Lottie Woad is the next big name. Rightfully so. Going into the KPMG Women’s Irish Open, she was still an amateur, but that’s when she beat her idols and fellow English golfers, Charley Hull and Georgia Hall, to win her first professional tournament. A few days later, Woad finished at T3 in the 2025 Amundi Evian Championship and got an LPGA Tour membership. Then came the ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open. She won there and became the third pro golfer ever to win her debut event, announcing herself in women’s golf in the best way. And that has left a strong impression on an expert.

In the latest video posted by 5 Clubs, Gary Williams spoke about why he and his team think that Lottie Woad is the future of women’s golf. “In this country, there was a kid, and his name was Robert Tyre Jones Jr., little Bobby Jones. Little Bobby Jones, at the age of 14, went off to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to play in the National Amateur Championship for the first time in 1916. He was 14 years old. When he returned 14 years later, he was twice the age of what he was when he showed up there the first time. He was as big a star in sports in this country as there was,” Gary shared on 5 Clubs.

Bobby Jones was the most successful amateur golfer in the history of the sport. He never turned pro, but played in some of the biggest tournaments in the world. From 1920 to 1930, as he went from 18 to 28 years old, he played in 11 U.S. Opens and 4 Open Championships. Jones had ten top-10 finishes in the U.S. Open with two wins and three victories in the Open Championship. The only time he finished outside the top 10 in either of the majors was the missed cut in The Open 1921 and T11 in the U.S. Open 1927.

Bobby was an inspirational figure during his prime. As Williams states, “There was Jack Dempsey, there was Red Grange, there was a coach named Knute Rockne, when college football was the biggest event in all of sports. There was also a guy named Babe Ruth. Babe Ruth was so struck by Bobby Jones that he actually went to watch him play golf at Winged Foot in 1929, when Bobby Jones won the U.S. Open in a playoff over Al Espinosa by 23 shots. That was a 36-hole playoff, but nonetheless, he won by 23. Bobby Jones was a prodigy. He had a specific skill that was very unusual.”

History tells us that Bobby Jones was a one-of-a-kind golfer. Apart from his outstanding record, he was also highly respected in the sports fraternity. For a legendary sports figure like Babe Ruth to be eager to get inspired by Jones showed just how good he was back in the day. And judging by the path that she has taken, Woad also possesses the same drive. Comparing her to Jones, Williams said, “Lottie Woad possesses that. One of the reasons why is that she didn’t skip the steps that got her where she is in the present day. You know who else didn’t skip steps? Jack Nicklaus didn’t do that. Tiger Woods didn’t do that. Phil Mickelson didn’t do that.”

While Jones, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and Phil Mickelson were incredibly skilled golfers, they also put in a lot of hard work to get where they are. Tales of Nicklaus and Woods’s rigorous training routines still sound unbelievable to many fans and experts alike. Mickelson, although he was very naturally gifted, had to improve his game immensely to find more consistency and keep up with the big cat during his prime. For Lottie Woad to be compared to all these legends of the sport shows how far along she has come in such a short time. But she definitely still has a long way to go in her career.

Having said that, her priority right now would probably not be to chase the legends of the names mentioned above. She would be focused on what is happening at Royal Porthcawl right now. So let’s see if she is able to continue her fine form and dominate the field on home soil.

Is Lottie Woad taking full advantage of playing on home soil?

Winning the 2025 ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open has really made everyone pay attention to Lottie Woad. Even Nelly Korda couldn’t help but admit that she “deserves to be where she’s at.” However, as the world’s #1 and the newest LPGA Tour star battle it out in the AIG Women’s Open, it seems that Korda has regained the upper hand. The American pro is tied with the local star after the end of two rounds, as they both are struggling to chase down the Japanese might in this major.

Woad and Korda are currently sitting at T10, 9 strokes behind Miyū Yamashita. The young star from Osaka is leading fellow Japanese pro, Rio Takeda, and the field by 3 strokes. Yamashita had an outstanding second round that saw her shoot 7-under 65 to go up to -11 and take an amazing lead after 36 holes. She will be in a very strong position going into the weekend as she looks to win her first title. Despite the big gap between her and Lottie Woad, you can count on the English pro to push for a comeback in the last two rounds of the 2025 AIG Women’s Open.