EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France — Amateur Lottie Woad got off to a strong start on Thursday at The Amundi Evian Championship in pursuit of the final two points she needs to become the first athlete eligible for LPGA Tour membership via the LPGA Elite Amateur Pathway.

The 21-year-old carded a 3-under 68 in the first round at Evian Resort Golf Club, recording two bogeys and five birdies to sit just three shots off the pace early in France.

She began the day on the back nine, quickly dropping a shot with a bogey on the par-4 12th hole, and Woad then made a pair of back-to-back birdies on the par-3 14th and par-5 15th holes to flip her scorecard, now sitting at 1-under on the day. She parred out to turn in 35 and recorded pars on the first five holes of her closing nine before landing her third birdie of the round on the par-4 6th hole.

The Florida State University Seminole then made two more birdies on holes seven and eight to climb to 4-under, but she bogeyed the final hole to ultimately post at 3-under overall in just her seventh appearance in an LPGA Tour event, a solid way to kick off what could wind up being a monumental week for the young talent.

“I played really nicely today. Pretty stress-free,” said Woad, who missed the cut in her tournament debut at The Amundi Evian Championship last season. “I hit a lot of good iron shots and could have maybe holed a few more on the front nine but rolled some in on the back nine. Annoying at the last, but it wasn’t a bad six in the end, to be honest.”

Woad came to France after picking up her first title in a professional tournament last week on the Ladies European Tour at the KPMG Women’s Irish Open, what was a lifelong dream realized for the Englishwoman. But she now has an opportunity to make another goal of hers come true this week at The Amundi Evian Championship, one that has much more significant implications.

Woad has led the point standings in the LPGA Elite Amateur Pathway since the program was rolled out by the LPGA earlier this season and earned her 18th of the 20 total points she needs to qualify for Tour membership by participating in the Arnold Palmer Cup in early June.

A made cut at Evian Resort Golf Club would see Woad pick up her 19th LEAP point, and she would then reach that 20-point threshold with a top-25 finish, something the 2024 Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion has proven she is more than capable of doing in some of the world’s biggest tournaments, having tied for 23rd at the 2023 Chevron Championship and tied for 10th at the AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews last August.

While it’s still much too early to predict how the second round will go for Woad, as Evian Resort Golf Club can be quite tricky for those who aren’t super familiar the quirks that come at a golf course cut into the side of a mountain, she has certainly already put herself in a good position to earn at least one of those two remaining points after day one in France.

And even if it doesn’t happen this week for Woad, she will have two more opportunities in just a couple of weeks’ time at both the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open and the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Porthcawl on which she can capitalize and become the first amateur to secure LPGA Tour status through the LPGA Elite Amateur Pathway, another feather in an already full cap for the talented young Englishwoman.

Woad Watch: LEAP Points Leader Lottie Woad Opens With 68 at The Amundi Evian Championship

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