While the summertime is inching closer to its conclusion, the LPGA Tour has been in a sprint with big tournaments, big prizes and big accomplishments coming week after week.
Last week was the 2024 Paris Olympics. Next week is the AIG Women’s Open at the Home of Golf, the Old Course at St Andrews. But this week in Scotland, the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open is through 54 holes, and the top of the leaderboard is chock full of big names all looking to add another title to their resume.
On top is Lauren Coughlin, who is looking for her second win on the LPGA Tour in three starts after capturing the CPKC Women’s Open in late July. But right behind her is a solid and incredibly successful group of players all looking to chase her down in Sunday’s finale.
Megan Khang sits just one shot back at 11-under through three rounds. Like Coughlin, she is also hoping to nail down a spot on the U.S. Solheim Cup team.
It took Khang a little time to get her Saturday round going, but she closed out her third round by going 3-under in her final seven holes. She missed just three greens on Moving Day and is tied for second in greens in regulation for the week.
With a half-dozen golfers within five shots through 54 holes, Khang said the key for her will be staying patient through Sunday’s finale.
“Putts will drop, and I just (need to) give myself the opportunities to hole birdies, and when I have to, get some up-and-downs when need be,” Khang said. “It’s going to be what makes or breaks this tournament.”
Right on Khang’s heels sits Germany’s Esther Henseleit and England’s Charley Hull at 9-under. They’ll have some ground to make up in the final round, but they’re both no strangers to going low.
Henseleit, who won the silver medal last week at the Olympics, shot a 6-under 66 on Saturday to match Coughlin for the low round of the day. She made five birdies and an eagle but gave one back with a late bogey on the par-4 16th hole. Henseleit is a two-time winner on the Ladies European Tour, but she hasn’t yet been able to take a victory across the line on the LPGA Tour in her career.
If she were to win, she would be the fourth Rolex First-Time Winner of the 2024 season.
“I'm just going to try to concentrate on my own game,” Henseleit said. “Go shot-by-shot, and in the end, I hope I can shoot a good score, and we'll see where we stand at the end of the day tomorrow.”
A little further back, but certainly still in the mix, sits Minjee Lee at 8-under and last week’s gold medalist and the LPGA’s newest Hall of Fame member Lydia Ko at 7-under.
Lee won twice in 2023, but she hasn’t found the winner’s circle on the LPGA Tour since October of last year. Although the Australian is first in strokes gained tee to green and first in strokes gained approach, according to KPMG Performance Insights, she is 142nd in strokes gained putting.
Lee stumbled home Saturday with three bogeys in her final seven holes, but she said anything can happen in the final round. Her putting has also seen a major turnaround this week at Dundonald Links, and she sits tied for seventh in total putts for the week. Lee said that will be the difference again in the final round if she hopes to break her winless drought.
“I think I'm just going to try and get some good vibes with the putter,” said Lee. “Go out and have a little practice, and then just have a good sleep and do all of the things that I can do to best prepare myself for tomorrow.”
Sunday is set to be another great finish at the Women’s Scottish Open with so many big names fighting for another LPGA Tour title. And while it’s never that simple to just go out and win on Tour – take Coughlin, for example, whose first win came in her 103rd career start – sometimes describing what it takes to win can actually be pretty easy.
“Just have fun, enjoy it,” said Charley Hull her mindset for Sunday’s finale. “Go out there, have a laugh and make birdies.”
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