The 2024 CPKC Women’s Open won’t see any scoring records broken this year, with Earl Grey Golf Club posing a very tough test for the 156-player field in Calgary. The combination of heavy crosswinds, dry conditions and a difficult setup made scores high for the second day in a row, with a second-round scoring average of 75.034 coming in even higher than round one’s average of 74.481 strokes.
Despite the challenges, Lauren Coughlin eked out a 2-under 70 on Friday to carry her first-round lead through the second day at Earl Grey. This is the first 36-hole lead Coughlin has held in her seven-year LPGA Tour career, but it is an unsurprising achievement in what has been a banner year for the American. Coughlin has recorded many of her career-best results this season, including major championship finishes of T3 and solo fourth at The Chevron Championship and The Amundi Evian Championship, respectively. She has come a long way since losing her card after her 2018 rookie season, gradually improving each year on Tour.
“I think grit is something, and being mentally tougher than a lot of people is something that I've learned over the years just because I've had to work really hard and persevere a lot throughout my career,” Coughlin said following Friday’s second round. “I think that's why I can hang in there, and I don't get too down on myself. I always keep fighting. When it gets hard, that's fine to me. I'm going to keep fighting the whole time.”
That grit came into play for Coughlin on Friday, who got off to a hot start with three birdies in her first five holes but didn’t make another after that. Like Thursday’s round, Coughlin birdied holes 1, 4 and 5 on Friday before putting together a string of five pars on the rest of the front nine. A bogey on 11 was her only mistake of the day, a small miracle compared to how most of the field managed the back nine. The closing nine holes at Earl Grey Golf Club saw a scoring average of more than two strokes over par compared to the front nine, which averaged less than a stroke over par on Friday. Coughlin came in with seven straight pars to finish the day at 6-under overall and hold a one-stroke lead heading into Moving Day.
“I think I handled it really well, overall. It was really difficult to judge how far the ball was going to go with the wind and the crosswind and how firm the greens got. And they had some tough pins, especially considering the direction of the wind,” Coughlin explained. “I think I only had one bad swing on 11 tee. Other than that, I feel like I hit everything really, really solid all day. I putted extremely well. My speed control was on pretty much all day. It was a super solid round. I think Terry (McNamara, her caddie) told me it was probably a better round than you think you realize because I felt like I could've got a couple more. Again, I hung in there and got a good round out of it.”
Two-time 2024 winner Hannah Green sits one stroke behind Coughlin, as does LPGA Tour sophomore Haeran Ryu, who is coming off her best finish of the season at last week’s Dana Open, a runner-up result. Ryu’s 3-under 69 in the second round was highlighted by seven birdies, the most in the field on Friday, and marred by four bogeys, including one on 18 that cost her the 36-hole co-lead.
Green followed her first-round 69 with a second-round 70, battling through an up-and-down day with five birdies and three bogeys on the card.
Major champions Lilia Vu, Lydia Ko and Jennifer Kupcho lurk at T4 while Ryann O’Toole, who tied the best round of the day alongside Moriya Jutanugarn and tied the best round of the week with her 4-under 68 on Friday, is tied for seventh with five other players at 2-under total.
Sixty-eight players made the cut at 4-over on Friday, including fan-favorite Brooke Henderson and Epson Tour graduate Maude-Aimee Leblanc, who lead the Canadian contingent at 1-over overall.
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