AUGUSTA NATIONAL WOMEN'S AMATEUR

April 2, 2025

Lottie Woad

Quick Quotes

Q. Lottie, are you surprised that you're in second place right now after a 65?

LOTTIE WOAD: I mean, yes and no because I saw the scoreboards during the round. So I knew I wasn't in the lead. I feel like before today I would have thought 7-under was a good score. I knew it was going to be soft and very scorable, but I didn't really see a 63.

Q. Have you played with Megha before?

LOTTIE WOAD: No, we haven't played golf together, no.

Q. But you've played tournaments against her?

LOTTIE WOAD: I mean, probably only like Nationals really. And then this.

Q. There's been a lot of trees down at this golf course. How different did it play out there with some of those trees that you may have gotten familiar with last year that are no longer there?

LOTTIE WOAD: Yeah, holes 4 and 16 are very different. Those trees used to be in the way, so it's quite nice they're not there now.

Q. Did it save you any strokes not having those trees?

LOTTIE WOAD: I mean, it makes the hole easier. I birdied 4 today. Because the drive used to be really difficult. You kind of had to hit it down the right, but now it's so wide. So it's definitely an easier hole.

Q. When you see the kind of competition you've got ahead of you, behind you on the leader board, what does that do to just kind of prepare you for the next round coming up here?

LOTTIE WOAD: Yeah, I knew it was going to be pretty packed like it usually is. Pretty much anyone could go out and shoot a good score. Just trying to really focus on my own game and stick to the plan really, not change too much.

Q. Lottie, about three-quarters of the top 20 today are returning players. Does that surprise you? Does it help to know your way around here?

LOTTIE WOAD: Yeah, it definitely helps knowing certain pins like even on the practice day you can practice too. I feel like in order to score well here you need to make sure you hit the fairway and have good tee shots. So kind of knowing those lines beforehand is definitely helpful.

Q. When you see Megha putting up numbers like that, did you find yourself playing more aggressively than maybe you planned to?

LOTTIE WOAD: Not really. I kind of first saw it around hole 9, and then I three-putt for par. So that wasn't the best start. Then I birdied 10, and I tried to get it going on the back nine.

I feel like the back nine is usually a little bit tougher, but I think with it being no wind today, it was still very scorable. So I feel like I could keep going.

Q. She also three-putted 9, so don't feel bad.

LOTTIE WOAD: Cool.

Q. There's some English accents floating around out there. Who do you have here supporting you?

LOTTIE WOAD: My parents are here, and my coach Luke from England is here. I've got the same caddie, our England women's coach on the bag.

Q. Does it make you more comfortable to have your people around you?

LOTTIE WOAD: Yeah, definitely. They came last year, so just kind of keep it the same really.

Q. Were there any -- I don't know if maybe superstitions is the right word, but anything routine-wise from last year that you tried to make sure you did this week and today to kind of keep the good mojo going here?

LOTTIE WOAD: I don't think -- not that I can remember. No -- yeah, I just did my own thing. There might have been something I did subconsciously, but I don't know.

Q. Using the same ball marker?

LOTTIE WOAD: I always use this ball marker, and I always use the No. 4 golf ball whenever I play. That's just normal for me.

Q. What's the ball marker?

LOTTIE WOAD: It's like an England golf one I got when I was 12.

Q. You used it last year?

LOTTIE WOAD: Yeah, I've used it since I was 12. I don't ever change it.

Q. Have you ever almost lost it?

LOTTIE WOAD: I think last year it was in the bottom of my travel bag, and I kind of panicked, but I found it.

Q. What's the significance of a 4 for you?

LOTTIE WOAD: I think I probably played well with a 4 once, and it was the golf ball. I don't really want to change it now.

Q. Did you feel any added pressure with the normal teeing off this morning?

LOTTIE WOAD: I think it was a little bit. I just kind of wanted to get off to a good start. And I feel like once I hit a really nice approach shot into 1, inside four feet, I kind of settled down and was good to go really.

Q. How have you improved in the last 12 months, not just your golf game, but obviously there's a lot more attention on you being the defending champion throughout the year, a lot of demands on your time. What do you think you've improved on?

LOTTIE WOAD: I think I've definitely gotten better at dealing with that. Straight after ANWA and playing the Chevron straight away, it was all very new. Kind of got a little bit ahead of myself kind of over the weekend there.

Now I feel like I've settled down a little bit more and also just got used to even talking to the media and stuff like that. Just kind of got more confident at that, so yeah.

Q. There's another No. 1 ranked amateur in the world at Florida State. I spoke with him, and he made some comment that he hasn't challenged you to a match because he doesn't want to lose by five. How will today's 65 influence his future decision-making process of wanting to play golf with you?

LOTTIE WOAD: I don't know. I don't really want to play against him either, but people are encouraging us to do a match. So it might happen at some point.

Q. Do you think having seen this course in difficult conditions set you up to take advantage today in benign ones?

LOTTIE WOAD: Yeah, it was so different to my first two years. It was a lot firmer the last couple of years, and obviously the wind was a factor.

So I feel like today you could be pretty aggressive, and the pins weren't too challenging. I'd seen them all before, so I could just be pretty aggressive and know the ball was going to stop pretty quick, which is nice.

Q. What's your relationship with Mirabel like? Do you push each other a lot in practice? Are you guys independent of each other? How does that work out?

LOTTIE WOAD: I think there's a little bit of both. We'll help each other out in practice if anyone wants some help with stuff. But I'm a pretty individual practicer as well, so I kind of stick to myself a little bit.