Curtis Cup

Words of wisdom from Woad as Great Britain and Ireland prepare for Curtis Cup challenge

The R&A

09 Jun 26

6 mins

Lottie Woad smiling during a round of golf.

Lottie Woad, the world’s former number one amateur player, has helped provide fresh inspiration to the Great Britain and Ireland side for this week’s Curtis Cup after meeting the team at Bel-Air.

Woad was a key cog in Catriona Matthew’s line-up for the memorable win at Sunningdale two years ago and has retained a bond with the GB&I Captain and her team since turning professional last July. Having competed in last week’s US Women’s Open presented by Ally at nearby Riviera in California, the 22-year-old arrived to support GB&I’s practice session on Bel-Air’s front nine on Monday morning.

Woad words of experience

“It’s been great to be around the team,” said England’s Woad, who enjoyed a glittering amateur career and has swiftly progressed to be a top-ten player in the world rankings.

The GB&I Team after winning the Curtis Cup in 2024.

Lottie Woad was part of the winning team in 2024.

“I obviously knew the Curtis Cup was going to be here, and the US Women’s Open was next door, so I kind of spoke to Catriona about it a while ago. I was like ‘can I come for one of the days?’ It was just the perfect place to come to. I know everyone on the team and we're great friends. So it’s been nice to hang out with them today. “I’ve been passing on a few words of experience. I’ve given a few tips here and there about how to play certain shots. I'm pretty familiar with this type of grass. But yeah, other than that, I’ve just been catching up really.” Woad ranks the win over the United States of America at Sunningdale – a nerve-wracking 10.5-9.5 triumph – as one of her finest memories in the game, as Matthew helped deliver a first win for GB&I in the biennial team contest since 2016. Matthew, supported again by assistants Karen Stupples and Kathryn Imrie, has now taken her new-look side to Los Angeles for the latest challenge – starting at Bel-Air on Friday morning.

Sunningdale memories  

Woad added, “It was an amazing experience at Sunningdale, especially with the home crowd and everything around it, so it would be pretty cool if they could defend – everyone's playing great. I think they've definitely got a great chance. “The challenge away from home are the US courses, it's very different. But a lot of our players have played college golf in America so I think they're all prepared, maybe more than in previous years. Other than that, it’s just the away ground of obviously going to play in front of less people supporting you than the last time.” Ireland’s Beth Coulter and Patience Rhodes from England are back from the team that won at Sunningdale, with the likes of Sophia Fullbrook looking to shine among the new faces. Fullbrook comes into her maiden Curtis Cup full of confidence after recording three wins on the US college circuit for Florida State University this year. Davina Xanh has also demonstrated excellent recent form, recording five top-ten and eight top-20 finishes in her last ten ranking events for California State University Fullerton. “It’s an exciting team,” said Woad. “It's great that Patience and Beth were there at Sunningdale, so they can kind of help all the newbies, and obviously the same Captain and assistants. So they know what to do based off of Sunningdale. I think they've got a lot of words of wisdom for the new players.”

Lottie Woad, Beth Coulter and Patience Rhodes during the Curtis Cup in 2024.

Lottie Woad with Beth Coulter and Patience Rhodes during a practice round in 2024.

Amateur success to professional star

If GB&I need motivation this week, Woad’s ascent proves what is possible given the talent she showed as an amateur has continued into the professional ranks. The Surrey native won the KPMG Women's Irish Open on the Ladies’ European Tour last July while still an amateur. During a purple patch, she then won her first tournament as a professional – the ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open. Just last month, Woad won her second LPGA Tour title at the Kroger Queen City Championship in Cincinnati. It’s been an upward curve that shows no sign of dropping. “I’ve played pretty good, managed to get two wins, including my first one in the US a couple of weeks ago so that was nice,” she noted, modestly. “I’ve played some of the majors already this year and I’ve got a very busy schedule coming up with all the majors being packed in. Hopefully a Solheim Cup later in the year as well. “I felt a little bit of expectation turning pro. Leading up to that, I won in Ireland as an amateur and played very well at the Evian Championship (tied third). Winning in Scotland kept that going and everyone expected big things. You just try and block that out as much as possible and, because there are so many great players on the LPGA, it can kind of die down a little bit. I started off in the UK with my first few events so there was probably a bit more pressure there.”

Preparations continue

GB&I are back on the course at Bel-Air on Tuesday as their preparations continue at the renowned venue on the west coast, one of the finest in the USA. Home Captain Meghan Stasi boasts a strong side – Kiara Romero and Asterisk Talley both enjoyed impressive weeks at Riviera among the professionals – as both teams step up their practice. “It looks great out here,” added Woad, who said her goodbyes before the GB&I players made a quick visit to the famous Hollywood sign in Los Angeles for a keepsake team photograph. “I think the greens look pretty tricky and very slopey, with a lot of run-offs. “If you are off line, it’s just missing it in the right spots and especially in foursomes. I think if you play pretty steady golf you're going to do pretty well.”

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