England’s Lottie Woad finished third, one shot back, in the Evian Championship, the fourth of five LPGA majors. The result would typically mean $547,200 in prize money, but Woad, a senior at Florida State University, is still an amateur and therefore ineligible to collect the winnings.
Australia’s Grace Kim won the event in playoff over Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul. Kim forced the playoff with an eagle on 18, and then scored another eagle on the second playoff hole for the win. Kim earned $1.2 million in prize money for her second career LPGA win.
Her victory continues a remarkable streak of parity on the LPGA Tour this year, with a different winner in all 18 events. Nelly Korda is not among those, but the world No. 1 ranks second in scoring average behind Thitikul.
The 21-year-old Woad started the final round in 19th and five shots off the lead but posted a 64 in her bid to be the first amateur to win a major since Frenchwoman Catherine Lacoste claimed the U.S. Women’s Open in 1967.
Last week, Woad won the KPMG Women’s Irish Open by six shots and became the first amateur to win on the European Tour since 2022 and also had to forgo the €67,500 winner’s share ($79,000 based on current exchange rates). Sunday’s potential prize was 7x that.
Last January, Nick Dunlap won the PGA Tour’s American Express tournament, which normally would have meant a $1.5 million prize, but the University of Alabama sophomore had to leave the winnings on the table as an amateur. He was the first amateur champion on the PGA Tour since Phil Mickelson in 1991.
Woad is the top-ranked amateur in the world rankings and earned her LPGA card with her performance at the Evian Championship. She only needed to finish in the top 25 to qualify for her card via the LPGA Elite Amateur Pathway program (LEAP) that launched last year.
She will be a full member of the tour through the end of 2026 without having to go to Q-School. “If I can bypass that, that would be great,” Woad told reporters this week regarding Q-School.
Woad has faced questions about turning pro as she stood out from other amateurs, including low amateur at this year’s U.S. Women’s Open and last year’s AIG Women’s Open. “I’m just going to take the next week and discuss it with my family and coaches,” Woad said after her Sunday round. “And then I’ll make a decision after that.”
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