EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France — Lauren Coughlin climbed into the top three on Moving Day at The Amundi Evian Championship, firing her second 6-under 65 of the week to sit in a share of second alongside Ayaka Furue with 18 holes to play at Evian Resort Golf Club.
The Virginia native got off to a strong start on Thursday, carding a bogey-free 7-under 65 to be in a tie for fourth early in France. A second-round 70 – one that Coughlin had to polish off on Saturday morning as day-two play was suspended on Friday due to dangerous weather conditions – dropped her into a share of sixth at 7-under overall, five back of 36-hole leader Furue.
Round three then saw Coughlin start slow with a bogey on the par-4 1st hole that dropped her back to 6-under, but she recovered almost immediately with a birdie on the third hole. She stumbled again with another bogey on the par-3 5th hole, quickly erasing that mistake with a birdie on the par-5 7th hole.
Coughlin then made her first eagle of the round on the par-5 9th hole, turning in 33 at 9-under overall, picking up another birdie on the par-4 10th hole to move to 10-under for the tournament.
Things quieted for Coughlin after that, until she made another birdie on the par-5 15th hole, closing out her round with an impressive eagle on the par-5 18th hole to post another 65, a round that vaulted her up the leaderboard and into a tie for second, the third time this season that she has been within five of the lead entering the final round.
“This is my (fourth) year playing, and I've never made the cut up until this point,” Coughlin said. “Uneven lies have been giving me an issue for a really long time. I think Lancaster exposed it. I finally have been putting in some work and going and practicing and figuring them out, and I think I'm seeing all that work this week.
“I think that's the big thing, is being able to trust you're going to hit the ball where you need to hit it. You have to be so precise. It's helped a lot given how soft the greens have been, but overall, it's been just really good execution.”
Coughlin has her husband John Pond on the bag this week, just like she did at The Chevron Championship in April, a tournament at which she finished in a tie for third. The 31-year-old has been playing alongside Terry McNamara in recent weeks, who was a long-time caddie for Annika Sorenstam back in her heyday, but there’s something about the husband-wife duo that seems to bring the veteran plenty of luck during some of the biggest weeks on the LPGA Tour.
“I think I had no expectations this week given that he hasn't caddied for me in quite a while since Terry has been caddying for me,” said Coughlin of Pond, who has been looping for Gina Kim recently. “But he's just my favorite person. It's easy to be comfortable with him out there. He's really starting to get the gist of how to caddie. I know we did really well at Chevron, too.
“He's been caddying for another player, which I think is really helping him as well. It's easy to talk to me. Being able to say those same things to someone you're not married to, is... So just fine-tuning some things here and there. He's been great. It's awesome having him on the bag.”
This is Coughlin’s 16th start of the 2024 season, and she has earned four top-15 results in her seventh year on the LPGA Tour, the most notable of which was that tie for third at The Chevron Championship and the most recent of which was a tie for ninth at the ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer.
This is her fourth time teeing it up at The Amundi Evian Championship, and considering she has missed the cut in her last three appearances, any top finish on Sunday would be good enough for Coughlin to hang her hat on at a tournament that has given her fits in the past.
At the moment, it appears that she now has Evian Resort Golf Club figured out, and with plenty of confidence gleaned from the first three rounds in Evian-les-Bains, France, Coughlin is more than ready to tackle the final round of The Amundi Evian Championship as she works to contend for her very first title on the LPGA Tour once again.
“It’s always fun to make putts is what it comes down to,” said Coughlin. “I've hit the ball really well for a really long time. I just haven't been able to get the putts to go in the hole. It's been really fun seeing them go in. Over and over again.
“(I’ll) just have fun as best I can and try to stay in the moment as best I can as well. Not try to get thinking about the result or the end and winning of course. I think if I can stay very much here and in the moment, we'll see.”
)
)
)
)
