Lauren Coughlin credited caddie and boyfriend
John Pond with supplying a morale boost in keeping
her calm during the accompanying tension of the
deciding encounter at the VSGA Women’s Amateur.
BELOW: Player and caddie were all smiles after
Coughlin finished off her second straight win.
Lewellen says Coughlin enters her
second full season “sound in every
aspect of her game,” from tee to green.
Incredibly, in the combined 10 matchplay wins that she collected in capturing
two straight triumphs at the Women’s
Amateur, Coughlin registered nine wireto-wire wins in the part-endurance test
event. She trailed briefly—three holes
to be exact—in this year’s semifinals.
Coughlin brings a new level of confidence
into the fall season.
“She beat a lot of good players in the
field,” Lewellen points out. “She proved
to herself that she is a top player.”
Coughlin competed in the Symetra
Tour’s Eagle Classic at Richmond Country
Club in mid-August, earning a spot in the
field via a sponsor’s exemption.
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CAMARADERIE IN FRIENDLY COMPETITION
Away from all the practice balls and hours
of putting, Coughlin enjoys friendly
competition with Pond. He taught her
the intricacies of the rod and reel and took
her fishing. Pond caught his share of tiny
perch, while Coughlin landed a nearly
two-pound catfish.
“I caught the biggest fish and don’t let
him forget it,” she says.
“I let her have her moment while I was
sitting there catching bait,” Pond quips with
a wry smile.
Another time, Coughlin, who played
high school basketball, joined a game of
pick-up hoops with Pond and some of his
friends. Coughlin, at 5-7, kept canning
jump shots, which left her boyfriend
watching with surprise.
“Lauren can shoot and she held her own
with the boys,” Pond says. “She can’t dunk,
though––but neither can I.”
Pond is learning to play golf. He likes to
tell Coughlin that some day, he’s going to
beat her in the game. Coughlin fires back,
“That’s not going to happen!”
In fact, the two played golf last Christmas
and tied on one hole. Immediately, Pond
started the smack talk within earshot of
Coughlin who answered back.
“She shut me up pretty quickly,” he says.
“She beat me by about five strokes on the
next hole.”
Already, Pond is looking ahead to next
summer when Coughlin will attempt to
claim another victory at the Women’s
Amateur. He plans to be her caddie again
and says he’ll work on his comedic lines for
the summer of 2014.
Pond is amused that the golf media
wants to talk to him, based on his limited
knowledge of the game, but he’s willing to
do whatever helps Coughlin be at her best.
“I’m still waiting for a football interview,”
he says with a laugh, “but I guess between
now and that time, I can just do interviews
about golf.”
Author Lisa D. Mickey is a Florida-based writer
and a regular contributor to Virginia Golfer.
September/OctOber 2013 | Virginia golfer
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