Lottie Woad walked off the 18th green at the Amundi Evian Championship with a smile on her face. One shot away from a playoff. One roll away from becoming the first amateur to win a major in over half a century. Instead, what she walked away with was something else entirely: a big decision, and exactly $602,661 left on the table.
That’s how much she could have earned in the last two weeks if she were a professional. She won the KPMG Women’s Irish Open by six shots. Prize money: $78,900. Then she finished T-3 at the Evian Championship, tied with Minjee Lee. Lee banked $523,761. Woad? Not a cent. Because she’s still an amateur.
It’s a number that makes your stomach turn a little, $602,661, gone with the decision to stay amateur a little longer. That number got baked into headlines and bounced around golf social this week. “Lottie Woad forfeited $78.9K of winnings after last week’s victory at the KPMG Women’s Irish Open due to her amateur status… She would miss out on $1.2M with a win today at the Evian Championship,” as Fried Egg Golf posted on X.
Lottie Woad forfeited $78.9K of winnings after last week’s victory at the KPMG Women’s Irish Open due to her amateur status.
She would miss out on $1.2M with a win today at the Evian Championship. pic.twitter.com/7gFDwZlGKK
— Fried Egg Golf (@fried_egg_golf) July 13, 2025
To make it sting a bit more, she earned her LPGA Tour card during all of this. Woad became the first player to qualify for the tour through the LPGA Elite Amateur Pathway (LEAP) program. She needed 20 points to get in, and she got them. Easily. “I’ve always dreamed of playing on the LPGA, so to maybe be able to get that slightly easier way of not needing to go to Q School would definitely be huge,” Woad said. She’s earned everything except the paycheck.
In Ireland, Woad looked untouchable. Rounds of 68-67-67-69 at Carton House gave her a commanding six-shot victory. The win was a statement—and a missed payday. Her performance stunned even seasoned pros. “She’s going to take European and American golf by storm very soon,” said Madelene Sagström, who finished second and collected the check Woad couldn’t. One week later, Woad arrived in France for the Evian Championship, just her seventh career major.
Lottie Woad comes very close to a major milestone
This wasn’t a fluke. Lottie Woad was the low amateur at the U.S. Women’s Open. She won the 2024 Augusta National Women’s Amateur. She has made the cut in four of seven majors. And has been No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking since June. And she’s still just 21. At Evian, longtime coach Luke Bone was on the bag. He’s coached her since she was 7. “It seems effortless to her,” said fellow Englishwoman Karen Stupples on the broadcast. Golf Channel analyst Morgan Pressel put it simply: “I just don’t see a weakness.”
At the Evian Championship, she started the final round five shots back. Then she went out at 30. By the time she posted a 64 and finished at 13-under, she was in the lead. Her day was filled with birdies, eight of them, and just one bogey. She smiled through it all, chatting with her dad and coach as she watched the final holes on a phone. Tied with Jeeno Thitikul, the world No. 2, for a brief moment. Then Thitikul birdied 17. And finally, Grace Kim made an eagle on 18 to force a playoff, and then another eagle to win it. But Woad remains an amateur, for now. “I’m just going to take the next week and discuss with my family and coaches and will make a decision after that,” she said after the final round. Woad finished tied for third. Just one shot out of a playoff. One shot away from the $1.2 million first prize.
If she turns pro now, she gets full LPGA status for the rest of 2025 and all of 2026. If she delays, she risks momentum…but maybe not magic. Either way, she’ll be in the field next at the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open and then the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Porthcawl. Woad isn’t just close. She’s her and doing it all without taking a dollar. In a span of two weeks, she left $602k on the table. But she gained something far more valuable: the respect of the entire golf world, and a spot on the LPGA Tour, whenever she decides to take it.
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