Tag: ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open

‘Pretty crazy’: Lauren Coughlin wins for second time in three weeks at 2024 ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open

Coughlin showed a terrific display of poise and polish after shoogly start.

AYRSHIRE, Scotland — We may as well pinch a lyric from an old Meatloaf song to describe Lauren Coughlin’s fine victory in the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open at Dundonald Links: Two out of three ain’t bad. Let’s hope we don’t have to pay any royalties.

Coughlin joined the LPGA back in 2018 and finally made her breakthrough on the circuit in last month’s Canadian Open. Her silver lining in Scotland means the American has now won twice in her last three starts. Not bad at all, eh?

With a terrific display of poise and polish in the testing Ayrshire conditions, Coughlin recovered from a shoogly start and closed with a 3-under 69 for a 15-under aggregate and eased to a four-shot triumph over Germany’s Ester Henseleit.

“It’s unbelievable,” beamed Coughlin after picking up the first prize of $300,000.

“Two wins in three events is pretty crazy. If you would have told me (she’d have two wins) at the beginning of last year, I wouldn’t believe it. It’s incredible. It just shows how hard I’ve worked to get here.

“I was definitely thinking about (winning) the night before, but in the morning, I was pretty calm about it. I was just trying to stay in the present and tried not to think about winning. It’s really a cliché, but it was one shot at a time. That’s what I was trying to do. It’s amazing.”

With her second win of the season in the bag, Coughlin has done enough to secure her place on the U.S. Solheim Cup team for next month’s transatlantic tussle with Europe in the state of Virginia where she grew up.

“I’ve had big goals for this year with the Solheim Cup and all that,” added Coughlin. “So that’s been on my mind. I knew I needed to improve and that’s what I’ve been trying to do all along.”

On another tough day at Dundonald, Coughlin, who held a slender one-shot lead over Megan Khang after 54 holes, stumbled out of the blocks with two bogeys on her first four holes.

It certainly wasn’t the start she was looking for, but Coughlin is made of stern stuff. A brace of birdies at the fifth and seventh helped to steady the ship and got her ahead of Khang again after her compatriot had nipped in front.

2024 ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open
Lauren Coughlin poses with the trophy after winning the 2024 ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open at Dundonald Links Golf Course in Troon, Scotland. (Paul Devlin/Getty Images)

“I started out a little slow,” said Coughlin of that initial splutter. “But I managed to hang in there and was able to settle nicely.”

Khang’s challenge faded as she failed to make another birdie after the fifth while Japan’s Ayaka Furue, the Women’s Scottish Open champion in 2022, made a gallant push with a 68, which was a noble effort in the wind.

Henseleit, who took the silver medal in the Olympic golf event in Paris the previous weekend, became Coughlin’s biggest threat on the back nine but the American staved off her advances.

With a calm, composed performance, Coughlin picked up three birdies coming home and single-putted her final seven holes. A crucial up-and-down on the 12th underlined the quality of her scrambling when things were tight at the top. The way she preserved her position of authority was mightily impressive.

Coughlin trundled in a putt of 20-feet for a great par at the 16th, mounted another good salvage operation from just off the green at the 17th and holed a 25-footer for birdie at the last to finish with a flourish.

Coughlin now heads to St. Andrews for this week’s AIG Women’s Open with a spring in her step. She could probably float over to the east coast on an updraft of her own confidence. The Dundonald tune-up will stand her in good stead for the ultimate links test in the Auld Grey Toun.

“Obviously, you come over here to get some reps on links and in the wind (ahead of The Open),” she said. “It’s so different to being back in the States. The win is just the cherry on the top.”

Coughlin certainly enjoyed her time in Ayrshire. “Troon is a fun place,” she added of her home for the week. “I was staying in an Airbnb there. It’s awesome.” She’ll be getting the freedom of the town at this rate.

Henseleit, a two-time winner on the Ladies European Tour, signed off with a 70 for 11 under to finish runner-up again after her Olympic silver.

“I had a little go on the back nine, but Lauren played amazing golf,” said Henseleit, who picked up a trio of birdies on her inward half. “Even when she was in trouble, she got out of it really quickly. Her up-and-down on the 16th was pretty special.”

Khang, who closed with a 74, shared third with Furue on 9 under while Charley Hull fell away with a 73 and was fifth on 8 under.

2024 ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open prize money payouts

It took Lauren Coughlin 101 starts to earn her first LPGA win. Three weeks later, she’s a winner again.

It took Lauren Coughlin 101 starts to earn her first win. Just three weeks later, she’s a winner again.

Coughlin closed with a 3-under 69 on Sunday at Dundonald Links in Ayrshire, Scotland, to win the 2024 ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open by a comfortable four shots.

Olympic silver medalist Ester Henseleit of Germany was a runner-up again while Japan’s Ayaka Furue tied for third with Megan Khang of the U.S.

Coughlin earned $300,000 in Scotland after banking $350,000 for her earlier win in Canada.

Here’s the full purse breakdown for the purse at the 2024 ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open.

Pos. Player Score Earnings
1 Lauren Coughlin -15 $300,000
2 Esther Henseleit -11 $167,294
T3 Ayaka Furue -9 $97,588
T3 Megan Khang -9 $97,588
5 Charley Hull -8 $66,918
T6 Gabriela Ruffels -7 $54,835
T6 Jin Young Ko -7 $54,835
8 Sarah Schmelzel -6 $46,471
9 Lydia Ko -5 $44,612
T10 Nuria Iturrioz -3 $41,824
T10 Lisa Pettersson -3 $41,824
T12 Lucy Li -2 $37,176
T12 Georgia Hall -2 $37,176
T12 Minjee Lee -2 $37,176
T15 Nasa Hataoka -1 $32,529
T15 Allisen Corpuz -1 $32,529
T15 Grace Kim -1 $32,529
T18 Jin Hee Im E $30,206
T18 A Lim Kim E $30,206
T20 Savannah Grewal 1 $26,581
T20 Haeji Kang 1 $26,581
T20 Lily May Humphreys 1 $26,581
T20 Caroline Inglis 1 $26,581
T20 Albane Valenzuela 1 $26,581
T25 Lilia Vu 2 $21,005
T25 Celine Boutier 2 $21,005
T25 Rose Zhang 2 $21,005
T25 Cheyenne Knight 2 $21,005
T25 Mary Liu 2 $21,005
T30 Ashleigh Buhai 3 $16,667
T30 Peiyun Chien 3 $16,667
T30 Madelene Sagstrom 3 $16,667
T33 Stephanie Kyriacou 4 $12,361
T33 Hyo Joo Kim 4 $12,361
T33 Nicole Broch Estrup 4 $12,361
T33 Marta Martin 4 $12,361
T33 Ssu-Chia Cheng 4 $12,361
T33 Alexandra Forsterling 4 $12,361
T33 Wei-Ling Hsu 4 $12,361
T33 Cara Gainer 4 $12,361
T41 Marina Alex 5 $9,666
T41 Celine Herbin 5 $9,666
T41 Sei Young Kim 5 $9,666
T41 Ryann O’Toole 5 $9,666
T41 Kirsten Rudgeley 5 $9,666
T46 So Mi Lee 6 $8,829
T46 Johanna Gustavsson 6 $8,829
T48 Morgane Metraux 7 $7,807
T48 Anne-Charlotte Mora 7 $7,807
T48 Jenny Shin 7 $7,807
T48 Ana Pelaez Trivino 7 $7,807
T48 Virginia Elena Carta 7 $7,807
T48 Liz Young 7 $7,807
T48 Minami Katsu 7 $7,807
T48 Anna Nordqvist 7 $7,807
T48 Pauline Roussin-Bouchard 7 $7,807
T57 Linnea Strom 8 $6,599
T57 Laura Fuenfstueck 8 $6,599
T57 Mao Saigo 8 $6,599
T57 Nicole Garcia 8 $6,599
T61 Leona Maguire 9 $5,948
T61 Brooke M. Henderson 9 $5,948
T61 Yealimi Noh 9 $5,948
64 Ariya Jutanugarn 10 $5,576
T65 Hye-Jin Choi 12 $5,112
T65 Olivia Cowan 12 $5,112
67 Shannon Tan 14 $4,833
68 Nastasia Nadaud 15 $4,461
69 Lee-Anne Pace 18 $4,275

 

Lauren Coughlin has the tastiest round in taking lead at ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open

By the end of the day, it was Lauren Coughlin who had given everybody food for thought.

They like their grub, these golfers. Lydia Ko, for instance, had been wolfing into cupcakes at Dundonald Links during the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open.

Jin Young Ko, meanwhile, has been reacquainting herself with an old favorite of hers, the Scottish sausage roll. Then again?

“I went to the cafe in Troon and ordered the sausage roll but it was just burned,” said the two-time major champion. “I texted my friends and said, ‘is this a sausage roll?’ and they said, ‘no’.”

Whatever it was that was plonked in front of her, it didn’t do Ko any harm. A four-under 68 in round three hoisted her into the top 10. By the end of the day, though, it was Lauren Coughlin who had given everybody food for thought.

A surging six-under 66 from the in-form American propelled her to the top of the leaderboard on a 12-under aggregate and gave her a slender one-shot advantage over Megan Khang heading into the closing round.

It’s been a profitable few weeks for Coughlin. The 31-year-old’s flurry of form started with a fourth-place finish in the Evian Championship, the penultimate women’s major of the season, and was followed by a maiden win on the LPGA Tour at the Canadian Open.

A solid tie for ninth in the Portland Classic prior to pitching up in Ayrshire kept Coughlin ticking along. Now, she’s on the cusp of a significant success in the game’s cradle.

On a challenging, windy day – a mere breeze in Scottish golfing parlance – Coughlin harnessed the conditions well with a bogey-free card which equaled the best score of round three.

A bag of six birdies aided the Coughlin cause as she continued to feed of the feel-good factor that her fine form has generated.

“I’ve just been feeling really good about my game,” she said. “I’ve started getting confidence and being relaxed is all I need to do.” Perhaps we should all try this laid-back approach to this game?

Khang, who was sharing the lead overnight, was ambling along with 11 straight pars but needed to up the ante as Coughlin barged her way to the front.

Patience was a virtue for Khang, though, and she found another gear on the run-in with birdies at the 12th, 14th and 17th in a neatly assembled round.
It’s all to play for with a round to go. “I just have to give myself the opportunities to hole birdies when I have to and get some up-and-downs when need be,” she said. “That’s going to be what makes or breaks this tournament.”

Germany’s Esther Henseleit won silver in the Olympic golf event in Paris last weekend but the 25-year-old is going for gold here at Dundonald.

The two-time Ladies European Tour winner vaulted into contention on nine-under after a 66 which included three birdies in a row from the eighth and an eagle on the 14th.

A bogey on the 16th took some of the shine off the round but it was still a fine day at the office.

In round two, Henseleit came a cropper in a Dundonald bunker and just about required a mini excavator to dig herself out on her way to an eight. There were no such calamities yesterday.

“Everyone knows Scottish bunkers are no joke,” she said with a wry chuckle. “It took me a little while to get out. I’m just trying to enjoy the challenge of links golf.”

England’s Charley Hull stayed in the hunt with a three-under back-nine in a 69 which left her sitting alongside Henseleit on nine-under.

Her title tilt may just be bolstered by the presence of her other half to cheer her on. Somewhere in the crowd there’s you, as ABBA used to say. “My boyfriend flies up in the morning, so I’m buzzing,” said Hull.

Minjee Lee, who was sharing the lead at the start of round three, made an early thrust with back-to-back birdies at the second and third but the Australian would leak three shots coming home and eventually signed for a frustrating 72 which left her four back on eight-under.

“It was up and down,” said the 2018 runner-up. “I started well but just didn’t carry on the momentum. It’s links golf. Sometimes you just have to take it on the chin. I’m just going to try to get some good vibes with the putter.”

Cake-loving Ko sits on seven-under alongside the aforementioned Ko. Sausage roll, anybody?

Minjee Lee, Megan Khang keeping their eyes on the prize through tough ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open conditions

“It’s kind of crazy. I’m aiming 30, 40 yards right of the pin.”

They needed to play catch-up at Dundonald Links on Thursday. In fact, the organizers just about required a couple of snookers to get the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open back on track after Thursday’s meteorological muddle, when heavy rains soaked the course.

We’re getting there, though. As for Minjee Lee and Megan Khang? Well, it’s a case of catch us if you can. Lee, the 28-year-old Australian, pinched the first-round lead on Thursday in the near darkness. On Friday, she was home and dry at a more civilized hour.

A three-under 69, which included a finishing flourish of two birdies at 17 and 18, cemented her position at the top of the order. 

She was joined at the summit later in the evening by Khang, who picked up a birdie on her closing hole en route to a four-under 68.

Lee, whose brother Min Woo won the men’s Scottish Open back in 2021, has dropped only one shot in 36 holes. In the robust conditions this week, that’s a fine effort.

Last year, Lee began her Dundonald campaign with a potentially ruinous 80 but then reeled off three rounds in the 60s during the kind of mighty salvage operation that raised the Mary Rose. The two-time major winner is now 22-under for her last five rounds in this neck of the woods.

More of the same will do over the weekend. “Obviously, I would love to win,” said Lee, who was pipped to the Scottish title by a shot when it was played at Gullane in 2018.

“I’m just going to do what I can control. I can’t control what other people are doing. I’ll just try my very best. If that happens to be a win, then great.”

Khang packed six birdies into her round as the American Solheim Cup player fortified her position on the leaderboard.

With the wind whipping over the links, Khang certainly enjoyed the challenge. “It’s not often I’m hitting a 7-iron to a 116-yard pin,” she said of this very different style of golf.

“It’s kind of crazy. I’m aiming 30, 40 yards right of the pin and to be able to pull off a shot, it’s a huge confidence boost. You just laugh, like wow, I can’t believe that actually worked sometimes. And so just having a mindset, all right, let’s really trust it and have some fun. Sometimes it can work out and sometimes it doesn’t. I’m trying to tell myself that if I can at least do everything I can to hit the shot I picture, I really can’t be too upset.”

Meanwhile, England’s Charley Hull is right in the thick of it heading into the weekend after following up her opening 70 with a 68 to lurk just two shots off the pace on six-under.

Starting on the 10th, Hull enjoyed a lively little burst around the turn and birdied the 17th and eagled the 18th after her approach trundled to within 15 feet of the pin. Two more birdies at the first and third bolstered her assault.

Hull warmed up for this week’s domestic showpiece down the road at Turnberry. She even declared that The Open and some of the big women’s events should head back to the storied Ailsa links.

Of course, with Donald Trump’s name on the entry gates, there’s more chance of The Open being staged on the outer rings of Saturn. 

Hull’s Turnberry tune-up has certainly stood her in good stead, though.

With the AIG Women’s Open coming up next week at the Old Course, Hull is getting into the links swing again.

“I love links golf but I find it hard to play in,” said Hull, who is looking to capture a third LPGA Tour title. “I feel like my game is more built for America. 

“But over the last few weeks, my coach and I have been working on doing more three-quarter swings so I can do a low-ball flight for the (Women’s) Open. It is actually paying off.”

Lydia Ko, the newly crowned Olympic champion, harnessed the conditions to fine effect as she joined Hull and American, Lauren Coughlin, on the six-under mark after a 69.

“I can’t remember the last time I’ve had to hit a 3-wood on a par 3,” smiled Ko of the club she had to clatter into the wind on the fourth. 

“I hit a 5-iron yesterday and today I hit a 3-wood and it landed just pin-high. The number goes out of the window in the wind.”

It wasn’t a good day for the home hopefuls. Only three were in the field and they’re all out now. Gemma Dryburgh, who was desperate for a good week to boost her Solheim Cup ambitions, missed the cut on seven-over after a 75.

Her fellow Aberdonian, Laura Beveridge, also departed on 13-over after a turbulent 83 while Glasgow’s Kylie Henry joined the casualty list on 11-over although she at least shaved 11 shots off her first-round 83 with a spirited 72 in round two. There’s always a bit of pride to play for.

Lydia Ko pulls an all-nighter after winning gold, heads to Scotland with Olympic medal in tow

“It’s great because it will probably be my last time playing the British Open at St. Andrews,” said Ko.

Lydia Ko keeps the Olympic gold medal in her backpack. She hadn’t looked at it in a couple days though because the humble Ko didn’t want to draw attention.

“When I was flying with it, it was weird to kind of take it out because not everybody knows that I’m an athlete nor an Olympian or that I had won a medal,” she said at a pre-tournament press conference in Scotland. “So it’s kind of awkward at times.”

Ko pulled an all-nighter after winning gold, noting that travel logistics made it too hard to sleep. She got her first night’s rest on Sunday evening.

“It was pretty surreal,” she said. “I woke up, like, was that a dream? Did that just really happen?”

She’s now at the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open at Dundonald Links, a fine tune-up before next week’s AIG Women’s British Open at St. Andrews. The 27-year-old Kiwi accomplished so much in one spectacular afternoon at the Paris Olympics that it’s going to take some time for the feat to sink in.

Ko’s gold-medal performance made her the only golfer in the modern era to earn three Olympic medals, one of each kind. It also qualified her for the LPGA Hall of Fame, the toughest Hall in all of sports. Ko became the 35th player to qualify for the Hall.

She was touched by all the LPGA Hall of Famers who’d already reached out, like Nancy Lopez, who always has a good word. Meg Mallon and Beth Daniel told Ko that her gold-medal performance brought them to tears.

“It’s pretty surreal,” said a grateful Ko. “I was talking to one of the moms yesterday and nearly brought tears to my eyes again.”

Leading amateur New Zealand’s Lydia Ko (L) stands next to winner, US golfer Stacy Lewis with their trophies after their successes at the Women’s British Open Golf Championship at the Old Course in St Andrews, Scotland, on August 4, 2013. US golfer Stacy Lewis won the women’s British Open on Sunday by two shots. Lewis, the winner of the 2011 Kraft Nabisco Championship, collected her second major with a final round 72 for an eight-under-par total of 280. AFP PHOTO/ANDY BUCHANAN (Photo credit should read Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images)

Ko said one of her coaches asked about her next goal, and she noted that it would be “really cool” to win a third major. She’s only had two top-10 finishes at the British Open, with her best coming at Turnberry where she took a share of third. She was low amateur at the British at St. Andrews in 2013, taking a share of 42nd.

At the Old Course, she’ll be joined by her husband, mom, sister and brother-in-law.

“It’s great because it will probably be my last time playing the British Open at St. Andrews,” said Ko. “I’m excited that we can all enjoy it together.”

As for long-term plans, Ko said she hasn’t settled on any quite yet. She was asked if the British could be her final event, and Ko said probably not.

“I kind of want to get through this year first and then assess,” she said.

And then the player who has long maintained that she won’t be out there past 30, left the door open to more, saying that 2024 will “probably” not be her last competitive year.

“I have bad days and good days, and (on) bad days, I want to quit that day,” she said. “And good days, you feel like you could go and do this forever, and it feels like that moment is going to last forever.”