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."
"It's unbelievable," Coughlin said. "Two wins in three events is pretty crazy, but I just stuck in there, tried to stay as present as I could, and got some putts to drop at the end. If you would have told me, let alone beginning of this year, but beginning of last year, I wouldn't believe this is what I've done and it's incredible. It's just 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."
Henseleit was happy with her performance, too.
"I was playing really solid. I had a little go on the back nine, but Lauren played amazing. Even when she was in trouble, she got out of it really quickly," the German said. "She played well today.
"This week and last week are giving me a lot of confidence," Henseleit added. "I'm definitely enjoying my time on the golf course at the moment. I feel like the putter got a little bit hot at least this week and I holed some good putts, which is nice to see, and I'm looking forward to next week."
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.
"Probably today wasn't quite the day I was looking for," Hull said. "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." — REUTERS