By: Sarah Kellam
NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Lauren Coughlin came up big on Sunday in North Las Vegas, Nev., collecting her third career LPGA Tour title in dominant fashion at the Aramco Championship, winning by five shots over 16-time LPGA Tour winner Nelly Korda and Ireland’s Leona Maguire.
It’s the 33-year-old’s first victory since she won the 2024 ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open 595 days ago, what was one of two wins that Coughlin captured that year, as she became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the 2024 CPKC Women’s Open at Earl Grey Golf Club just weeks before her triumph in Scotland.
“I just know I played really, really great all week. Had a lot of fun. I’m just happy,” said Coughlin, who became the fifth American since 2010 to go wire-to-wire on Sunday in Sin City. “Definitely left a sour taste in my mouth last year not getting the W given how well I played all week, so makes it extra special this week.”
Playing with Korda in the last twosome of the day, the Virginian birdied the first hole right out of the gate to climb to 8-under and move three ahead of her American counterpart. A Korda bogey on six saw Coughlin take a four-shot lead, and she extended that advantage to six with a birdie on the par-3 eighth hole when Korda failed to get up and down for par.
A pair of bogeys on 10 and 12 from Coughlin saw Coughlinher slip to 7-under for the tournament, but she still maintained a four-stroke lead over Korda with six holes remaining. A Korda three-putt on 13 saw Coughlin go up five shots after shethe veteran got up and down from over the green, and with just five holes left to play, the rest of the tournament felt like a bit of a formality forstanding between Coughlin and her third career title.
She then parred her next four holes before dropping a shot on the par-3 17th hole to slip to 6-under. But Coughlin ultimately stuffed her third shot on the par-5 18th hole and cleaned up the resulting birdie try to post an even-par 72 and finish at 7-under, one of just four athletes in the Aramco Championship field to finish the week in red numbers, a group that only otherwise included Korda, Maguire and Japanese major winner Miyu Yamashita.
With the victory, Coughlin becomes the fourth athlete since 2000 to win three or more times in her 30s after winning for the first time ever at 30 years or older, alongside major champion Catriona Matthew, Wendy Doolan and Lorie Kane. She joins Korda as the second American champion of the 2026 season and is the oldest winner this year at 33 years, 6 months and 9 days.
The victory marks Coughlin’s first win in the United States, and while her wins in Canada and Scotland will always be special, this title means just a little bit more considering she got the job done on home soil at a difficult Shadow Creek, even more so after a winless 2025. It also tastes even sweeter because 364 days ago, she came in second to Madelene Sagstrom at this property, falling to the Swede during the Championship Match at the 2025 T-Mobile Match Play presented by MGM Rewards.
“I think it just means more because after 2024 – winning is hard, and I didn’t get it done earlier in the year last year when I had a couple of chances, and that really bothered me,” said Coughlin. “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. Grant Thornton, people keep not giving me credit for Grant Thornton. I’m a PGA Tour winner, you know? Winning Grant Thornton was really nice, too, having to make some putts coming down the stretch there and hitting some shots.
“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.”
Korda and Maguire tied for second at 2-under overall, what’s the third straight T2 or better performance from the American and the first top 10 for the Irishwoman since she tied for seventh at The Amundi Evian Championship last July.
Korda has been on a tear as of late, winning in her first start of the year at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions and then collecting three consecutive runner-up results at the Fortinet Founders Cup (2), Ford Championship presented by Wild Horse Pass (2) and now the Aramco Championship (T2).
And while some athletes might be frustrated by that slate of oh-so-close performances, Korda will be looking to ride this momentum over the next couple of weeks as she prepares for The Chevron Championship at Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston, Texas.
“It was tough. It was a challenge in every aspect of your game,” said Korda. “But sports are funny. If you actually really think about it, you lose more than you win, so you have to always pick yourself back up and dust yourself off and continue to grind and practice and work hard. The only thing that I can control is that at the end of the day, and that’s what I’m going to continue doing.”
She later continued, when asked what it will take for her to win the first major of the year in a couple of weeks, “I’m just going to stick to what I’m doing. I’m really happy with the way that my game is trending, and sometimes when you work too hard, and you exhaust yourself, you can go the other way. So I’m just going to continue doing what I’m doing, and hopefully, that leads me to a victory.”
After a lengthy run of questionable form, Maguire was incredibly pleased with her showing at Shadow Creek, what’s the third time the two-time LPGA Tour winner has finished T3 or better at this venue across her five starts in the T-Mobile Match Play presented by MGM Rewards and the Aramco Championship. Additionally, it’s Maguire’s first T2 or better result since she fell to Korda in the Championship Match at the 2024 edition of the T-Mobile Match Play.
“Any time you can shoot three rounds under par at Shadow Creek, you’re pretty happy,” Maguire said. “It’s obviously somewhere I’ve done well in the past in predominantly match play, but the stroke play the one year we did it. I’ve always said it’s one of my favorite venues of the year. I felt like my game had been a lot better lately than some of the scores I shot, and it was nice to see that come to fruition this week on really the hardest course I played all year. Really, really positive week and really enjoyed the test that was Shadow Creek.”
Yamashita was alone in fourth at 1-under total, what marks her third top-five finish of the 2026 season and fourth top 10 of her sophomore year on the LPGA Tour. Yamashita’s fellow Japanese native, Akie Iwai, tied for fifth at even par alongside Australian Karis Davidson.
Chinese major champion Ruoning Yin shared seventh with Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen at 1-over, while Solheim Cup stalwart Carlota Ciganda and seven-time LPGA Tour winner Nasa Hataoka rounded out the top 10, tying for ninth at 2-over total.
