By Sarah Kellam– LPGA
Sarah Kellam is a Kentucky native and played collegiate golf at Northern Kentucky University. She currently serves as a Manager of Digital Content and prior to the LPGA, Sarah worked as a freelance content creator.
EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France — Amateur standout Lottie Woad won her first-ever title in a professional golf tournament this past Sunday at the KPMG Women’s Irish Open on the Ladies European Tour and will be looking to keep that momentum rolling as she tees it up for the second consecutive year this week at The Amundi Evian Championship in Evian-les-Bains, France.
But the 21-year-old has a slightly bigger fish to fry at Evian Resort Golf Club than just picking up another solid finish in an LPGA Tour tournament.
The Florida State University Seminole currently has 18 points in the LPGA Elite Amateur Pathway, a new program the LPGA debuted in 2025 that provides high-level amateur athletes with a path to LPGA Tour membership via a merit-based points system that rewards their amateur achievements. Ams accrue LEAP points for various accolades they collect before turning pro and are then eligible for LPGA Tour membership once they have met the required 20-point threshold.
Woad has led the point standings since the program’s inception and is now on track to become the first athlete to earn her LPGA Tour card through LEAP, an incredibly unique opportunity for the Englishwoman, who has racked up some of the most notable accomplishments in the women’s amateur game in recent years.
“It’s obviously very new, and I’m happy that I get the opportunity to try and earn these points,” Woad said in her pre-tournament press conference at The Amundi Evian Championship. “Got a few opportunities coming up, so I’m just trying to play good golf and then see where it puts me in the end and make a decision after that.”
She later continued, “I think it’s great. Obviously, (it would) be amazing if you don’t have to go to Q-School. That’s such a tough week. If I can bypass that, that would be great. I think it encourages everyone to go to college and maybe play a bit more amateur golf which never really hurts anyone and take the time to develop and get these points.”
The 2024 Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion tallied her 18th and most recent LEAP point in early June when she represented the International Team at the 2025 Palmer Cup at Congaree Golf Club in Ridgeland, S.C. It was the second of two points Woad has earned in 2025, as she also picked up a point after making the cut at the U.S. Women’s Open presented by Ally at Erin Hills Golf Course in Wisconsin.
The bulk of Woad’s points came in 2024, as she earned four points for winning the McCormack Medal and three points for reaching the No. 1 spot in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. She also picked up two points each for her T23 finish at last year’s Chevron Championship, her ANWA victory, the tie for 10th she posted at the AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews and for representing Great Britain and Ireland in the Curtis Cup. Woad’s first LEAP point was awarded after she participated in the 2023 Arnold Palmer Cup as a member of the International Team.
Woad would earn a 19th LEAP point if she were to make the cut this week at The Amundi Evian Championship, what would be a drastic improvement from the missed cut she recorded in her tournament debut in 2024. The Englishwoman would then earn one additional point if she secures a top-25 finish in the major tournament, which would be the 20th point needed for Woad to become the first athlete to qualify for LPGA Tour membership via LEAP.
If things ultimately don’t play out in her favor in France, Woad has two upcoming LPGA Tour events in which she could collect her final two LEAP points, as the 21-year-old earned a spot in the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open field because of her victory in Ireland and will then compete in the AIG Women’s Open the next week, a start she earned because of her top-10 showing in 2024.
But Woad is doing her best to ignore all of the noise that’s swirling around her as she tees it up in her seventh major championship this week, knowing that if she just focuses on the challenge that is currently right in front of her, everything else – and most importantly LEAP – will ultimately take care of itself.
“I’m just trying to carry on the momentum (from last week),” said Woad. “If that means I can be in contention, that would be great. Really just trying to look to play good golf and continue what I was doing last week.”
