Lauren Coughlin confirmed her familiarity with Shadow Creek by opening with a five-under 67, placing her in a three-way tie for the lead Thursday with Nasa Hataoka and Ladies’s British Open champion Miyu Yamashita within the Aramco Championship.
Coughlin performed 127 holes final yr at Shadow Creek when the event was match play, with each match going at the very least the space, the place she was runner-up to Madelene Sagstrom.
The Aramco Championship is co-sanctioned with the Girls European Tour with a complete purse this week of $4m, which has attracted the highest 20 gamers on this planet.
Nelly Korda and Hyo Joo Kim are facet by facet, once more, at the very least on the scoreboard. Korda made eagle on the par 5 18th for a 68, whereas Kim made bogey on her opening gap and did not drop one other shot the remainder of the best way for her 68.
Kim has received the final two weeks on the LPGA Tour, each instances with Korda because the runner-up and there have not been gamers who completed 1-2 in consecutive weeks on the LPGA in 25 years.
The final participant to win a hat-trick of tournaments in three weeks was Korda in 2024, throughout her streak of 5 profitable begins. Coincidentally, her third week in a row profitable that yr additionally was at Shadow Creek.
Kim stated: “Coming into Vegas people keep telling me to win three weeks in a row. I mean, I think I’ll just try my best like usual. There is nothing else.”
Nelly Korda (left) hugs Hyo Joo Kim (proper) after the latter’s victory on the Fortinet Founders Cup in 2026 (Related Press)
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Joint first spherical chief Coughlin although may very well be the participant to beat given her type on the Shadow Creek course.
“I feel like I know this place really well. Been in a lot of the places that you don’t want to be, so I feel like I just know the spots that I need to land it to a lot of the pins, where to miss if you have to,” stated Coughlin, who didn’t drop a shot till her last gap on the ninth.
Watch the second spherical of the Aramco Championship from 11pm on Friday on Sky Sports activities Combine, with protection on Sky Sports activities Golf at 12am. Get Sky Sports activities or stream with no contract.
