Lauren Coughlin completed a dominant five-shot victory at the Aramco Championship as Ireland's Leona Maguire shared second with Nelly Korda. Â
After coming oh so close to winning at Shadow Creek last year, Coughlin made sure victory was never truly in doubt on Sunday at the star-studded event in Las Vegas, co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour and LPGA Tour with all the world's top 20 in action.
Coughlin produced a solid level-par final round to finish the tournament on seven under, earning the 33-year-old American her first victory in two years and the $600,000 (ÂŁ453,000) top prize.
It is her third LPGA Tour title and first in the United States, after winning in Canada and Scotland in 2024.
"I think it just means more because after 2024 and not winning is hard," Coughlin said.
"I didn't get it done earlier in the year last year when I had a couple of chances and that really bothered me. I was like, 'What if I don't ever get to do it again? What if that's the best golf I ever played in 2024?' Those thoughts were hard not to think last year."
World No 2 Korda was runner-up yet again after shooting a three-over-par 75 to finish two under. She made her one birdie on the par-five 18th, avoiding going without one in a round for the first time since the first day of The ANNIKA last November.
It was Korda's third consecutive second-place finish after opening her season by winning in Orlando, Florida.
"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, and sometimes when you work too hard and you exhaust yourself, you can go the other way."
Ireland's Maguire also found a birdie at the 72nd hole to ensure a share of second, completing a final-round 71.
The only other player with an under-par score was Miyu Yamashita (74) at one under.
There were many other tough competitors for Coughlin to overcome. The $4m prize money in the event organised by Golf Saudi drew 38 of the top 40 players in the world rankings.
Denmark's Nanna Koerstz Maden was tied for seventh on one over, while Spain's Carlota Ciganda was a shot further back in a tie for ninth. England's Charley Hull finished in a tie for 15th on five over.
Players compared this tournament to a major because birdies were so difficult to come by at Shadow Creek.
Coughlin showed why she feels comfortable at the Vegas course, even though the format for this year's tournament switched from match to stroke play. She made the final pairing last year before a one-up loss to Madelene Sagstrom.
"It left a sour taste in my mouth," Coughlin said. "Second is a good consolation, but winning is really fun."
Her comfort was evident all four days around the 6,765-yard track that makes players pay dearly for putting the ball in poor locations. Coughlin was in a three-way tie for the lead after the first round and never relinquished that position as others fell away.
She came close to surging completely clear at times on Friday and Saturday, but, going into the final round, Coughlin enjoyed just a two-shot margin over Korda, the 2024 LPGA Tour Player of the Year. Korda ended the third round with back-to-back birdies and an apparent message she was not going anywhere.
But then the final round began, and it became clear fairly quickly which direction the tournament was heading. Coughlin began to pull away and all but ensured at the eighth green she would be the one to place her hands on the trophy.
Coughlin rolled in a downhill right-to-left 45-footer for birdie on the par three. Korda then preceded to three-putt, including missing a two-footer for par.
Suddenly, Coughlin was six shots clear - and the rest of the round all but a formality. Korda got within four shots when Coughlin opened the back nine by bogeying the 10th and 12th holes, but Korda did the same at 13 and 15 to again make it a six-shot difference.
"Not even just bogeys, but you can make a lot of big numbers out there," Coughlin said. "So I was sticking to my game plan and trying to focus on staying in my routine as much as I could and make as many pars as I possibly could."
