Coughlin Ready for Major Golf Action After Breakout Year

11 April 2025

The golf major season is just around the corner, with the Masters and the Chevron Championship taking place in the Americas this month. Todd Harris caught up with Lauren Coughlin, who finished tied third at last year's Chevron Championship, fourth at the Evian and was part of the winning Solheim Cup team, as well.

2024 was a breakout year for the 32-year-old, and it all started with that strong result on the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course at The Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas, which is just 50 minutes from the home of Lauren’s parents. She’s looking forward to this year’s edition.

“I proved that I can play pretty well on that golf course,” she says. “So, it'll just be kind of see what the course conditions are like. Is it just as firm? Is it a little softer? What's the temp? The weather? You know a lot of things can go on. But yeah, it's always really nice to go back to a place that you've had success before.”

That success at the Chevron last year launched further achievements: she secured her first two LPGA wins at the Cffc Women's Open and the Women's Scottish Open before going on to help the U.S. regain the Solheim Cup. But Lauren hasn’t rested on her laurels: there’s always more that a golfer can do to improve her game. For Coughlin, the off-season has involved working on putts and, as she explains, wedges.

“That's not necessarily one of like the strengths of my game. Really trying to figure out bunkers. I've put a lot of work in that. And I don't think necessarily the stats have shown that they're improving, but I know I'm hitting the shots a lot better.”

Like every professional sportsperson, Lauren’s target for 2025 is to build on the results she gained last year.
“I would love to win. But I also want to just focus on trying to get my skills better and just, again, just do what I've been doing every year, which is just trying to get better. And if that means I win, I win. But if not, you know, I'm just trying to make sure I make sure that I can get better.”

Looking further ahead, to 2026, and the Solheim Cup in the Netherlands, she offered her opinion on the appointment of Angela Stanford as captain, having worked with her as assistant captain in 2024.
“I think everybody kind of knew that she was going to be the next captain. She's very tough and she loves the Solheim Cup. And I think she's going to be an amazing captain. They asked a bunch of people from the team who they thought, and I think everybody pretty much said Angela is who the next captain should be.”
Golf is going through something of a revolution, with the split in the men’s game. The women’s game, for its part, suffers due to a limited TV deal. That, according to Lauren, needs to be addressed.

“You have to get eyeballs on us. And the only way that's going to happen is if they put us on TV more. And I think it shows that people will watch if it's on TV, not just in golf, but in, women's basketball, you know, they've invested a ton of money and putting them on TV and ESPN. And now they have some of the biggest stars in college basketball are in the women's college game, [like] Caitlin Clark. So, I think it shows that when you invest and put us on screen, good things happen.”