England’s Lottie Woad, currently studying at the Florida State University had led going into the final round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur but was overtaken by American Bailey Shoemaker, who shot a bogey-free 66.
Heading down the 17th Woad was one shot behind, but a birdie three drew her level and she showed nerves of steel on the 18th to hole a lengthy putt for a round of 69.
That gave her a three-round total of eight under par, one shot clear of Shoemaker and four ahead of Sweden’s Ingrid Lindblad in third.
Woad, from Farnham, also birdied the 15th but she told reporters: “I feel like the three birdies I got were probably not as important as my par save on 14. I think if I had gone three back at that point it would have been pretty difficult.
“Teeing off only having a two-shot lead I knew someone was probably going to overtake me. I was prepared for someone to go low and they did.
“When I was two back, I thought, ‘OK, I’ve got the birdie chances they had,’ and just gave myself the chances at the end and luckily holed some putts.
“I was hoping it was going to be a nice stress-free day but it was far from that. But in the end it was a cooler way to finish.
“To be in the mix on the back nine at Augusta is something everyone dreams about. I just tried to really embrace it. It’s really cool to be standing in the same place as the Masters champions have stood and just follow in their footsteps a little bit.”
Woad’s victory earns her a place in the field for the Women’s Open and the US Women’s Open, and she said: “I want to be a professional and be playing in these events.
“To get this experience so early on will be great for me. I’ve never played in a major before, I’ve played in a couple of pro events but never a LPGA event. It’s going to be really exciting for me.”
Luke Donald and Justin Rose were among those to send their congratulations on social media.
