Judging by her performances over the past few weeks, you’d never guess that Lottie Ward is still in amateur status.
But the Englishwoman, who scored a dramatic victory at Augusta National Stadium, is now a sophomore at Florida State University. Still, she had to miss the ACC Championship this week to make her major championship debut, which was a good excuse that her coach acknowledged.
Her win at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur earned her a spot in the Chevron Championship, the first of five majors on the LPGA calendar. And unsurprisingly, Ward is making the most of the opportunity. She is 4 under after 36 holes, three shots behind Nelly Korda at the halfway point.
“It’s definitely been a whirlwind,” Ward said of her recent experience.
“I didn’t really have a chance to sink Augusta. I just came here so quickly. I obviously got a lot of confidence from Augusta, so I’m just trying to use that this week.”
She has relied heavily on her self-confidence and it shows.
Ward started Friday with a 1-under 71 and then shot a 3-under 69.
“I’m feeling good. I’m playing well,” assessed Ward.
“I’ll probably score [my play thus far] Quite expensive. I was trying to make sure I got through the weekend, that was my goal this week. I didn’t know the exact ranking, but I’m in a good position right now, so I just have to keep working hard to get to the top. ”
No matter where he finishes this weekend, Ward has already established himself as a prodigy — much like Rose Chan was earlier this year. What the Florida State University Seminoles accomplished this week is out of this world as they find themselves in the mix with some of the best women’s players in the world.
“I just want to keep playing the way I’m playing,” Ward added.
“If we can come close to being in first place on Sunday, that would be pretty great.”
That would be more than cool.
That would be historic.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through.Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.
