CALGARY, Alberta – Lauren Coughlin shot a 4-under 68 Thursday in cold and windy conditions to take the first-round lead at the CPKC Women’s Open.
Fellow American Jennifer Kupcho was also tied with Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn and Australians Minjee Lee and Hannah Green.
Coughlin opened the round starting at No. 11 with eight straight pars, then had five birdies and a bogey in the final 10 holes as temperatures climbed into the 60s at Earl Gray Golf Club.
“It was a lot more windy than I expected, so I had to be more patient in the beginning,” Coughlin said. “I kind of started getting drop putts. It was tough out there, but I hit a lot of really good shots and a lot of good putts.”
Unsuccessful on the LPGA Tour, the 31-year-old former University of Virginia player is coming off a fourth-place finish two weeks ago in France at the Evian Champions.
“It’s great since Evian I’ve been hitting the ball really well,” Coughlin said. “Continuing, even on a week off, I felt really good. Trying to be myself and have fun, and see what I’m shooting for.”
Kupcho had four birdies and a bogey.
“The weather was a little crazy,” Kupcho said. “I feel like we had three different seasons on 18 holes. It was definitely sunny at the end and that’s where I made all my birdies. Really, I tried to stay patient all day.”
Green won twice this year, taking the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore in February and the JM Eagle LA Championship in April.
“It was tough out there,” Green said. “It’s great that the sun is out. It was really cold in the middle of our round. I’m very happy to finish with a balance in the afternoon.”
Three-time champion Lydia Ko of New Zealand shot 70. Ko won as a novice in 2012 at the age of 15, successfully defended his title as a novice in 2013 and won as a professional in 2015.
“It was cold. It was windy,” Ko said. “Tuesday, Wednesday was warm and windy. So, it felt like I was playing a different golf course. I knew I needed to stay patient.”
Hye-Jin Choi was also 70 with Alison Lee, Haeran Ryu, Jenny Shin and Gigi Stoll.
Savannah Grewal and Maude-Aimee Leblanc each shot 71 to top the Canadian field. Canadian star Brooke Henderson, the 2018 champion, opened with a 72.
“It’s not the hot start I wanted to get off to, but it was like we fought hard,” Henderson said. “It was tough out there this morning. It was cool and windy.”
Second runner-up Lilia Vu also shot 71.
Lexi Thompson had a 72. He plans to play a limited schedule after this season.
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