At 22, Lottie Woad has already learned how to win when it matters most — and she's learned what fuels her best golf. The English golfer claimed her second LPGA Tour title at the Kriger Queen City Championship in Cincinnati this week, closing out a dominant final round with a 69 to finish 12-under 268 and hold off South Korea's Hae-ran Ryu in the fight for the crown.
For a young athlete still building her professional career, two wins on golf's most competitive global circuit is no small achievement. The LPGA Tour represents the highest echelon of women's professional golf, where fields are packed with major champions and rising stars competing for purses, ranking points, and the kind of validation that comes from beating the world's best. Woad's second victory matters both for her trajectory and as a signal that she belongs in this conversation — that at 22, she's not just competing at this level, but winning.
What makes the Cincinnati victory particularly distinctive is what happened in its aftermath. As Woad celebrated, she was presented with a bag of gummy sweets — the very snack she has become famous for relying on during her rounds. It's a small detail that speaks to something larger: the rituals and quirks that athletes develop, the personal touches that make their performances uniquely theirs. For Woad, those gummies aren't just candy. They're part of her competitive toolkit, a source of energy and focus that she's trusted enough to build her approach around.
The final round in Cincinnati told the story of a golfer in command. Finishing at 12-under par, Woad came out on top in a competition that tested the field across four demanding rounds. Holding off Ryu, one of South Korea's competitive golfers who represents a golf nation that has produced some of the world's most formidable competitors, underscores just how solid Woad's play was down the stretch. The closing 69 — a score that balances birdie-making with steady, error-free golf — demonstrated the kind of composure that winners need in high-pressure moments.
At this stage in her career, wins accumulate. They build confidence. They create momentum. They signal to the rest of the field that a player is more than a flash in the pan. For Woad, who brings English golf back into the conversation at the sport's highest level, there's the added dimension of national pride — another victory for a player flying the flag of a country with a rich golfing heritage.
As Woad leaves Cincinnati with her second LPGA title and that memorable bag of gummy sweets, the arc of her career is pointing upward. At 22, with a proven ability to win on the biggest stage and a competitive mindset that thrives under pressure, the question isn't whether she'll win again — it's how many more titles she'll collect before she's done.