Coughlin , a self-professed sports nut , was worried that if she went to a small school where she ’ d immediately become the top player , she ’ d lack the motivation to get better .
“ I can remember it vividly ,” Coughlin said . “ We were sitting on the bed , the phone between us , and she was trying to convince us that the good decision was to come and walk on at Virginia . It ’ s funny how things work out .”
Coughlin did indeed redshirt that first year . But that doesn ’ t mean the year wasn ’ t eventful . She met a football player named John Pond who lived in the same dorm , and by the next summer , they were dating .
Coughlin ’ s career progressed just as Lewellen envisioned . She defeated a UVA teammate — Elizabeth Brightwell — at the Golden Horseshoe ’ s Gold Course to win the first of her two VSGA Women ’ s Amateur titles . She repeated the next year by knocking off Amanda Hollandsworth at The Country Club of Virginia . She was denied a three-peat in 2014 at Hidden Valley , falling in the final match to Lyberty Anderson .
As a UVA sophomore , she led the Cavaliers with a 74.61 stroke average . During her junior year , she earned all-ACC honors , set UVA ’ s single-round scoring record with a 7-under 65 at the UCF Challenge and helped the Cavaliers to a 20th-place finish at the NCAA championships .
As a senior , she won the ACC individual title . Afterwards , she said yes when Pond proposed to her on the 18th green , with her Cavalier teammates cheering him on .
LIFELONG RELATIONSHIPS
Coughlin called Lewellen — who is now the women ’ s golf coach at Wake Forest — and Lewellen ’ s husband John , “ the best people , mentors , almost like a second set of parents .”
John Lewellen has been Coughlin ’ s swing coach for years and frequently travels to LPGA events to mentor Coughlin and a select few other players .
“ When we moved to Winston-Salem , he became her swing coach ,” Kim said . “ Once players graduate , it ’ s difficult for me to continue to help , so he ’ s always been a big part of things . He ’ s got a great golf IQ and a great golf background in teaching , so it was a natural transition for him to take over for Lauren Coughlin .
“ As you know , she ’ s one of the best ball strikers on tour . And he ’ s done a phenomenal job refining that golf swing to be a machine ,” she continued . “ She comes into town a lot . I actually have a room in my house that has memorabilia from exciting times in my life as a coach , and I ’ d say three-fourths of that room is pictures of her . It should probably be called the Lauren Coughlin room . It ’ s just been a family affair from the beginning .”
The Lewellens walked and followed every match Coughlin played at the Solheim Cup . As the weekend progressed , Coughlin ’ s gallery grew . Ria Scott , who replaced Lewellen at UVA , brought the current Cavaliers ’ squad out to watch . Members of the No Laying Up podcast team — an influential golf podcast that helped sponsor Coughlin early in her career — also joined , along with staff from Birdwood Golf at Boar ’ s Head Resort , UVA ’ s home course .
Like Terry said , I ’ m not anonymous anymore . It ’ s going to be a little bit of an adjustment , getting back into my bubble , per se , at tournaments and not letting all of the other stuff affect what I really love , which is competing and playing golf .”
An early-season switch to veteran caddie Terry McNamara , who was on the bag for many of Annika Sorenstam ’ s LPGA wins , was a crucial piece of the puzzle for Coughlin .
“ It might have been the best moment of my coaching career ,” Kim Lewellen said . “ Just to see somebody who I ’ ve lived with through their ups and their downs in every moment of their life , and then for her to reach the pinnacle and to be inside the ropes with her , and witness that with her , it ’ s a coach ’ s dream that I ’ ll never forget .”
SENSE OF COMMUNITY
Coughlin ’ s relationship with No Laying Up ( NLU ) is well known at this point . Long story short , the podcast was looking to sponsor “ young hitters ,” so Coughlin sent a Twitter message to one of the pod ’ s hosts , Todd Schuster ( aka Tron Carter ). According to Kevin Van Valkenburg , NLU ’ s editorial director , there wasn ’ t a whole lot of money involved because NLU did not have extensive funds to bankroll players . But as Coughlin ’ s career progressed , she and John became tighter and tighter with the NLU crew and became members of The Nest , NLU ’ s worldwide online community of golfers .
When Coughlin won the CPKC Women ’ s Open in Canada in July , one of her first calls after fulfilling her on-site press obligations was to NLU ’ s live show . As fellow players giddily tried to get Coughlin to join them in a pub to properly celebrate her victory a few weeks later at the Scottish Open , Coughlin was on the phone again , recounting her victory to the NLU crew .
Coughlin has played numerous rounds with the NLU team , but one sticks out to Van Valkenburg , who spent the Solheim Cup weekend inside the ropes with his 12-year-old daughter Keegan . When Keegan was 10 , Lauren and John were on a trip to the Baltimore area and Lauren called Van Valkenburg to see if he and Keegan wanted to play a round of golf .
PAUL PIERCE JR . vsga . org