Staff WriterLottie Woad won the Kroger Queen City Championship with the sort of calm, clean, grown-up golf that makes rivals glance sideways and wonder how someone this new to LPGA Tour life can look quite so comfortable doing the difficult bits.
This was not some gentle stroll through a leaderboard full of polite traffic cones. Haeran Ryu came after her. Miyu Yamashita closed with the lowest final round of her career. Ruoning Yin continued a run of form that is becoming less a hot streak and more a weekly weather system.
Yet Woad held the thing together, claimed her second LPGA Tour victory, and did it in only her 19th start on Tour. For context, she is the fastest player to two LPGA wins since Sung Hyun Park reached that mark in 16 starts back in 2017. That is not a comparison you make lightly. It is the kind of line that arrives wearing a hard hat.
Woad Turns Early Promise Into Proper Hardware
Woad’s win was her first since the 2025 ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open and her second overall on the LPGA Tour. She finished the week with 21 birdies, second-most in the field, and only seven bogeys, tied for the third-fewest.
That is the statistical equivalent of ordering a strong drink and still remembering where you parked.
Her 268 total was her lowest 72-hole score since that Scottish Open win, while her 199 through 54 holes matched her career-low 54-hole score and set the Kroger Queen City Championship 54-hole scoring record.
The significance is hard to miss. This was Woad’s second start at the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G. She finished third in 2025. This time, she left with the trophy.
A Second Win That Felt Very Different
Woad’s first LPGA victory came quickly. Almost too quickly, by her own admission. This one arrived after a fuller taste of tour life: the travel, the routines, the relentless standard, the weekly pressure of trying to beat women who have no interest in decorating someone else’s fairytale.
Asked about the difference between winning for the first time and the second time, Woad said:
“ I think the first one just happened so quickly that it was kind of hard to take in. Obviously playing the Open the next week as well, so just kind of moved on quickly. I think now being out here full time and this being my job and that was my first event I think, just seeing the competition each week and traveling and all that, I think this is just definitely a lot sweeter.”
There is the line that matters: “this being my job.” Woad is no longer just a brilliant amateur story with a passport full of promise. She is a full-time LPGA Tour winner learning how to turn potential into production.
Ryu Throws Plenty At Her
Haeran Ryu finished second at 10-under, earning her season-best finish of 2026 and a third top-five result of the year. It was also her first runner-up finish since the 2024 Dana Open.
Ryu led the field with 22 birdies, the most she has made in a tournament this season. Her career-best remains 24, but this was still a week of aggressive, high-quality scoring. She also recorded her sixth top-10 finish of the season, improving on her 2025 mark.
Her assessment of the week was wonderfully direct, especially on a course where the greens and wind asked rather awkward questions.
“Yeah, this course green is little bumpy and little slow than another tournament, so I just want to do more hit next to pin and make some easy birdie chance. So that’s why I’m making a lot of birdie on the front nine. But back nine is a little bit more windy and a little bit more tricky holes there. Yeah, but I’m second. First runnerup, right? So I’m so happy right now.”
There is no mystery in that. Hit it close. Avoid the nonsense. Take the birdies before the wind starts behaving like a committee member with a clipboard.
Yamashita Finds A Sunday Gear
Miyu Yamashita finished third after closing with a 64, the lowest final-round score of her career. It was her fifth top-10 finish of the 2026 season and fourth top-five finish.
Her best result since the TOTO Japan Classic, where she also finished third, came with 20 birdies for the week, tied for third-most in the field.
A closing 64 does not win every tournament, but it has a habit of reminding everyone that the scorer’s tent has heard footsteps. Yamashita did not quite catch Woad, but she made enough noise to ensure the winner had no chance to relax into a ceremonial lap.
Yin Keeps Building Momentum
Ruoning Yin finished fourth and extended a superb run of consistency. This was her third straight top-five finish of the season after back-to-back runner-up results in her previous two starts.
It is the third time in her career that Yin has produced three straight top-five finishes. She has now finished inside the top seven in four of her last five starts, with the missed cut at the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro the lone blemish.
She also needed only 114 putts, tied for the third-fewest in the field. Golf is often dressed up as a game of power and precision, but most weeks it still comes down to who can persuade the ball into the hole without looking personally offended by a six-footer.
Winner’s Snapshot: Lottie Woad
| Category | Lottie Woad |
|---|---|
| 2026 Race to CME Globe Rank | 7 |
| 2026 LPGA Tour Wins | 1 |
| 2026 LPGA Tour Top 10s | 4 |
| 2026 Official Season Earnings | $758K |
| Career LPGA Tour Wins | 2 |
| Career Official LPGA Tour Top 10s | 3 |
| Career Official Money | $1.6M |
Rolex Rankings No. 10 Woad has now made nine cuts in 10 starts in 2026, with one win and three additional top-10 finishes.
She is the first European to win on Tour this season, the first European winner since Linn Grant at The ANNIKA in 2025, and the first Englishwoman to win since Charley Hull won this event last season.
She is also the seventh Englishwoman to win at least twice on the LPGA Tour and the Tour’s seventh unique winner of 2026.
From Amateur Pathway To LPGA Winner
Woad’s rise has not exactly taken the scenic route.
She won in her first start on the LPGA Tour as a full-time Member at the 2025 ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open. Before that, she became the first athlete to earn LPGA Tour status through the LPGA Elite Amateur Pathway in July 2025, after tying for third at The Amundi Evian Championship.
That Evian finish was the best by an amateur at the major championship since Lydia Ko finished second in 2013.
She also won the 2025 KPMG Women’s Irish Open as an amateur on the Ladies European Tour and played collegiately at Florida State University, where she was named the 2023 ACC Freshman of the Year, became a three-time WCGA All-American from 2023 to 2025, and was the 2024 ACC Golfer of the Year.
In other words, this has not appeared from nowhere. It has merely arrived faster than most people expected.
Withdrawals During The Week
Danielle Kang withdrew during her first round. Haeji Kang withdrew prior to her second round due to injury, while Peiyun Chen also withdrew prior to her second round.
A Win With Weight Behind It
The Kroger Queen City Championship gave Woad more than another trophy. It gave her confirmation.
Winning once can be a spark. Winning twice, especially this quickly, starts to look like structure. Woad has already shown she can win as a full-time LPGA Tour member, contend in elite company and handle the strange emotional mechanics of moving from amateur star to professional target.
Ryu, Yamashita and Yin made sure this was not gift-wrapped. Woad had to earn it, and she did.
The LPGA Tour has another English winner with sharp edges, soft hands and a scoring record in her pocket. That is a dangerous combination — and for everyone chasing her, mildly inconvenient.
