Coughlin Wins Virginia Women's Stroke Play Title

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June 19, 2014

Centreville, Va. – Fueled by a late birdie, rising senior Virginia women’s golfer Lauren Coughlin shot a final round 1-over-par 74 and posted a one-stroke victory as the 37th Virginia State Golf Association Virginias Women’s Stroke Play Championship concluded Thursday at Chantilly National Golf and Country Club.

Coughlin finished with a 1-under 218 (70-74-74) aggregate and was the only competitor to conclude the championship in red numbers.

With the victory, Coughlin, the two-time reigning VSGA Women’s Amateur champion, became the third player since 1991 to own the Women’s Amateur and Women’s Stroke Play titles in the same rotation.

Coughlin has been working on her shots around the green in the months leading up to the championship and the efforts proved worthwhile on a course that requires an exacting touch on and around the putting surfaces. She went without a three-putt during the 54-hole championship, no small feat on the host site’s slick greens.

“It’s really nice to finally see results from the work I’ve been putting into my short game and putting. I didn’t have any three-putts, which was probably what saved me,” Coughlin said. “It feels really good.”

Coughlin continues to enjoy a breakthrough season. She led UVa in stroke average as a junior and helped the team finish 14th at the NCAA Championships. On Wednesday, she was named the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) golfer of the year.

Coughlin will look for a three-peat at the VSGA Women’s Amateur Championship, set for July 8-11 at Hidden Valley Country Club in Salem.