Charley Hull and Lottie Woad will undoubtedly look back on Sunday’s final round at the AIG Women’s Open as a lost chance to secure their first major championship, according to former major champion Dame Laura Davies. Both English players finished tied for sixth, four strokes shy of the eventual winner, Japan’s Shiho Kuwaki, who closed the tournament at five under par. The two young stars entered the final day with realistic hopes of breaking through. Lottie Woad had opened the tournament with a three‑under‑par 68, the only round of the week in which she stayed under par, and she carried that momentum into the weekend.
Charley Hull, meanwhile, began her round with a birdie and seemed poised to climb the leaderboard. However, the pressure of a major’s concluding day proved decisive.
Woad’s second round slipped into over‑par territory for the first time, and she never recovered the consistency that had taken her to the top of the leaderboard early on. Hull’s final round was marred by two disastrous double‑bogeys on holes three and seven, erasing the early birdie she had secured and effectively ending any realistic chance of joining a playoff at five under.
If those two double‑bogeys had been avoided, Hull would have been level with Kuwaki and could have forced a sudden‑death playoff. Sky Sports Golf’s veteran commentator Davies summed up the situation succinctly: “They’ll both see this as a missed opportunity because five under has won it.” She went on to compare the two performances, noting that Hull’s round was marked by “a little bit of in‑and‑out” play, while Woad’s effort was “really solid” but lacked the decisive putts needed to finish strongly. Statistically, Hull’s week was a study in contrasts.
She recorded 17 birdies over the four days, second only to world number one Nelly Korda’s 19. Korda, who finished tied for fourth, posted a single‑stroke better total than Hull. Yet Hull also accumulated 12 bogeys, and the two double‑bogeys on the final day were especially costly.
Those errors turned what could have been a five‑under finish into a three‑under result, leaving her out of the playoff and cementing the sense of a missed chance. Woad, on the other hand, posted a flawless 69 in the opening round, a score that kept her in contention from the outset.
Her subsequent rounds of 71 and 70 were respectable but failed to push her higher up the leaderboard. On Sunday she could not generate the momentum needed to close the gap on the leaders, and the final round saw her slip back to a tied‑sixth finish. Despite the disappointment, there are several bright spots for the 22‑year‑old. This top‑10 finish marks her fifth such result in a career that is still in its early stages, and it guarantees her a debut on the European Solheim Cup team next month.
Andrew Cotter, another Sky commentator, praised Woad’s consistency, saying, “She didn’t roll in enough putts, but she continues this remarkable run of three Women’s Open Championships played and a third top‑10. Again she shows her quality and a major will surely happen for her in the future – she’s only 22.” For Hull, the lesson may be equally valuable. Davies observed, “Charley made a few too many mistakes, and that’s just the way she plays golf; she goes full‑out attack. She was pretty disciplined this week, but I think she’ll think, ‘I was only four back and I should have been in there right at the death.’” The implication is clear: Hull’s aggressive style can produce spectacular low scores, but it also leaves her vulnerable to costly errors when the stakes are highest.
Looking ahead, the Ladies European Tour will remain on English soil for the PIF London Championship, which starts Thursday at the Centurion Club. Meanwhile, the LPGA Tour will take a brief pause before resuming with the Standard Portland Classic from August 13‑16.
Both tours offer ample opportunity for Hull, Woad, and their peers to refine their games and chase that elusive major title. In the broader context of women’s golf, the AIG Women’s Open once again demonstrated how thin the margin can be between victory and a near‑miss.
A single double‑bogey, a missed putt, or a lapse in concentration can shift a player from a potential playoff to a respectable but ultimately unfulfilling finish. For Hull and Woad, the experience gained at Royal Lytham & St Annes will likely serve as a catalyst for future success, and fans can expect both to return with renewed determination to convert opportunities into trophies in the seasons to come.