England's Best Amateur Golfer Receives Special Award

England's Lottie Woad has claimed the prestigious Mark H McCormack Medal as the leading woman in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for 2024, being the first winner from her nation, and the 20-year-old will receive exemptions into the US Women’s Open and the AIG Women’s Open in 2025.

"I’m really happy to have won the McCormack Medal", she commented. "It rounds off a successful year for me and I’m honoured to be named alongside the previous recipients of the medal.

"It was always a goal of mine to reach number one and become the world’s leading woman amateur golfer. It’s taken a while to get there but it’s nice to see all the hard work pay off and achieve this milestone."

Earlier this year, Woad became the first European golfer to win the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in dramatic fashion after going birdie-birdie over the final two holes to pip Bailey Shoemaker by one shot.

She has also recorded three second place finishes in the NCAA D1 Women’s Championship, Florida State Match Up and Collegiate Invitational at GCC, while in the autumn of last year won the ANNIKA Intercollegiate Presented by 3M.

Later this month, she will compete for Great Britain & Ireland in the Curtis Cup at Sunningdale in a bid to win the match against the United States of America for the first time since 2016.

(Image Credit: The R&A)

Professor Steve Otto, Chief Technology Officer at The R&A, said, "Lottie has enjoyed a very successful year in which she has consistently performed at a high level and her results, including winning the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, makes her a thoroughly deserving recipient of the women’s McCormack Medal.

"We would like to congratulate Lottie on this outstanding achievement and look forward to seeing her golf career go from strength to strength in the years ahead.

"The list of past McCormack Medal winners reads like a who's who of today’s top professional talent, underscoring the immense dedication and passion required to achieve the world’s number one amateur ranking," said John Bodenhamer, USGA chief championships officer.

"Lottie's achievement is a powerful testament to her relentless effort and determination. On behalf of everyone at the USGA, we extend our heartfelt congratulations for this remarkable honour."

The R&A and the USGA co-award the McCormack Medal annually. It is named after Mark H McCormack, who founded sports marketing company IMG and was a great supporter of amateur golf.

The World Amateur Golf Ranking, which is supported by Rolex, was established in 2007 when the men’s ranking was launched. The men’s ranking encompasses over 3,900 counting events, ranking 4,660 players from 118 countries. The women’s ranking was launched in 2011 and has a calendar of around 2,650 counting events with more than 3,033 ranked players from 90 countries.

For more information, please visit www.RandA.org and www.usga.org.