Just a couple of weeks ago, Lauren Coughlin once again came oh-so-close to capturing her first LPGA Tour victory and her first major title at The Amundi Evian Championship, ultimately finishing solo fourth in Evian-les-Bains, France.
And now, after skipping the Dana Open for some much-needed rest and relaxation, the 31-year-old is picking up right where she left off at the CPKC Women’s Open.
Coughlin carded a 4-under 68 in the first round at Earl Grey Golf Club, making one bogey and five birdies to race to the top of the leaderboard early in Calgary, Alberta, and hold just the third 18-hole lead/co-lead of her LPGA Tour career.
Due to the course routing at Earl Grey Golf Club, Coughlin began her day on the par-4 11th hole and made eight straight pars before breaking through with her first birdie of the round on the par-5 1st hole. She picked up another birdie on the par-5 4th hole, grabbing a third birdie on the par-3 5th hole to move to 3-under total with five holes to play.
Coughlin tripped up with a bogey on the sixth hole to drop back to 2-under, but she recovered with a pair of back-to-back birdies on holes eight and nine to again move to 4-under total, parring No. 10 to ultimately post a 68 and put herself in contention early in Canada.
“It was a lot windier than I was expecting, so I just had to stay super patient in the beginning,” Coughlin said. “It was tough out there for sure, but I hit a lot of really good shots and a lot of good putts. I got a little impatient to start. I started out with a lot of pars. But my caddie said to me, it's playing tough. They'll come. I just stuck in there. I started making a bunch of 12-, 15-footers. That's always good.”
This is Coughlin’s fourth appearance at the CPKC Women’s Open, and this tournament has given the Virginia native some fits and starts in her three previous berths. She missed the cut the first two times she teed it up in Canada’s national open, finally figuring some things out last year at Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club, finishing in a tie for sixth at the end of the week in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Now, after her solid start, Coughlin will be looking to better that performance this year at Earl Grey Golf Club as she continues her search for that elusive first victory, one that feels well within reach for the LPGA Tour veteran.
But a win isn’t the only thing that Coughlin has on her mind at this point in the 2024 LPGA Tour season.
Like many of her American counterparts, Coughlin is vying for one of 12 spots available on the U.S. Solheim Cup team, a squad for which she could ultimately automatically qualify if she continues to play the way she has this year on Tour.
The Qualification Period for this year’s Solheim Cup began at the 2023 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, and after earning just two top-10 results last season, Coughlin has really turned up the heat in 2024.
Her first four events of the year saw Coughlin finish no worse than T34, and after missing her first cut of the season at the FIR HILLS SERI PAK Championship in March, she quickly righted the ship with a T8 showing at the Ford Championship presented by KCC in Gilbert, Ariz.
Then, just a few weeks later at The Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas, Coughlin earned her career-best finish in a major championship, tying for third at The Chevron Championship after posting a four-day total of 10-under in the Lone Star State.
That performance has seemed to open the proverbial floodgates for Coughlin when it comes to her confidence, as she has earned three other top-15 results in her last eight starts – tying for 14th at the Mizuho Americas Open, tying for ninth at the ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer and then finishing solo fourth at The Amundi Evian Championship, her second-best finish ever in a major championship.
Coughlin now sits at sixth in the U.S. Solheim Cup team point standings, and even though a win would taste sweet after everything she’s been through in her professional golf journey, earning a berth in her first Solheim Cup that’s set to be played at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in her home state of Virginia would arguably be just as significant for the 31-year-old.
But with still a month left to both wrack up Solheim Cup points and impress U.S. Captain Stacy Lewis if she were to ultimately need a pick to make the team, Coughlin is staying as focused as she can on the present moment, worrying about what’s right in front of her and within her control as she continues trending upward in her seventh year as an LPGA Tour member.
“Pretty much ever since (The Amundi Evian Championship), I've been hitting the ball extremely well,” said Coughlin. “To keep it going even in an off week felt really good. Just trying to be myself and have fun, and then see what I shoot.”
