HANDLING THE PRESSURE
getting everything going , which helps keep you confident .”
She played in only one LPGA tournament in 2019 , missing the cut , and missed three cuts in five starts on the 2020 LPGA Tour . Working with her swing coaches and competing on the Symetra Tour , Coughlin remained determined that 2021 would be a better year .
“ I admire her for what she ’ s done and how she ’ s been willing to work on things to improve ,” said John Lewellen , husband of former UVA women ’ s coach Kim Lewellen and Coughlin ’ s current swing coach and fitness coach . “ She ’ s had to battle on both the Symetra and LPGA tours and it hasn ’ t been easy .”
PUTTING IN THE WORK Coughlin ’ s strength has long been her ball striking . In fact , she ended the 2021
“ I admire her for what she ’ s done and how she ’ s been willing to work on things to improve , she ’ s had to battle on both the Symetra and LPGA tours and it hasn ’ t been easy .”
— John Lewellen
LPGA season as the tour ’ s third-ranked player in greens in regulation at just over 78 percent .
Her steady swing has allowed her to finish the season ranked 30th with a scoring average of 70.63 , in spite of a putting average of 31.15 putts per round , ranked 144th on tour .
“ Her stats bear out that she needs to putt better ,” said Lewellen . “ If she can do that , her ball striking is going to keep her right in there where she wants to be .”
Coughlin used the Symetra Tour as a season warm-up this year , playing in five events before getting into the LPGA ’ s LOTTE Championship in April . She made the 36-hole cut at the Hawaii event , where her conditional status was “ reshuffled ” in the LPGA ’ s ranking system . She went on to play in 14 LPGA tournaments , posting three top-20 finishes in 2021 .
It was an improvement over past seasons , but Coughlin knew she still had to make a move as the season wound down . She played golf with Dr . Bob Rotella and picked his brain about putting . She played a 3-club challenge with husband John Pond at Greene Hills Club , using a 7-iron as her putter .
And a week before the Monday qualifier , she decided to go play a just-for-fun No Laying Up tournament in Jacksonville , Fla . That event , called the Nest Invitational Tournament ( NIT ), featured a 90-player field of three professionals and the rest amateurs , including Coughlin ’ s husband .
The LPGA pro was given a plus-3 handicap and played from the same tees as a Korn Ferry Tour player and a player from
Lauren Coughlin played at the University of Virginia from 2012-16 and holds the Cavaliers ’ all-time record for lowest single tournament round ( 65 ).