• Loading stock data...
Sunday, July 27, 2025
Tuned In returns to NYC on September 16. Hear from the biggest names in sports media. Click here to get your spot

An FSU Amateur Golfer Beat the World’s Best—but Can’t Accept $79K Prize

Top-ranked amateur Lottie Woad isn’t turning pro, despite winning the KPMG Women’s Irish Open (and not accepting the first-place prize) on the Ladies European Tour.

Journal Sentinel

Top-ranked amateur women’s golfer Lottie Woad can’t cash the roughly $79,000 winner’s check from the KPMG Women’s Irish Open, despite her dominant six-stroke victory on Sunday.

The Ladies European Tour—like its American counterpart, the LPGA Tour, and many other professional circuits—does not allow amateurs to accept prize money, no matter the result. Woad, 21 and a rising senior at Florida State, was playing on a sponsor’s exemption.

That means Swedish pro Madelene Sagström, who finished second, takes home the first-place prize from the nearly $530,000 tournament purse. Every other player who made the cut will be paid out one place higher than they finished, too. The Irish Open is not an LPGA event, but the LPGA did not have a tournament this past weekend, so many of its top players were in the field.

Amateurs routinely compete in pro tournaments on sponsor’s exemptions and other qualifying measures, but they rarely win them.

The last amateur to win on the LET was Jana Melichová, who won the Czech Ladies Open in 2022 when she was 24. Lydia Ko was the last amateur to win on the LPGA Tour—claiming victory at the Canadian Women’s Open twice before turning pro; she won the event in 2012 and 2013 when she was 15 and 16, respectively.

Last year, then-Alabama sophomore Nick Dunlap became the first amateur to win on the PGA Tour since Phil Mickelson in 1991. Dunlap, who was 20 at the time, won The American Express, but he had to forgo the $1.51 million winner’s check. He turned pro shortly after and won the PGA Tour’s Barracuda Championship last July.

Woad Staying Patient

Woad, who is from England, appears to be holding out for status on the LPGA Tour before turning pro. 

“No, not at all,” she said Sunday when asked about being tempted to turn pro immediately. “Still trying to get my final two points for the LPGA. So, I’m just trying to get those and then we’ll see what happens after that.” Woad is referring to the LPGA Elite Amateur Pathway; she is projected to earn enough points to become a tour member later this year.

Woad has major NIL (name, image, and likeness) deals with Titleist, FootJoy, Upper Deck, and fintech company Novellus. She’s held the No. 1 spot in the women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings since last July, and has made the cut in three of her six major championship appearances, including a T-10 finish at last year’s Women’s British Open.

In 2024, she won the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, which is annually played the weekend before The Masters. 

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Sophie Cunningham Fined $500 for Criticizing WNBA Refs on TikTok

The Indiana Fever star has more than 1.5 million followers on TikTok.

ACC’s Phillips on FSU, Clemson: ‘It Can Never Be About a School..

The commissioner isn’t worried about more conference realignment.
Jul 9, 2025; Uncasville, Connecticut, USA; Connecticut Sun center Tina Charles (31) hugs guard Leila Lacan (47) after a play against the Seattle Storm in the second half at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Sun Will Play in Connecticut Next Year Amid Relocation Rumors

The team told season-ticket holders they’ll stay for 2026.

Featured Today

Limited Hype

Sneaker Reselling Was Once Easy Money. Success Is Now Complicated

Vendors need to evolve what they’re selling and how they do it.
Ryan Field Construction
exclusive
July 19, 2025

First Look Inside Northwestern’s $862 Million New Ryan Field

Five big things FOS learned on our exclusive stadium tour.
Jul 21, 2024; Ayrshire, SCT; Xander Schauffele celebrates with Claret Jug after winning the Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Troon.
July 17, 2025

The Boozy History and Traditions of The Open’s Claret Jug

The Open awards the world’s most famous wine decanter.
2025 PDC World Darts Championship Final - Luke Littler vs Michael Van Gerwen
July 16, 2025

A Teen Darts Prodigy Is Becoming Bigger Than the Game Itself

Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler is cashing in on his devastatingly accurate shot.
Christian Wilkins

Raiders Trying to Void $35 Million in Guaranteed Money They Owe 

Christian Wilkins missed most of the 2024 season with a Jones fracture.
Hulk Hogan talks up the Hulkamania on Dec. 6, 1994, at the Hard Rock Café in Nashville during a press conference promoting the Dec. 27’s Starcade ’94, a pay-per-view wrestling bonanza at Municipal Auditorium. Hogan will battle archrival Butcher in the main event.
July 24, 2025

WWE Legend Terry “Hulk Hogan” Bollea Dead at 71

He became a professional wrestler in 1977.
July 25, 2025

Cattle Dermatitis Outbreak Forces Tour de France Route Change

The Tour cut two climbs and shortened the stage by 35 km.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
Emma Meesseman
July 24, 2025

Liberty’s Meesseman Coup Is Rare Midseason Jolt to Title Race

Several team-friendly contracts helped New York sign the Belgian star.
Jul 13, 2025; Wimbledon, United Kingdom; Jannik Sinner (ITA) stands on the South West Hall balcony holding the gentlemen's singles champion trophy, after his match against Carlos Alcaraz (ESP)(not pictured) in the gentlemen's' singles final of The Championships Wimbledon 2025 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
July 23, 2025

Jannik Sinner Reunites With Coach Tied to Banned Doping Spray

Sinner did not miss any Grand Slams due to the ban.
July 23, 2025

Tyrese Haliburton Says His Achilles Tear Wasn’t Caused by Workload

Haliburton spoke on “The Pat McAfee Show.”
Venus Williams
July 23, 2025

Venus Williams Becomes Oldest Player to Win WTA Singles Match In Decades

The 45-year-old Williams never technically retired.