About the only thing that didn’t get a lift after Lottie Woad’s incredible performance to win the Women’s Irish Open was her bank balance.
The Englishwoman dominated the tournament against a strong field that included Georgia Hall and Charley Hull to win her first Ladies European Tour title by six-shots.
But the 21-year-old couldn’t pocket the 67,500-euro winner’s cheque, because she is an amateur – the World No. 1 no less.
The Rules of Amateur Status say an amateur playing in a scratch competition can only accept a prize – including cash – up to a limit of £700 or $1,000 in value.
Players entering handicap competitions can’t accept money at all but can receive any other prize up to those same limits.
So while Lottie Woad won the tournament and could take the trophy and the Tour exemption that went with it, it was runner-up Madelene Sagstrom who cashed the first place prize money.
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Does that seem fair? On The NCG Golf Podcast, Tom Irwin and I debated whether the amateur rules were archaic and still fit for purpose.
Some other sports, such as snooker, allow amateurs to take home what they win in tournaments and it’s very easy to argue that today’s elite non-professional players, with their team of coaches, training plans and schedules, are full-time in all but name.
“Lottie will be playing golf as much as all the touring professionals, if not more, because she won’t have the same punishing schedule,” said Tom. “She’ll be in one place practising almost constantly and so she’s got the same access and the same opportunity as the people she’s competing against.
“I just don’t understand what the continuation of the amateur status rule is achieving. Like quite a few things in golf, I think it creates more problems than it solves.
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“One sensible thing that has happened in this WHS era is that if you are a pro, you can get yourself as handicap because you can sign up to a club or iGolf and put scores in the same as everyone else.
“So they’ve now got a measure of how well they play and I think that’s eminently sensible.
He added: “[But] There is this weirdness about amateur competitions where you can’t win prizes of a certain value because it might be in contravention of the rules of amateur status.
“One thing you say is, why those amounts of money? I guess Lottie was effectively playing as an amateur on an invite but it’s very peculiar and I don’t really understand it. Who is it benefiting?”
While it might be unusual for amateurs to win tournaments – Nick Dunlap’s success at The American Express last year was the first on the PGA Tour since Phil Mickelson in 1991 and Shane Lowry’s Irish Open victory was in 2009 on the European Tour – it’s much more common for them to make the cut. But, once again, players leave empty handed.
At last year’s Open at Royal Troon, four amateurs made the weekend in a tournament that had a prize pool of $17 million. That’s a lot of cash to give up for a category.
So at the very elite level, is there that much of a line now between what is a professional and what is an amateur these days? If you say there isn’t, then not allowing everyone to cash in if given the opportunity to play in a top event may seem a bit redundant.
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How far down the ladder can you go? Should it be the same at club level? Should we able to win money, subject to the limits already provided in the Rules of Amateur Status?
When the R&A and USGA last reviewed the Rules of Amateur Status in 2021 and 2022 they did toy with the idea of allowing cash to replace vouchers as prizes.
They made the point then that to be able to win a £25 voucher, but not £10 in cash, wasn’t a “modern and logical approach“. But the view when the proposals went out for consultation was it could cause more problems than it was worth.
I agreed with the premise. There are enough issues in handicap competitions with manipulation as it is – particularly in open events with larger prize tables – without giving those players the chance to walk out with cash in their pockets.
Whether we like it or not, there are a proportion of players who are very capable and very willing to cheat.
If you start offering a £500 or £700 first prize in cash in those nett tournaments it’s going to cause an issue.
It can raucous enough when people think there are cheats when there’s a golf bag or a dozen balls to be won. With sums of cash, you’re inviting anarchy.
So while we might think it’s time to give elite players the chance to be properly rewarded for their achievements, it’s probably better to leave well alone at our level.
Now have your say
What do you think? Should Lottie Woad have been able to keep the cash? Have the lines between amateur and professional been blurred at the very top? Should they be paid if they’re allowed to enter professional events? Or does it further ebb away some of the historical traditions of golf? Let us know by leaving a comment on X.
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