Lauren Coughlin recorded a 3-under-par 69 to win the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open by four strokes on Sunday in Ayrshire, Scotland.
With a 15-under 273 for the tournament, Coughlin got her second career LPGA win in 21 days, following her maiden victory last month at the CPKC Women’s Open.
The 54-hole leader, Coughlin bogeyed two of the first four holes to open the door for Megan Khang, who was in second place and one shot back when the day began. Khang pulled even but couldn’t take advantage, spreading three bogeys and a birdie throughout her round to finish at 74 and fall to a tie for third at 9 under.
Germany’s Esther Henseleit, the silver medalist at the Paris Olympics, was a runner-up again. After playing at par on the front nine, Henseleit (70) had three birdies and a bogey on the back nine to narrow the gap with Coughlin but couldn’t catch her.
After her slow start to her round, Coughlin added five birdies — including at Nos. 14, 15 and 18 — to cruise to the win. She single-putted the final seven holes, effectively ending the dreams of her competitors.
“I was, of course, not happy with it,” Coughlin said of her start. “But I mean, I knew it was playing super tough and that bogeys were unavoidable. I had done a pretty awesome job the previous two rounds not making any.
“So I knew that it was fine to make a couple but I could still go make some birdies coming in.”
Coughlin, raised in Virginia, said her recent success on the LPGA Tour is “incredible.”
“I think if you would have told me (of her future wins) — I mean let alone at the beginning of this year but probably the beginning of last year — I probably wouldn’t believe you at all that this is what I’ve just done,” she said. “But it’s incredible and I think it just shows how hard I’ve worked to get here and it’s … amazing.”
Tied with Khang after the first four holes, Coughlin hit a birdie on No. 5 and then again on No. 7. She also mixed in some key par saves and was proud of how she managed play in the windy conditions.
“I played super solid all four days and just kind of tried to let the wind do what it did and not try to fight it too much,” Coughlin said. “I was able to kind of just hit the ball where I was trying to most of the time and good distance and then make some putts.”
Tying Khang for third was Japan’s Ayaka Furue, who shot a 68 to sit six strokes off the lead. England’s Charley Hull was alone in fifth after a round of 73, and Australian Gabriela Ruffels (68) and South Korean Jin Young Ko tied for sixth, eight shot backs at 7 under.
“I played pretty solid all week,” Hull said. “Probably today wasn’t quite the day I was looking for. I kind of got off to a slow start, but I was pretty happy with how I hit it the first three rounds. It was just a bit tricky today. I felt like the greens were slow into the wind and I couldn’t get my pace.”
