In her first appearance on the Epson Tour since the Copper Rock Championship in April, Lauren Coughlin (Charlottesville, Virginia) found her way to 5-under par to join six other players in a tie for second thanks to first-round 67s.
“I started the year with conditional [status on the LPGA Tour], and I was able to make a couple of cuts. I’ve been out on the LPGA since May, and I haven’t played in a Epson event. I actually decided really last minute to come play this because I was waiting with my fingers crossed that I was going to get in the Scottish and I didn’t,” said Coughlin. “I’ve been playing really well, and my husband and my dad were just like ‘no real reason to not just keep going’ and so I signed up for this and Idaho [for the Circling Raven Championship in two weeks]. If not, I was going to have a like a six-week break before Portland.”
Earlier this season, the former University of Virginia Cavalier made three cuts in three starts on the Epson Tour including a season-best finish of a tie for sixth at the Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic. In her last four starts on the LPGA Tour, Coughlin played the weekend three times and claimed two top-20 finishes. Currently ranked at No. 344 in the Rolex Rankings, she will enter round two one stroke off the lead.)
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