Lottie Woad stood in the middle of the 10th fairway at Augusta National Golf Club, staring down the back-left hole location.
The defending Augusta National Women's Amateur champion came into Saturday's final round with a share of the lead. By the time she reached the fairway of the downhill par 4, she was one behind, but there was no reason to panic. Last year, Woad finished birdie-par-birdie-birdie to claim the title, so facing a deficit on the back nine of one of the world's most famous courses wasn't something she was uncomfortable with.
But as the saying goes, the Masters doesn't begin until the back nine on Sunday. And for Woad, a year after her triumph down Magnolia Lane and conquering the back nine, she experienced the brutal side of golf's conquest for stardom.
The world's top-ranked amateur hit 5-iron, and her ball landed on the rear portion of the putting surface before tumbling down the slope behind the green and into the pine straw, beneath a bush. Woad had to take an unplayable, unable to hit a shot because of the aforementioned shrubbery, and hit her fourth shot to the fringe after a drop. She didn't find the green until her fifth, a chip shot coming up a foot short of the hole. She tapped in for a double-bogey 6, and just like that, her dreams of becoming the first two-time and repeat ANWA champion had vanished.
"I put a good swing on it, it was just the wrong club," Woad said. "Thought it was meant to be into the wind, and off the downslope it came out a bit too flat, so probably should have just hit one less club. Then got in an unfortunate position, so probably was always going to make 6 from there."
Woad ultimately signed for 72 on Saturday, finishing solo third and three shots behind Carla Bernat Escuder, who had a brilliant final round of 68 that featured six birdies. Woad had four birdies in her bid to repeat, including on Nos. 13 and 14, but a bogey after a poor tee shot on the par-3 16th ultimately ended any glimmer of hope she had to challenge Bernat Escuder.
The junior at Florida State birdied her first hole after a brilliant approach, but she struggled with her approach shots for much of the day, especially down the stretch. Her clutch shot-making skills that she showcased a year ago in her come-from-behind win were replaced with missed putt after missed putt and a player struggling to regroup after the deflating double.
