CPKC WOMEN'S OPEN

July 25, 2024

Lauren Coughlin

Earl Grey Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. All right, here with Lauren Coughlin, leader in the clubhouse after a 4-under round. Just talk about the day and what it felt like to play out there at Earl Grey Golf Club.

LAUREN COUGHLIN: Yeah, I mean, it was a lot windier than I was expecting, so just had to stay super patient in the beginning. Kind of started getting some putts dropping.

Yeah, I mean, it was tough out there for sure, but I hit a lot of really good shots and a lot of good putts, so...

Q. Anything stuck out really on the course today? Not a ton of low numbers out there, but yours stands out as of right now.

LAUREN COUGHLIN: I think I was just super patient. Got a little -- I would say a little impatient to start. I started out a lot of pars there to start. But my caddie just said to me, it's playing tough. They'll come. So kind of just stuck in there.

And, yeah, like I said, started making a bunch of like 12-, 15-footers. That's always good.

Q. When you stepped outside today and realized it's cold, there is wind, it's completely different than the last three days, was that a mental hurdle to get over?

LAUREN COUGHLIN: I mean, a little bit just because the ball goes different -- goes a lot further up here just because of the elevation. And then it was super hot earlier in this week, and today it wasn't quite as hot at all.

And then the wind on top of it.

So just we kind of I think -- I think we were both on the same page in terms of how far we thought out ball was going, and we were getting it pretty good from the getgo which I think helped a lot.

Q. How was the smoke? Okay?

LAUREN COUGHLIN: It was fine. I played in Portland a few years ago when it was like we couldn't even go outside for like three days, so this wasn't too bad.

Q. Your level of momentum, the last couple weeks of good play, is it continuing this week do you feel like?

LAUREN COUGHLIN: Yeah, absolutely. I've been hitting the ball -- pretty much ever since Evian I've been hitting the ball extremely well. To keep it going even in an off week felt really good.

Yeah, it's just trying to be myself and have fun, and then see what I shoot.

Q. Putt on the last hole to save your par... (indiscernible)

LAUREN COUGHLIN: No, for sure. I didn't feel like I hit that bad of a drive and the wind just kind of kept it up to the right. Yeah, again, it was like (indiscernible) in the rough, so just trying to -- if I could get it on the green, cool. If not, take a pretty basic chip.

Me chip went a little bit by, further than I would've liked. Yeah, no, it was a great putt. I've been really solid on that distance all year, so I felt pretty confident.

Q. I know a lot of fans are around Brooke being in Canada, but did you have any interaction with the fans? What did you think?

LAUREN COUGHLIN: There was a couple No Laying Up fans that said some stuff to me out there. Yeah, I mean, obviously most of them are going to be out watching Brooke, which, understandable.

Q. It seemed like everyone expected the scores to be sort of low getting into the week. Did it play differently - obviously the weather is different - but are the scores different out there than what you maybe anticipated today?

LAUREN COUGHLIN: Yeah. I think my caddie and I were talking about it this morning. Pre-wind I kind of figured that the scores might be pretty low or that it was definitely gettable.

But the wind was pretty challenging, and so I'm not super surprised. It's pretty tight out there and a lot of crosswinds, and if you're not in the fairway the greens are pretty tough to hit.

So, yeah, it's not surprising to me that it's playing a little bit tougher than anticipated.

Q. So you're saying caddies are going to be a big importance this week for everybody?

LAUREN COUGHLIN: Always, always.

Q. Who is your caddie?

LAUREN COUGHLIN: Terry McNamara is my caddie.

Q. I was just going to ask, you were talking about the rough. How was the rough out there? How tough is it?

LAUREN COUGHLIN: It's tough. Just depends on the lie you're going to get. I got a little lucky on a couple of them that they weren't too bad, but then like on the last hole it wasn't easy because it was sitting up a good few inches, so you can go under it really easy and hit really high on the face.

So just trying to judge how I was coming out. Luckily you can bounce stuff short and it runs up, so that made it a little bit easier. But it's just all the dependant on the lie.