The opening two rounds of the Women’s Scottish Open were not so much a passing of the torch as a confirmation of the arrival of a fellow superstar as Lottie Woad played alongside Nelly Korda and Charley Hull at Dundonald Links.
There has been so much hype surrounding Lottie Woad in recent weeks. The 21-year-old won the KPMG Women’s Irish Open as an amateur earlier this month.
And after backing that up by finishing third at the Evian Championship, Woad turned professional ahead of the Women’s Scottish Open.
It appears that she has a very good chance of marking her first professional start with a victory.
Nelly Korda issues her verdict on Lottie Woad as she leads the Women’s Scottish Open
Woad goes into the final day at Dundonald Links with a two shot lead after posting a five under par round of 67 on Saturday.
Nelly Korda has got her work cut out if she is going to win for the first time this season this week. The world number one is five shots back after a more frustrating day. The American was the only player in the top 10 who failed to break 70.
Korda played alongside Woad during the first two rounds. And she outlined just how impressed she has been by the way the youngster has handled the pressure so far.
“That was so long ago. Gosh, this is my 10th year on tour. I think it was on Symetra. Obviously my professional debut was not as in the limelight like her,” she said, when asked about whether she remembers her own professional debut.
“But for her to succeed and to be leading the event is pretty special.”
Nelly Korda suggests which part of her game was not as good in round three at Dundonald Links
Korda is going to have to fly out of the blocks and probably produce her best round of the week if she is going to go on and win this event.
It is promising signs ahead of the final major of the year, the Women’s British Open, with the 26-year-old clearly feeling that she is not quite at her best right now.
“Yeah, bogey-free, definitely missed a couple more greens. Wasn’t hitting it probably as good as I was the first two days. But there was a tiny bit of a different wind direction,” she said about her third round.
“Yeah, three-putted one of the par fives for par. That kind of always stings a little bit. But other than that, I made some really good par saves and just didn’t really capitalise on some of my good shots. But that’s golf. That’s okay. I still have tomorrow.”
There is so much to like about Korda’s game this year. She has been a lot more consistent, particularly in the middle part of the season, and she has good memories of the Women’s British Open after finishing second last year.
Her performance this week hints she is in with a good chance of contending at Royal Porthcawl. However, the momentum Woad has right now is impossible to ignore.
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