Woad five behind as Japanese duo lead Women’s Open

AIG Women’s Open 2025 – first round leaderboard

-5 Okayama (Jpn), Takeda (Jpn), -4 Yamashita (Jpn)

others were screened.

-3 Chun (Kor), Rhodes (Eng), Saigo (Jpn), -2 Harry (Wal), Korda (US), M Lee (Aus), Thitikul (Tha), E Woad (Eng), + 1 Hull (Eng), Ko (NZ), + 2 Vu (US)

Lottie Woad’s first round was level-par, falling five shots short of the Japanese duo Eri Okayama and Rio Takeda’s Women’s Open lead.

After winning two events and hardly missing out on a major title in July, England’s Woad emerged as favorite at Royal Porthcawl.

The 21-year-old made lengthy birdie putts at the first and sixth holes to earn level par in her second tournament since turning professional.

Woad birdied the final four feet to make it to the 14th, and Woad birdied the final two to score a 72.

However, she struggled to maintain her momentum in her opening round, so her tournament chances were irretrievably hampered by some strong par-for-par putting and bogeys.

Woad responded, “It was a little mixed. “I’m glad I hung in there because it’s one of those rounds that could have taken my place.”

At the links course in south Wales, when short bursts of rain punctured longer periods of sunshine, the overall score was good on a cloudy day.

In her round of 67, Okayama, who is playing for the first time since 2018, made six birdies and did not drop a shot after bogeying at the first hole.

At three under par, England’s Mimi Rhodes leads the group of players in terms of lead.

She said, “I had to really pay attention to the tee shots, pick smaller targets, and never get too excited.”

I was just trying to soak up the experience and have a lot of fun while staying in the moment.

Among the field’s 144 players who made strong starts was two from Wales.

Darcey Harry, a member of Porthcawl, finished the match two under, and Lydia Hall, who made it through qualifying to secure her spot, carded a level-par 72.

Harry said, “I didn’t believe I would come off with two under par today.” Although I’m not entirely sure why; I was just incredibly anxious, it was great out there.

Lydia Ko, the reigning champion, shot a one-over-par 74, while Lilia Vu, the 2023 winner, recovered from a four-game bogeys on the front nine to post a two-over-par 74.

Woad, who was born in Surrey, won the Irish Open in July, and then tied for third place in the Evian Championship, which is the fourth of five women’s majors held annually.

She was unable to collect a total of close to £500, 000 in prize money from those two tournaments because she was playing as an amateur.

Before last week’s Scottish Open, which she would eventually win, she turned professional and passed the LPGA Tour eligibility test.

Following her victory at the 2024 Augusta National Women’s Amateur and placing in third place overall in the St Andrews Women’s Open last year, she was also in a tie for 10th place.

After round one, she is not out of contention, but she still needs to work to make it halfway.

The second-place finisher in 2023, Hull, had a topsy-turvy opening round.

The 29-year-old was three over par after three holes in a challenging opening stretch of the course when a virus forced him to withdraw from the Evian Championship earlier this month.

After the turn, she returned with five birdies in six holes to put her at two under, but four more homer bogeys prevented her from gaining momentum, so she signed for a 73 after the final birdie.

Jeeno Thitikul and Minjee Lee, Hull’s playing partners, finished tied for third.