AUGUSTA NATIONAL WOMEN'S AMATEUR

April 4, 2024

Lottie Woad

Quick Quotes

Q. You doubled the first hole but turned it around and now you're leading going into Saturday's final round. Talk about what's going through your head right now.

LOTTIE WOAD: Yeah, I didn't think I'd be leading when I was 3-over through 8 today. Just trying to hang in there with it being so difficult. 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.

Q. What's the longest putt you think you made out there?

LOTTIE WOAD: The longest was probably 20 feet, but it was on hole 12, and I was above the pin, and it was straight downwind, and I literally touched it, and it just kept dribbling and then went in. I'll take that one.

Q. Just kind of gave you a spark there?

LOTTIE WOAD: Yeah, definitely.

Q. Have you always been a good wind player?

LOTTIE WOAD: I think growing up in England, you've got to be. We play a lot of links golf, so I was pretty much just playing a lot of knock-down shots today, which I'm pretty comfortable with, so I usually like it when it's windy. I feel like it suits me.

Q. What was your favorite shot you hit today?

LOTTIE WOAD: Probably that putt that I holed or my shot into 17, the par-3. It was like -- I think it was playing 177, wind howling off the right, and I hit like a little 5-iron, started it right edge of the green and drew back in to that left tier and left me like 12 feet. I was definitely happy with that one on that tough hole.

Q. How did you reset after that back-to-back bogey stretch?

LOTTIE WOAD: I think I reset on 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.

Q. Are you the kind of person that tries not to pay attention to the leaderboard?

LOTTIE WOAD: No, I look. I like to know where I am. I like to know if I have to make a par or something like that.

Q. Do you know who's going to caddie for you yet at Augusta?

LOTTIE WOAD: Same caddie. My England coach has caddied for me these two rounds and he caddied last year. Just going to stake with that.

Q. How long has he been your -- is he your swing coach?

LOTTIE WOAD: No, my swing coach is actually here, as well. He's from England, Luke Bone. He's been my coach since I was seven, so 13 years. A long time.

Q. Can you break down your swing for us? You've got a little bit of a unique action.

LOTTIE WOAD: Yeah. I'm definitely a player that plays better when -- I'm not on plane on the backswing. I know that. But I don't have a lot of movement from like here to here, so I control the face well through there. Usually have a pretty neutral shape, which when it's windy helps because you don't want too much turn on the golf ball.

Q. Has anyone ever tried to change your swing?

LOTTIE WOAD: Not really because I've had the same coach since I started golf. I think they just see me hit a shot, and they're like, oh, that went straight, so they just leave it.

Q. Has he sat you down and said, we aren't changing anything, you just keep doing what you're doing?

LOTTIE WOAD: I think at this point it's just making small changes here and there. I'm still trying to improve my swing, just make it as consistent as possible, but we're not going to be starting from scratch. It wouldn't have gotten me to this point if it wasn't good.

Q. What's your average hours a day spent at the team facility back home?

LOTTIE WOAD: Like somewhere between five, six hours usually. I get out of class at like 11:30 and then leave there at like 5:30, 6:00.

Q. Will you work on mostly putting?

LOTTIE WOAD: Yeah, putting, pitching. Usually any ball-striking is my strength, so it's just wherever I putt well at a golf tournament and particularly this tournament you need to not putt bad because the greens are so difficult, so I was definitely working on that before the event.

Q. Your coach gives you a lot of credit for bringing Mirabel along and making her feel a part of the team. What's it been like, you guys' relationship and getting to know her and seeing how she's blossomed since she's been in Tallahassee?

LOTTIE WOAD: Yeah, it's been good. She obviously couldn't play in the fall, so it was just making sure that she was happy at Florida State, and we were hoping she was going to play in the spring, and thank God she could because she's a great player, so she's definitely added a lot to our team.

Q. You're kind of all golf; have you guys bonded over anything outside of golf? Have you shown her what soccer is all about?

LOTTIE WOAD: I feel like if you were just an international player on the team, you seem to get on quite well with the other international players because you've got common ground there. You're both away from home, you call words different things, so it's just stuff like that really.

Q. What's the most pressure you've felt on the golf course?

LOTTIE WOAD: That's a good question. Probably either when I was in the final at the British Girls, that was kind of my first big win as a junior, so either that final or the five-foot putt I had last year to make the cut. I was pretty nervous over that one.

Q. What have you learned about how to control your emotions?

LOTTIE WOAD: I generally do some breathing exercises, kind of what I've been working on with my sports psych. Just trying to stick to my processes and get myself back in the moment.

Q. Second time making it to Augusta National for the final round. What does it mean to you?

LOTTIE WOAD: A lot. You obviously get to play it tomorrow, but you want to be playing it on Saturday. That's kind of why you come here. Yeah, I'm very happy.

Q. Do you have memories from watching the Masters growing up that you think back to when you're walking down those fairways?

LOTTIE WOAD: Yeah, definitely. You can remember some of the shots you've seen your favorite golfers hit, and then you left yourself a similar shot, and you're like, maybe I can hit it as good as them, and see what happens.

Q. What motivates you in this game?

LOTTIE WOAD: I mean, it can definitely be a very lonely sport at times, but being at a college or on a team so you've got players around you to motivate you because you're not just playing for yourself. Either that, and I just want to get better every day, so that motivates me.

Q. Where do you keep your trophies?

LOTTIE WOAD: I think they're in my room maybe at home in England. I've just got some in my shelf at my apartment at FSU. Nowhere special, really.