Coughlin, a University of Virginia grad and Keswick Club ambassador, reached the final of the LPGA’ s T-Mobile Match Play at Shadow Creek in 2025. She went wire-towire in the stroke-play Aramco Championship in April at the same course, finishing five shots clear of Nelly Korda and Leona Maguire in a relatively stress-free victory, if such thing exists in professional golf.

The win ticked another box on Coughlin’ s resume— her first victory on American soil.

More than anything, though, the win quelled any doubts about the state of Coughlin’ s game after an up-and-down 2025.

A drop off from the ridiculous highs of the previous year was understandable. Coughlin earned her first LPGA victory in Canada in summer 2024 and followed it up with another win in Scotland, completing her year-long goal of earning a spot on the United States Solheim Cup team that September at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville.

She ran with that invite, teeing off No. 1 at RTJ with Metallica’ s“ For Whom The

Bell Tolls” blaring from the loudspeakers, eventually going 3-0-1 and earning giant roars from the adoring home crowd as the U. S. secured victory over Europe.

Afterward, she admitted in an interview she’ d have to reset some of her goals after reaching such dizzying heights.

Her 2025 wasn’ t bad. It was just going to be difficult to match that 2024 high. She made 17 cuts in 22 starts, recorded five top 10s, and finished 43rd in the Race to the CME Globe, well below her 10th-place finish the previous year.

Coughlin’ s 2026 started with a T27 finish in the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, a limited-field event of 39 players. There, she began working with new caddie Jack Fulgham, who was Megan Khang’ s caddie last year and has worked previously with Lexi Thompson. Then a calf strain kept her home during the LPGA’ s first Asian swing, which she said might have been a blessing because she was well rested for the first full U. S. swing of the season.

It was clear from the start at Shadow Creek that Coughlin was on her game. She shot 67-69-73-72 for a 7-under 281 in a week in which only four players finished under par.

“ I think it just means more because [ of ] 2024. Winning is hard and I didn’ t get it

done earlier in the year last year when I had a couple chances and that really bothered me,” Coughlin said after the win.“ I was like,‘ What if I don’ t ever get to do it again? What if that’ s the best golf I ever played in 2024?’ Those thoughts were hard not to think last year.

“ I think it definitely means more just because you never know if you’ re going to get the chance again. I was lucky enough to get it done.”

The win jumped Coughlin 20 spots in the Rolex Women’ s World Golf Rankings to No. 12. And from listening to U. S. captain Angela Stanford on the final-round Golf Channel broadcast from Shadow Creek, it’ s hard to see a scenario where Coughlin won’ t be in the Netherlands in September again representing her country in the Solheim Cup, even if she doesn’ t qualify automatically.

But before that, there are majors in which to compete and world rankings moves to make. The Coughlin of 2024 seems to be back, and here to stay.

Editor’ s note: The first major of the season, The Chevron Championship in Houston, ended on April 28, after this edition’ s print deadline. Please visit LPGA. com for full details of Coughlin’ s play at that event.

ASSOCIATED PRESS