CALGARY, Alberta, Canada – Former Virginia All-American Lauren Coughlin won the CPKC Women’s Open on Sunday for her first LPGA Tour title, pulling away from Haeran Ryu with a two-stroke swing on the par-3 17th.
Tied for the lead after Ryu three-putted for bogey on the par-4 16th, Coughlin hit a 6-iron to 8 feet and birdied the 195-yard 17th. Ryu then missed a 3-foot par try to fall two shots back.
“It was kind of a tweener of a club,” Coughlin said. “I could really only hit 6 and I needed to take some off it or else it might have gone over, especially considering how jacked up I was at the time.
“But I hit it pretty perfect and, the putt, I thought it was almost going to stay out to the left there and just dove right at the last second. It was huge.”
She finished at 13-under 275, closing with a 1-under 71 for a two-stroke victory over Mao Saigo at Earl Grey Golf Club.
The leader after each of the first two rounds, Coughlin began the day a shot behind Ryu. Coughlin birdied the par-3 fifth, bogeyed the par-4 sixth and 10th and birdied the par-5 15th.
The 31-year-old was coming off a fourth-place finish two weeks ago in France in the major Evian Champions.
“I think just my story in general just shows that I’m always trying, always will to try to do things,” Coughlin said. “I am willing to stay in it. I don’t give up. I think I showed that perfectly today.”
Coughlin is in position to play for the United States in her home-state Solheim Cup in September at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. She won in her 103rd LPGA Tour start.
“I don’t even really know how to describe it,” Coughlin said. “I’ve had people believe in me for a really long time, and I wouldn’t be here without their push and love.”
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