By: Max Bechtoldt
There’s been a lot of great stories on the LPGA Tour this season, but perhaps none is more surprising than Lauren Coughlin’s emergence as one of the best players on tour.
In four years on the LPGA Tour prior to 2024, Coughlin had zero wins, zero top-five finishes and just three top-10s. She struggled at times to keep her card and had never finished in the top 15 in a major.
Flash forward to 2024, which has been the definition of a dream season for Coughlin. She has two wins, eight top-10 finishes, two top-five finishes in majors and now will be making her first Solheim Cup appearance.
Simply put, there is no American or European in the world playing at the level of Coughlin right now. She has risen into the top-15 of the Rolex Rankings and currently sits at No. 3 in the CME Standings. Over her last six events, she has finished in the top 10 at five of them, and both of her wins have come in that stretch.
Coughlin leads the tour in birdies in 2024, she has no weakness, gaining strokes in every category. She is No. 2 in ball-striking on the LPGA Tour this year and when her putter is hot, it might be the best in the world, as showcased at her win in Scotland. She is also going to be the home-crowd favorite, residing in Virginia near Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.
So why is Coughlin not higher? She is a Solheim Cup rookie, and it is hard to project how someone will play their first time out. Still, I am expecting big things out of this newly-minted LPGA Tour star.
