Last year at this time, Lottie Woad was still a newly-minted pro. Now she returns to TPC Boston as an ambassador and a top-10 player in the world on the verge of her first Solheim Cup. While she will be a rookie on Anna Nordqvist's team in Europe, she will be so in name only.
"I'm pretty happy how much I was in contention this year," said Woad, "maybe compared to last year. Last year I had a win and maybe another one in contention. That was about it.
"This year I've been out there a lot more, which is more the position I want to be in."
Woad opened with a bogey-free 4-under 68 at the FM Championship to trail leader Sei Young Kim by four strokes. Now an FM ambassador, Woad chose to play this week rather than defend her title at the KPMG Women's
Irish Open on the Ladies European Tour, which she won as an amateur last year. Woad is also sponsored by KPMG.
Last summer, the 22-year-old Englishwoman became the first player to graduate from the LPGA Elite Amateur Pathway Program. The 2024 Augusta National Women's Amateur champion and Florida State standout then won her first tournament on the LPGA as a pro, the ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open.
Lottie Woad on the success of the LEAP program:
— Beth Ann Nichols (@GolfweekNichols) August 27, 2026
"I think so far everyone has proven they deserve the card. Obviously Kiara [Romero] played great last week and, yeah, I've done fine. I think it's a great program. I think it will be a conveyor belt coming through." pic.twitter.com/YWPcMW96xg
Two weeks ago, Oregon's Kiara Romero became the second LEAP player to graduate, making her first start at last week's CPKC Women's Open, where she opened with a 64 and finished in a share of 23rd.
"I think so far everyone has proven they deserve the card," said Woad. "Obviously Kiara played great last week and, yeah, I've done fine. I think it's a great program. I think it will be a conveyor belt coming through."
To make the jump to the tour, amateurs must accumulate 20 points over the course of three seasons.
Arkansas' Maria Jose Marin, an NCAA and ANWA champion, currently has 17 points as does Farah O'Keefe, the 2026 reigning NCAA champion and Annika Award winner.
Both 17-year-old Asterisk Talley, the recent winner of the U.S. Women's Amateur, and Stanford's Paula Martin Sampedro are next with 13 points. Martin Sampedro picked up another point this week when she rose to No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking after Romero turned pro. The Spaniard is in this week's field in Boston and opened with a 75.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Lottie Woad says 'conveyor belt' of amateur stars will leap to LPGA
