Woad was back in Scotland for the open women’s open last year, held on the old course in St Andrews.
She had missed the cup in the American women’s championship and Evian, but arrived in Fife in a floating mood for her fourth major.
Woad would be in the running all week and would finish the 10th spouse to win the SMHY SALVER as a highest amateur, with another culminating point being an Eagle of 60 yards in two on the last in third row.
“It brought me back in the top 10 in the last day. It was a really cool moment with the tribune full of people who applaud,” she said.
“Then, at the price, I can stand next to the winner, Lydia Ko. To see her elevator, this trophy motivates you.
“It was a perfect week. Golf house, first open – I couldn’t have dreams better.”
But there was little time for the celebration. CUP CUP, which opposes the best female fans of Britain and Ireland against their American counterparts, was the following week.
The Americans were the favorites to win a fourth successive title after dominating the victories in the three previous editions of the biennial event.
But GB & I was stimulated by making the victorious captain of the Solheim Cup in Europe Catriona Matthew as a chef.
And Woad, which grew up 40 minutes from the Sunningdale course which hosted the event, contributed 2½ points to a triumph of 10½ to 9½ shredding.
At that time, Woad had climbed to the top of the amateur ranking, which earned him the Mark H McCormack medal. Ko has won the prize three times successive since its creation in 2011, while Leona Maguire of Ireland and the American star Rising Rose Zhang are also three times recipient.
So what does 2025 for Woad hold?
The word “p” is inevitable, even if Woad “will only make this decision when I get there”.
Turning Professional seems to be the next logical step and Woad is on an LPGA path that could help accelerate this process.
“You can get an LPGA card when you reach 20 points and I am currently on 16,” she said. “I try to get 20 points this year, then we will have a decision to make.
“If you make a major cut, you get a point. If you get a top 25, you get a point. If you win Augusta or NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Associations), you get two points.
“I try not to think about it too much. But if I play well, I will get these points.”
NCAAs are the ultimate in collegial golf course in the United States, opposing teams and individuals against each other. Woad finished second in individual competition last year, while his university team was 11th joint.
This season, Woad has displayed eight impressive top three consecutive since September. But his teammate from Florida’s state, the 19 -year -old Malaysian Mirabel Ting has overshadowed this, winning six events from Awna from last year to lead the individual NCAA classification.
Jasmine Koo is also in an area that has 49 of the first 50 in the world. In the past 12 months, player number two has won four victories and first seven top-five.
And Asterisk Talley, 16, is again in the process of presenting herself. She finished eighth of last year and continued to beat Woad in single to Curtis Cup when she also appreciated a superb 2024.
However, Woad enters the week knowing that she has already conquered Augusta National and she will again have the coach of women in England Steve Robinson on the bag.
“It’s going to be nice, to have this familiarity,” she said. “I’m really excited. It’s going to be a fun week, and I hope I could be the first to defend the title.”
