Lottie Woad Leads By Three After 65 at Queen City
Lottie Woad turned a weather-disrupted third round into a three-shot lead at the Kroger Queen City Championship, posting a five-under 65 at Maketewah Country Club to move to 11 under. The England golfer will start the final round with Amanda Doherty three back and the chance to chase her second LPGA Tour title.
Maketewah Country Club charge
Woad birdied the par-four third hole, then stacked back-to-back birdies from the seventh. She answered a bogey at the par-three ninth by opening the back nine with successive birdies, took advantage of the par-five 14th and made her seventh birdie of the day at the 16th.
That run pushed her to 12 under before a bogey at the penultimate hole trimmed the margin to three. She still finished well clear of the field after a third round that stood out for both scoring and timing, with the weather interrupting the day at Maketewah.
Doherty and Ryu chase
Doherty sits in second place, while Haeran Ryu is four strokes back in third. Lydia Ko is ahead of Jeeno Thitikul and Rose Zhang in a crowded group on five under, but none of them matched Woad’s pace over the latest round.
Charley Hull, the defending champion, slipped to three over after a three-over 73 and was two shots off the lead after the opening day. Nelly Korda and Jin Young Ko also lost ground, with Korda shooting 72 and Jin Young Ko 75 to drop to tied-19th and nine strokes back.
Woad steadies after missed cut
The leader’s round also followed a missed cut at last week’s Mizuho Americas Open, and Woad said, “I just tried to take last week as a bit of an anomaly” after finding a cleaner rhythm. She added, “Didn't putt very well last week and turns out my putter grip wasn't on straight, so got a new putter grip on.”
Her approach was simpler than the leaderboard logjam behind her: “I just hit a lot of fairways and greens the past two days.” She said, “I think if you do that [fairway], you do have lot of chances around here.”
That formula has put Woad in front with one round left, and the gap matters because Doherty, Ryu and the bigger names behind her now need a mistake-free chase rather than a late surge. Woad also enters the final day with the memory of last week’s missed cut still fresh, which makes the next 18 holes the clearest test of her progress so far.
