Why Lauren Coughlin continues to turn heads amidst astonishing season

This weekend, one player who is moving up the leaderboard at the ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open is Lauren Coughlin. She shot 69 in the first two rounds to have a lead or share of the lead entering days three and four. It is part of an incredible story and the best season for the veteran to date.

Before the start of 2024, Coughlin had only 17 top 25s since joining the tour in 2018. Her best finish was a tie for sixth at the CPKC Women's Open. This season she has 11 top 25s and six top 10s. The six top 10s have doubled her top finishes (she had only 3 before this year).

Lauren Coughlin earned her first victory on the LPGA Tour at the CPKC Women's Open.

She won the tournament by two strokes after shooting a 71 in the final round to secure the win. It was her first victory as a golfer since a win on the Epson Tour (formerly Symetra Tour) in 2018.

She is currently in fifth place in the Race to CME Globe standings and is eighth on the tour's money list this year. She also currently ranks third in number of birdies made on the year with 229. Her driving accuracy stands at 78.35% which has her in 13th place on tour in that statistic.

The biggest change for Coughlin is who is behind the bag for her. Her husband, John Pond, quit his job to be her full-time caddy. It has led to great results for the couple throughout the year. Her first tournament working with her husband was at the Chevron Championship where she finished tied for 3rd place.

Coughlin recorded a bogey-free 69 during her second round at this year's Scottish Open before following that up with an impressive 6-under 66 during the third round. If she and her husband can continue to be a dynamic duo on tour, she could be a strong contender in both majors and tournaments regularly in the years to come.