Lauren Coughlin rolled to victory Sunday at the Aramco Championship, shooting even-par 72 for a 7-under total to beat fellow US star Nelly Korda by five shots at Shadow Creek.
The win handed the 33-year-old Virginia native her third LPGA title and first in two years. Coughlin collected a $600,000 check from the tournament's $4 million prize pool, one of the Tour's biggest non-major paydays.
"I just know I played really, really great all week," Coughlin said, referencing last year's narrow Aramco Championship loss at the same venue. "Definitely left a sour taste in my mouth last year not getting the W… so makes it extra special."
Coughlin never trailed after opening with a share of the first-round lead. She pulled away decisively in the final round with a crucial sequence on the eighth hole. The Virginia alum drained a downhill 45-foot birdie putt while Korda three-putted, missing a two-footer for par.
That swing created a six-shot gap that Coughlin protected the rest of the way around the demanding 6,765-yard layout. Only four players finished under par for the week at Shadow Creek, where the challenging conditions drew comparisons to major championship difficulty.
Korda shot 75 in the final round and finished at 2-under alongside Ireland's Leona Maguire. The runner-up finish marked Korda's third consecutive second-place showing after opening her season with a Tournament of Champions win.
The consistent results were nearly enough to push Korda to No. 1 in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings.
"I'm just going to stick to what I'm doing," Korda said. "I'm really happy with the way that my game is trending."
