The golf world is beyond impressed (and worried) with the rise of Lottie Woad, the Englishwoman who clinched her first pro win in her professional debut against star powers like Nelly Korda, Charley Hull, among others. Still, pros like Hull and Korda gave a nod to Woad’s rise despite their own fall, saying, “It’s all good,” and “Yeah, she’s had an amazing run the last couple week,” respectively. Another LPGA pro, however, wants to deal with this Woad-like threat a little differently ahead of her title defense this week.
The latest LPGA pro to accept Woad’s challenge is Lydia Ko, who shares a tee time with her in the first two days of the 2025 AIG Women’s Open. Ahead of the tournament, Ko said, “I just saw the tee times as we were walking up. It’s a triple L group — Lilia, Lottie, and myself. Yeah, it’s going to be fun.” Though Ko has played with the past champion Lilia Vu before, she hasn’t with the rising golfer, Woad. And as Ko admits, “I’m excited. She’s coming in with a ton of momentum, and I think there’s going to be a lot of people that’s going to come out and watch her.”
But Ko admits that she is going to have a different mindset when she gets down to business against pros like Woad at the 2025 AIG Women’s Open, “It’s going to be really cool for me to see and see the things that I could possibly learn from her and why she’s playing good. I don’t think the ranking you are doesn’t — just because you’re a higher ranked player doesn’t mean that there’s something that I can’t learn from somebody else.”
Woad’s recent record backs up the hype. She’s had wins at Dundonald Links and the 2025 KPMG Women’s Irish Open, plus a T3 finish at the 2025 Amundi Evian Championship. What might also excite Lydia Ko is that she missed the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open, where Woad claimed her first pro win without Ko there to challenge her.
But the 28-year-old pro also points out another important aspect of Woad’s gameplay, saying at the presser, “She’s obviously playing great golf. I’ve seen her swing, and my coach has sent me a video of her swing as well because there’s aspects that I’m kind of going for that she has.” Still, Ko believes that she would try to “pick her brain a little bit,” and that she believes, “it’s going to be a great couple days.”
Had to relive Lydia Ko’s fairytale win @AIGWomensOpen pic.twitter.com/kxOxRx9nNf
— LPGA (@LPGA) July 29, 2025
Despite Lydia Ko’s enthusiasm, it is worth noting that her form has been up and down this year, with her last three starts all in majors – her best finish being T12 at the 2025 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, followed by a missed cut at the 2025 Amundi Evian Championship.
Additionally, this isn’t the first time Ko seems so excited to play against another pro. In 2020, soon after her friend Minjee Lee turned pro, Ko excitedly said, “We played and I think quality, very competitive rounds; and you know, we’ll be friends for a long time. So it’s kind of cool to see her as a pro now; and you know, we’re both pros, so yeah, we’ll definitely be competing, but at the same time we’ll be supporting each other.” Five years down the line, she shares same enthusiasm for another newly-turned pro!
Keeping this in mind, the fans will still hope that playing alongside Woad, a much younger player, might just spark the inspiration Ko needs to find her top game again. And if Lydia Ko successfully manages to “pick her brain a little bit” this week, she will likely have a better chance at title defense, especially with Woad looking excited for her next start.
Lottie Woad is ready to claim her next big title this week
Lottie Woad is gearing up for her next challenge at the 2025 AIG Women’s Open at Royal Porthcawl, where she’ll be teeing off in a major as a pro for the first time. Fresh from her three-shot win at the 2025 Women’s Scottish Open last weekend, the 21-year-old from Surrey is banking on her recent form to propel her to victory. Woad’s earnings from her recent wins have been substantial, pocketing $300,000 for her Scottish Open title after being unable to collect prize money earlier due to her amateur status.
The bookmakers are already pricing her as the pre-tournament favorite, and Woad’s response to the hype is refreshingly down-to-earth. “I don’t know how they do it, but I feel like I’m playing well,” she said ahead of the 2025 AIG Women’s Open. “So I guess I was going to be one of the favourites. Obviously everyone’s so good, so I feel like anyone can win really.” Just three weeks ago, Woad came agonizingly close to history, narrowly missing out on becoming the first amateur to win a major in nearly six decades at the Evian Championship.
As Woad prepares to take on the best golfers in the world, she’s focused on riding the wave of confidence she’s built over the past month. “I’ve got a lot of confidence from the last month really and I’m just trying to continue to ride that,” she said. Is Lottie Woad’s next big win coming at Royal Porthcawl? We can’t be sure of that, however, Lydia Ko will definitely be gunning for her, hoping to spoil Woad’s party.
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