UVA’s Coughlin gets first LPGA win: ‘Never give up’

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Lauren Coughlin was drenched in celebration when she took the last bottle of champagne for a big swig on the 18th green at Earl Grey Golf Club on Sunday.

The former Virginia golfer, an admitted late bloomer, had waited a long time for this moment and the 31-year-old was in no rush for it to end. Coughlin had just finished storming to the lead to win the CPKC Women’s Open and hauled in a $350,000 payday to boot.

Winning what used to be an LPGA major, Coughlin stepped into the winner’s circle for the first time in her 101st career start. She had come close on several occasions, even as recently as two weeks ago when she came up short at the Amundi Evian Championship. Among her five Top 10 finishes this season was a tie for third at the Chevron Championship in mid-April.

On Sunday, she wasn’t going to be denied and made a huge statement on the 195-yard, par-3, 17th hole, known to Canadian fans as “The Rink,” a bit of a rowdy atmosphere that Coughlin isn’t soon to forget.

She drilled a 6-iron to 8 feet and sank the birdie putt for a two-putt swing over Haeran Ryu, who missed a 3-foot par putt for a second straight bogey that put her two strokes behind Coughlin. The former Wahoo finished at 13-under 275, including a final-round, 1-under 71, and a champagne celebration she will never forget.

After her husband — former UVA football player John Pond — doused her with champagne, Lauren took a big drink.

“There wasn’t much [remaining] in [the bottle], so I had to get it all the way to go out,” Coughlin laughed.

How sweet it is!

Soak it in, @LCisHOOSgolfin 😊 pic.twitter.com/ljc7ZMgolM

— LPGA (@LPGA) July 29, 2024

In her post-victory press conference in the media tent, she was still in the process of allowing her accomplishment to sink in.

“I think it’ll really set in when I call my parents here after I’m done with this,” she said. “It was incredible. And you know, I want to do it again.”

With Ryu struggling late in the round, Coughlin watched her nearest competitor miss the putt at 17, which gave her a two-shot lead, confirmed to her by caddie Terry McNamara, who has split time on her bag along with Pond throughout this year. McNamara became a caddie legend while carrying for Annika Sorenstam through 2005, but has helped Coughlin immensely in recent months.

“Terry told me that [the two closest pursuers] were both at 11-under, so at that point, my adrenaline was pumping,” Coughlin said. “My heart was racing pretty good, so I just took as many deep breaths as I could and just hit 3-wood off the tee because he knew I was pretty jacked up. I just was trying to hit the fairway, hit the green, two putt and get out of there.”

Coughlin led the first two rounds but began Sunday a shot behind Ryu as they battled throughout the day. None of that mattered as she posted two birdies over her last four holes and watched the competition melt around her.

For those who love stories about athletes who never give up, Coughlin is for you. She returns to Charlottesville each spring to help raise funds for the local First Tee program, which she was a participant when growing up in Eastern Virginia.

A star on the state amateur circuit and at UVA, Coughlin struggled mightily after turning pro, considered giving up, but something inside wouldn’t allow her to quit. Nor would her family, friends and other supporters allow her to stop pursuing her dream.

“I think my story in general just shows that I’m always trying, always will 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.”

She has always been a good ball-striker, but her putting has improved this year, helping her become a threat on the LPGA Tour, and it has put her in position to make the United States team in the Solheim Cup this September at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Northern Virginia, only about an hour north of Charlottesville.

Lots of support from her home state and those that have touched her life, her career along the way, understood her emotions in grabbing that elusive first win Sunday.

“You know, the people that believed in me from the very beginning, who have kept me going when I wanted to quit,” Coughlin said. “My parents, my husband, my coach, my college coach Kim Lewellen. I mean, I went to Kim’s office after my rookie year, wanting to quit and she said it’s normal to feel like this, you’re not the only one.

“That was in 2017, so those are the people that I was thinking about, just thankful that I have a really, really small but good circle around me.”