Lauren Coughlin, enjoying her best season on the LPGA Tour, surged to the first-round lead at the CPKC Women’s Open with a solid 4-under 68.
This year, Coughlin has already achieved four top-10 finishes, including a T3 and solo fourth at The Chevron Championship and The Amundi Evian Championship, respectively.
Her performance in Canada marks the third time she has led after an opening round on Tour and the second time this season.
Reflecting on her recent form, Coughlin said, “Pretty much ever since Evian, I’ve been hitting the ball extremely well.
To keep it going even in an off week felt really good. It’s just trying to be myself and have fun and then see what I shoot.”
Coughlin’s impressive round came despite challenging conditions at Earl Grey Golf Club, where the first-round scoring average was 74.481.
Starting on the 11th hole, she made eight consecutive pars before notching her first birdie after the turn.
She capitalised on the par 5s, birdieing holes one and four, and added another birdie on the par-3 5th.
A lone bogey on the 6th was offset by birdies on the 8th and 9th, finishing the round with a par on the 10th.
“I think I was just super patient. Got a little, I would say, a little impatient to start. I started out with a lot of pars there to start,” Coughlin laughed.
“But my caddie just said to me, ‘It’s playing tough. They’ll come.’ So just stuck in there. I started making a bunch of 12-, 15-footers. That’s always good.”
Coughlin’s early clubhouse lead withstood attempts by several players to catch up, but increasing crosswinds and fluctuating temperatures made the course tougher as the day progressed.
Four players finished tied for second at 3-under: Hannah Green, Jennifer Kupcho, Minjee Lee, and past champion Ariya Jutanugarn. Jutanugarn, who won the event in 2016 in Calgary, reminisced about her victory:
“I would say I always have great memories from Canada, so I love to be in Canada. Of course, I won in 2016.
I feel like I couldn’t remember because so long ago. That moment is just always in my best memory because that year I won five tournaments, and that was my fifth tournament.
I remember that week is after the Olympics, so I kind of a bit struggle because I didn’t play well at the Olympics. When I came to Canada, I feel so much better.
“That week, I think I don’t expect anything. I just want to play some good golf. When you don’t have expectations, I think the outcome is just surprise you.”
Three-time CPKC Women’s Open champion Lydia Ko is tied for sixth, alongside Alison Lee and Koreans Jenny Shin, Hye-Jin Choi, and Haeran Ryu, who is fresh off a runner-up finish at the Dana Open.
Among the Canadian players, rookie Savannah Grewal and veteran Maude-Aimee Leblanc both shot 1-under 71s.
Fan favourite Brooke Henderson finished her round at even par, kicking off her week at Earl Grey Golf Club with a solid start.
