England’s Lottie Woad, competing in her first tournament as a pro, has a two-stroke lead over World No. 1 Nelly Korda at the midway point of the ISPS Women’s Scottish Open.
Woad, 21, carded a 7-under 65 on Friday to move to 12-under at Dundonald Links in Ayrshire, Scotland. She was the No. 1 amateur in the world before turning pro after a T3 finish at the Evian Championship two weeks ago.
Korda and Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen both shot 66 in the second round and are tied for second at 10-under. Sei Young Kim (67) is in solo fourth at 9-under and fellow South Korean Hyo Joo Kim (66) is another shot back in solo fifth.
Woad collected seven birdies during a clean round, including birdies at all four par-5 holes.
“Bogey-free is always nice,” Woad said. “Hit a lot of greens … a lot of fairways, and then holed a few nice putts.”
Woad’s remarkable month began with a six-shot victory at the Women’s Irish Open, which made her the first amateur to win on the Ladies European Tour since 2022. She finished 13-under at the Evian Championship the following week, one shot behind winner Grace Kim.
“I’m obviously just kind of trying to continue the momentum really,” Woad said. “Obviously trying to play well, and, yeah, just got confidence and keep on doing that.”
Woad played the first two rounds with Korda, whose round Friday featured seven birdies and one bogey at the par-5 18th hole.
Korda is still looking for her first win of the season, which includes a T2 at the U.S. Women’s Open, as players ramp up for next week’s AIG Women’s Open at Royal Porthcawl in Wales.
“I started out strong with two birdies on my first two holes, and then the wind kind of died down throughout the day, so capitalized on the weather,” Korda said. “Yeah, just hit it really well and I have only missed four greens through two days so happy with that. Hopefully I can continue trending in the right direction.”
Koerstz Madsen also had seven birdies and one bogey on Friday despite the weather conditions.
“It was chilly this morning,” she said. “A lot more wind today than yesterday. Yeah, a little bit more tricky.”
Defending champion Lauren Coughlin (70) is part of a seven-way tie for 12th at 4-under.
First-round leader Charlotte Laffar of England plummeted into a tie for 91st place and missed the cut after a 10-over 82 on Friday.
–Field Level Media
