter.com/68JAKdEtbl
Scottie Scheffler is on a hot streak. While he’s not quite doing what Nelly Korda is doing in the LPGA, Scheffler is making a statement among the top golfers in the PGA. By winning 4 of his last 5 starts, Scheffler has positioned himself as the man to beat for 2024 at this point in the season.
The battle for the RBC Heritage plaid jacket saw Scheffler fend off some serious competitors like Patrick Cantlay and Wyndham Clark, even Sahith Theegala who edged up to second place at 16 under. This win allowed Scheffler to earn another $3,600,000 on top of having recently won the Masters Tournament.
What’s next for Scheffler?
Who’s to say? Just like we saw Joel Dahmen say on ‘Full Swing’ via Netflix, “It’s so hard to win a golf tournament.” Let’s not overlook the feat that Scheffler just pulled off.
We got caught up and swept away by watching the drama play out as we saw UConn winning back-to-back NCAA championships during March Madness. That’s a feat that few colleges achieve.
Yet, what Scottie Scheffler is doing in 2024 is phenomenal and shows us how focused a pro golfer has to be to wipe out a slate of golfers hitting at 14 under or beyond. He’s doing that kind of stuff and I’m just trying to stay consistent enough to break 90 again and again.
I had my hope set on seeing Ruoning Yin defend her title through the final round at Fir Hills, but that fell by the wayside on Sunday as Nelly Korda nabbed the $300,000 prize for herself at the end of the day. Yin’s failure to retain the lead through 18 holes on Saturday became her own downfall for defending her title. This left the title open for anyone to take advantage and dominate.
It’s still early for the ladies in the LPGA. I can’t wait to see what happens as we go into the summer months. Lydia Ko and Brooke Henderson have yet to break out from the pack in the chase for CME Globe points. This latest victory places Korda in first place just ahead of Ko who is in second with Henderson trailing behind at 5th place. There’s still plenty of golf to play in 2024,
Golf can be one of those ventures that has big rewards and payoffs for taking certain risks. Yet, it also has some real simple consequences for taking other types of risks. That’s just some conventional wisdom for the course for you to nibble on to start out right now.
What I really wanted to dig into was the multiple hole playoff between Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand and rookie sensation Jesper Svensson at the Porsche Singapore Classic. Those powerful drives amid strong gusts of wind along with those clutch putts made for stellar drama on the 18th hole. however, even that storyline had to take a back seat to what I witnessed among the LPGA players at Fir Hills for the Seri Pak Championship.
Ruoning Yin added a whole load of drama to the uneventful closure of the third round at Fir Hills. Everyone seemed to make more of a thing about former USC golfer Malia Nam returning to LPGA play and standing out among the top players at Fir Hills, but it appears that Yin was intent upon taking big risks to finish the day off. And that’s one thing that stole the spotlight from Malia Nam’s steady play for remaining in contention for a share of the lead and a potential shot at victory.
Yin was ahead of her fellow players at -11 coming into the 18th hole. Her tee shot landed her in the rough amid some trees with low-hanging branches. That left her with a decision to make. And this is where many of us recreational golfers could both readily and easily empathize with the Chinese golfer’s agonizing decision. She decided on a low punch shot between the trees rather than a high percentage shot like a pitch back into the fairway from the rough.
As I watched on, I recognized the predicament. No one was within any closer to her than 2 strokes. She had the outright lead and her game seemed to be working for her.
Yin Pays the Price
Yin drew back and made an attempt at punching it, and then all you heard was the thud of a golf ball striking bark. Anyone who has played on a course with any kind of woods on it knows that sound. It’s so distinct that it’s almost haunting.
In fact this sound was merely the awakening of a steady dwindle on a downward spiral with little to no chance of return or even redemption.
And that’s putting it lightly.
Ruoning Yin TRIPLED her last hole so she went from solo 1st to T3 two strokes back after round 3.
Consequences continued to come against her as she and her caddie sought some relief from her ball ending what looked like a drain and within a club length of a work shed. But even with that drop and hitting 4 from the rough, Yin ended up short of the green on the 18th. That left her pitching upward to try to finish up the hole.
Things didn’t work out well for her at all on 18. She finished the hole with a triple bogey. She finished the round even at 71 for the day. She ended up tied for third at -7 after holding onto the lead most of the day.
Look at the Lesson
Yin isn’t by herself.
I’ve been there before.
How about you?
Have you ever had that one hole that just tore up everything that you have put together throughout a decent round? I bet it burned you intensely. I would imagine how badly it would feel to have everything going right and then BOOM! It all just falls apart.
Yin is the defending champion for the tournament. She even had a better understanding of the course layout and structure from the prior year’s victory. Hopefully, she recovered and can make the most of this final round at Fir Hills today. But, like many of us, she took a high risk and it cost her enough strokes to shock her. Either way, it surely caught my attention away from Svensson and Aphibarnrat battling for a new Porsche and $450,000.
Who knows? If given the opportunity again, I might try to punch it through the trees, too.
Two things that I’m certain of no matter how golf I play is that you have to play the course and the conditions as they are. The course has its own particular design and layout. The conditions are just what they are for that given day and even at that moment.
I tend to practice early mornings, especially on Sundays. In many cases, the greens are soaked and my poor little Callaway balls are rolling and splashing around while I’m chipping and pitching onto the surface.
This helps me accomplish a few goals. One of the main goals that I accomplish with this type of practice is that I can get a feel for what effect different conditions have on the ball upon approach to the putting surface. That helps a lot once we start to play on any course.
I jumped on board when I saw Full Swing promoted on Netflix some time ago. All I saw were flashes of golf courses, missed putts, and the likes of Tiger, Rory, and JT. That’s about all that it took for me start watching the sports docuseries on Netflix. Now, with Full Swing Season 2 coming to Netflix on Wednesday, March 6th , we’ve got another set of episodes to watch and review.
In recent years, it can be said that Netflix has found media content gold within the sports documentary series sector. ESPN might have “30 for 30” and HBO and NFL Films have “Hard Knocks,” but Netflix has managed to squeeze itself into a strong position when it comes to sports documentaries. Think about shows like The Last Dance that captured the Chicago Bulls and their storied championship season and Untold, especially the episode on the Malice at the Palace where Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson virtually took on Detroit Pistons fans singlehandedly. With the addition of Break Point and Full Swing, Netflix has carved out its own niche for the sports docuseries.
Full Swing Season 1 in Review
If you haven’t seen Full Swing yet, you don’t need to start with Full Swing Season 2. You need to go back and check out Full Swing Season 1. The series starts off focused on Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth’s unique personal and professional relationship in an episode entitled Frenemies. I wouldn’t rank this episode as my favorite, but I would lean in and say that it is one of the better episodes in the series.
The footage that sparked some of S1 E4 Imposter Syndrome
Here is my list of the top 3 episodes in the series:
S1 E4 Imposter Syndrome If you’ve never met or heard of Joel Dahmen, this episode will have you really taking a serious look at how seriously you take yourself, especially if you didn’t know that you don’t know that you’re not supposed to take your shirt off on the golf course.
S1 E8 Everything Has Led to This With a very acute focus on all things Rory McIlroy, you can see the pro golfer giving his all and doing everything to win while on the pro tour but giving up and giving into the pressure. And, as a Rory fan myself, it felt good to relieve some of these moments again.
S1 E7 Golf is Hard Throughout this docuseries, you’ll hear it said over and over again. You will hear from pro golfers themselves and those closest to them who support them. Yet, the focus upon two rookie golfers on tour helps us to get a clearer indication of what it takes to make it on the pro golf tour.
Season 1 gave us some insights into the split among the pros in golf to go with LIV Golf or not. It also shed some light on how golfers like Ian Poulter and Dustin Johnson feel about their own success and the time horizon for their continued play on tour. If I could say anything about Season 1 in hindsight, I’m extremely eager to see what Season 2 has to bring to the forefront.
Preparing for Full Swing Season 2
I am looking forward to checking out Season 2. Comparatively, I enjoyed both seasons of Break Point which gave us a different perspective of tennis pros and their professional pressure to win big-time tournaments. From what I’ve seen so far via the trailer, we’re in for some heavy duty emotional explosions in this new seasons. I’m really looking forward to seeing how this plays out on screen.
I awoke early. I did some dynamic stretches and came close to emulating a few yoga poses that have helped with my back and hips. I was ready.
Once on the road, I would stop for a large coffee at a convenience store on the way. No donuts on the menu for today.
By the time I arrived at the golf course, I was ready.
My mindset was focused on the selection of clubs and the Callaway Chrome Super Soft golf balls that I had laid out in the trunk. My stretching had my body ready for taking the club back slowly and swinging through effectively for my desired results.
Everything seemed in place.
Early mornings aren’t my best time to play. I think the earliest I ever played was at 6 AM with a 5:45 AM check-in. Even for Southern California, that was too chilly to be swinging any type of club for recreation.
This Monday morning was not chilly like that, but it did have residue from the early morning overcast and fog. Dew covered the practice green and surrounding areas. The dew on the green was so thick that the golf balls would make tiny streaks that laced their own trails towards the target holes during the practice session.
I focused upon my wedges. Short game skills can always provide you with a safety net if you can’t pull the rest of the game together. And, as one who doesn’t always have it together, I tend to rely on my short game to serve as almost like an equalizer for my recovery from some bad choices on the fairway and at the tee box. That’s not perfect, but that’s definitely something I have to keep in mind every single time I tee it up these days.
In all honesty, the sand wedge and lob wedge delivered the best results. One contributing factor could be the fact that the greens were soaking wet. Additionally, I used the pitching wedge first and followed that up with the gap wedge. Therefore, by the time I got to the lob wedge and sand wedge, the surface might have lost some of its morning dew and was pretty slick with melted moisture.
Short game practice today. Chip & pitch with wedges only. Wet surface let the sand wedge & lob wedge roll. PW got snubbed a few times but I see where it was headed ⛳️ #Golf#fitness#garminpic.twitter.com/TLk0iWlbkt
I took note of the conditions causing different responses to various clubs and I tried out some trickery around the target hole on the putting surface. Technically, I’m more experienced with the lob wedge than the sand wedge. Yet, I have a greater sense of touch and feel with the sand wedge.
By the time I play a full 18 holes on a par 3 course, I think I might just go out with an 8 iron and a sand wedge. I think that would get the job done and get me ready for another test of my short game skills.
Watching the final round of the tournament had me looking for who might catch up to Matsuyama and provide another playoff weekend. But that never happened here. Masuyama maintained his lead at a safe distance from his competitors and won this tournament free and clear.
After watching a post-game interview with Hideki Matsuyama sharing about overcoming back issues and his closing in on the course record during this final round, I was motivated. I was motivated to pick up my irons and chip and putt for some more practice around the green. According to Matsuyama, everything was not working for him during the entire final round, but he was able to remain consistent with his short game and his putting. That told me that we all can tee it up high and let it fly, but if we’re going to keep winging we better do it strategically to stay the course.
There was some good golf being played out there. I like what I saw from a lot of pros who don’t always get the shine from the press and media. Names like Theegala, Scheffler, and Spieth appeared on the leaderboard, but they also gave fans plenty to cheer about.
Some folks show up at Phoenix for the wild weekend fanfare and fun in the sun. You have to wonder where golf fits into the entire scope of their itinerary, especially when pros have to call out bad behavior among fans. This isn’t Coachella. It’s a golf tournament. It’s becoming a bit troubling to have to share pro sports magical moments like the Taylor-Hoffman playoff along with unruly fans acting badly throughout the weekend. Let’s just agree to let this weekend die down before trying to make sense of it all. After all, this has been one of the most storied tournaments of the PGA Tour.
MyBreaking90 