North Las Vegas, Nev. – After coming very close to victory at Shadow Creek last year, Lauren Coughlin made sure victory was never in doubt at the Aramco Championship on Sunday.
She managed to win by five shots Nelly Korda And the rest of the star-studded field bid for his first win in two years.
Coughlin shot an even-par 72 for a total of 7-under, earning the 33-year-old from Virginia $600,000. In 2024, she won her third LPGA Tour title and first in the United States, following wins in Canada and Scotland.
“I think it means more because it’s hard to win after 2024,” Coughlin said. “I didn’t do it at the beginning of last year when I got some chances and it really bugged me. I was like, ‘What if I don’t get a chance to do it again? What if this is the best golf I play in 2024?’ It was hard not to think those thoughts last year.”
Korda was once again the runner-up after shooting a score of 75 and finishing at 2 under. He made a birdie of his own on the par-5 18th and avoided going without a birdie in the round for the first time since the opening day of The Annika in the Tampa Bay area last November.
It was her third consecutive second-place finish after starting her season by winning in Orlando, Florida, moving Korda to No. 1 in the world rankings.
“I’m going to stick with what I’m doing,” Korda said. “I’m really happy with the way my game is trending, and sometimes when you work too hard and exhaust yourself, you can go the other way.”
leona maguire (71) also finished at 2 under, and was the only other player with an under-par score Miyu Yamashita (74) at 1 under.
Korda wasn’t the only tough competitor for Coughlin to overcome. The event, organized by Golf Saudi and co-sanctioned by the LPGA and the Ladies European Tour, features 38 of the top 40 players for a prize pool of $4 million. This is the first event of its kind in the United States, and it appears there will be more events in North America.
Players compared this tournament to a major tournament at Shadow Creek because it was very difficult to make birdies. Only four players remained at par in the tournament.
Coughlin, a former two-time ACC Player of the Year at Virginia, showed why she feels comfortable at Shadow Creek, even though the format of this year’s tournament has changed from match to stroke play. He made the final pair before the 1-up defeat last year Madeleine Sagstrom.
“It left a sour taste in my mouth,” Coughlin said. “The second thing is nice consolation, but it’s really fun to win.”
His comfort was evident all four days around the 6,765-yard path, which makes players pay a heavy price for putting the ball in bad spots. Coughlin was in a three-way tie for the lead after the first round and never relinquished that position as the others fell behind.
She came close to turning the tournament into a laughingstock several times on Friday and Saturday, but going into the final round, Coughlin enjoyed just a two-shot margin over Korda, the 2024 LPGA Tour Player of the Year. Korda finished the third round with consecutive birdies and sent a clear message that she was going nowhere.
But then the final rounds started and it became clear very quickly which direction the tournament was going. Coughlin started away and hit the eighth green, ensuring she would get her hands on the trophy.
Coughlin rolled 45 feet left to right for birdie on the par 3. Korda then hit three putts, including a 2-foot miss for par.
Suddenly, Coughlin was at 9 under and Korda was at 3 under – and the rest of the round was just a formality. Korda moved within four shots when Coughlin bogeyed the 10th and 12th holes on the back nine, but Korda did the same on the 13th and 15th holes and again opened the six-shot gap.
“Not just bogey, but you can make a lot of big numbers there,” Coughlin said. “So I stuck to my game plan and tried to focus on sticking to my routine as much as I could and making as many pars as possible.”
