OLIVIA MCMILLAN: All right, good morning ladies and gentlemen. I am delighted to be joined by Lottie Woad here at the AIG Women's Open. It's the 50th anniversary this year. Lottie, I guess can you talk to us about are you a fan of golf history? May be what's your earliest memory of this championship?
LOTTIE WOAD: Yeah, I mean, I am a fan of golf history I guess. I definitely watched it over the years. I think the one that I can remember most watching on TV was the one here when Georgia won. I remember watching all the rounds of that and obviously supporting an English player trying to win that.
So I think that they was definitely my earliest memory of watching it.
OLIVIA MCMILLAN: Was Georgia a player that you looked up to when you were young, and does it feel like a little bit of a full circle moment for you to be here competing in the same field as her in a major championship?
LOTTIE WOAD: Yeah, definitely. I always looked up to the likes of her and Charley and all the other English players. When I was younger I was watching them and watching them compete and play well, and definitely was inspiring watching her win that.
Yeah, it is kind of weird now playing with them, so it's kind of a little bit different. But, yeah, it's great.
Q. (No microphone.)
LOTTIE WOAD: Yeah, it's been really nice. I was home the week before Evian. It was my first time home this year after Christmas. Yeah, it's just nice being back, seeing my family, friends that I don't really get to see overly too much and just, yeah, practicing at home is always fun. The course is pretty burnt out with all the weather we've been having, so it's kind of links prep playing there.
Yeah, it's nice to travel back and forth with the Europe events. I can just go home between.
Q. (Regarding winning.)
LOTTIE WOAD: Yeah, definitely. I think for any British player this would be the dream one to win. I mean, I like playing links golf and I'm sure it'll be a good test with the wind probably, so definitely one that has always been my favourite watching, and, yeah, would love to win it.
Q. (Regarding Solheim.)
LOTTIE WOAD: Yeah, very excited. Yeah, it's coming up quite quickly, and for it to be in Europe for my first one to hopefully be there would be really special and have all the European fans which I've heard the atmosphere is amazing. Yeah, really looking forward to that.
Q. (No microphone.)
LOTTIE WOAD: I mean, it was my first experience defending I guess a professional event. I've had experience defending kind of big events. I defended Augusta. Kind of had the experience of that.
I actually said a few times I think I felt less pressure last week than maybe the year before coming off getting my card and making my pro debut there.
So felt a bit more relaxed. I didn't play as well as I did last year, but still pretty steady week. Tough weather so it was kind of good to play in those conditions ahead of this week and get back to playing links golf.
It had been a year since I played links golf, so it was nice to start hitting those flighted shots again.
Q. Looking forward to this championship, how familiar are you with the...(No microphone)your sort of summary of the course.
LOTTIE WOAD: Yeah, I'm not very familiar with it at all. I played it on the way up to Scotland and that was the first time I've seen it. When I played it, it was the opposite to prevailing wind, so it wasn't exactly the most helpful, but kind of saw where I guess all the bunkers were.
Yeah, I mean, I'm obviously going to see it this week, so by the end of the week I'll be pretty familiar with it. I've not played any amateur stuff or anything on it.
Q. (Regarding going to historic golf courses.)
LOTTIE WOAD: Yeah, I think it's great. Venues are very important, so I think when we go back to historic golf courses it's great and attracts more people to come. I can definitely remember -- or, well, my dad told me about all the shots Seve and stuff played on this course.
So a lot of historic moments, and I think that just makes it more exciting for people to watch us play as well.
Q. (Regarding qualifying.) (No microphone.) What do you think is the state of English women's golf and do you think it's keeping up with other women's sports?
LOTTIE WOAD: Yeah, I think it's great. We have got a lot more British and English players on Tour on the LPGA and LET, and I have a lot of friends that are kind of on the -- nearly turning pro, end stage of their amateur careers.
I know there is a lot of good talent coming through, so, yeah, I think it's in a great spot.
Q. (Regarding this property. Walk me through that.)
LOTTIE WOAD: I think a little bit, but honestly that's quite common for English golf courses. Yeah, I see that a lot from courses I play around here. I mean, I don't know if it's OB or not, so I think you can use it, but, yeah, I think you've hit the wrong club if you hit the clubhouse.
Q. You spoke of your admiration for Charley and Georgia just now. Yesterday Lauren Crump qualified from final qualifying. She said that she can't wait to play this week and be around the English girls, particularly you because you're such an inspiration. How weird does that sound firstly, and then how nice is it that, the impact you made in such a short time?
LOTTIE WOAD: Yeah, definitely feels weird. I've met Lauren a few times but not overly. She's a little bit younger. She's on the England squad.
But, yeah, I guess that's a cool thing. I'm not really sure why she picked me over Charley. Yeah, I think she is just coming through the same system as me and using the same coaches I used for England.
I've been told she's a great player, so I'm sure she'll have a great week. Just try and have fun with it is all I would say. I tried to go through qualifying once when I was an amateur and I lost in a playoff to get into Walton Heath which is quite close to where I live, so I was very disappointed with that.
So it's really cool if you can get through qualifying. It's just always a bonus if you get to play.
Q. On that pathway, how important is that pathway, and then the chances now that younger English girls have got to get to where you are today?
LOTTIE WOAD: Yeah, it's really important. We have a really good system in place. I went through the whole process. Did regional squad, girls' squad, women's squad, and then eventually went to th U.S. where we were still supported.
So I still use a couple of the coaches from the England teams now, so they're still a part of my team. Yeah, I think it's great. You have kind of -- you get to know the older players when you're younger, too. When I came into the England squad I was kind of the youngest and kind of got to look up to the older players and learn from them a bit. They're obviously better than you, too, so you're always trying to learn from them and push them, too.
Q. Just looking at this week ahead, obviously played twice before; two Top 10s. That's 100 percent Top 10s. How do you feel playing in this event, and why does to come so easily to you?
LOTTIE WOAD: Yeah, I think I've said it before, it's definitely my favourite event playing at home. I don't get to do too much, so whenever I get to do that it's very special.
I think links golf is fun. It can be tricky, too. Definitely need a little bit of luck out there, too, with some of the bounces and the wind.
Yeah, I enjoy playing this type of golf. I think because you only the get to play a couple times a year it makes it a bit more special to kind of hit those different shots that you really wouldn't get to hit in the U.S.
OLIVIA MCMILLAN: Lottie, thank you very much for giving us your time today. We wish you the best of luck this week.
LOTTIE WOAD: Thank you.
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