Lauren Coughlin is satisfied with the results on one search, and is now aiming to complete another.
Coughlin is something of a caffeine connoisseur, determined to seek out the best coffee shops in any city she visits. In Calgary, she’s become of a big fan of both Monogram and Sought and Found.
Since Coughlin is leading through two rounds at the 2024 CPKC Women’s Open at Earl Grey Golf Club, she’ll have time Saturday to savour every sip. She doesn’t tee off until 2:40 p.m.
“I get to sleep in, which is nice too,” Coughlin said with a grin. “I get to go sit in the coffee shop and have a nice cup of coffee, which is hard to find in some places. I’ve had a couple really good ones this week, so I am excited to go do that.”
She’s had a couple of good rounds, too, with a total score so far of 6-under 138.
Which brings us back to that other quest.
In 100-and-some career starts on the LPGA Tour, Coughlin is still shooting for her first victory.
The 31-year-old from Charlottesville, Va., will be trying this weekend to stave off a chase pack that includes some of the best in the business. She’ll also need to continue to manage a blustery wind that has blown a lot of others out of title contention.
Australia’s Hannah Green and South Korea’s Haeran Ryu are sharing second at 5-under 139. The crowd at 3-under 141 includes New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, whose next victory will guarantee her spot in the World Golf Hall of Fame, and California’s Lilia Vu, who is currently the second-ranked player in the world.
Crowd favourite Brooke Henderson, the superstar from Smiths Falls, Ont., is seven shots off the pace.
“Still two more rounds to go,” Coughlin cautioned after a 2-under 70 in the second round. “I’m just trying to stay in the moment as much as I can and stay in each shot as best I can and not try to get too ahead of myself. I feel like I did a little bit today. I felt like I’m playing so good and I kept getting so excited and wanting to go and we were waiting so much.
“Just staying super patient is going to be the big key.”
Earl Grey has proved so far to be a stern test, no surprise to the proud members of this private facility, who noticed the rough getting longer — and thicker — in the lead-up to the event.
Especially in an unrelenting wind, precision is at a premium. It hasn’t been uncommon to see approach shots bounce off the back of these firm greens.
The scoring average through two rounds was 74.75. The cut-line was unusually high at 4-over.
“It’s playing like a major championship,” Green said. “I hit a couple shots that were maybe a yard off the fairway and I had to take my medicine and hit a wedge out of it. It’s some of the longest rough we’ve played all year.”
The 26-year-old Henderson provided plenty to cheer about with a stellar start, including back-to-back-to-back birdies on Holes 2-4. She finished, unfortunately, with four straight bogeys. Brooke’s Brigade groaned after an ugly three-putt on No. 16.
She ultimately signed for a 1-over 73. She is also 1-over for the tournament.
“It stings right now, but we’ll get over it and hopefully make some birdies tomorrow,” Henderson said. “For most of the day, I was 3-under, so feeling pretty great. To walk away at 1-over, that’s not the best feeling.
“But all you can do is move forward and try to learn from some of the things you did out there. Like I said, try to go out tomorrow and birdie a couple early.”
While everybody else is trying to crank up the pressure with a couple of early circles on the scorecard, Coughlin might be just be draining her last cup of coffee.
She won’t have to worry about too much caffeine in her system, since she’ll be jittery already. She has never held a 36-hole lead on the biggest stage, although it’s worth noting that her best finishes this season have come in major championships, including a fourth-place showing two weeks ago at the Evian Championship.
“Grit and just being mentally tougher than a lot of people is something that I’ve learned over the years, just because I’ve had to work really hard and persevere a lot throughout my career,” Coughlin said. “When it gets hard, that’s fine to me. I’m going to keep fighting the whole time.”
CHIP SHOTS: Henderson, who tees off Saturday at 12:10 p.m., and Maude-Aimee Leblanc are tied for top Canadian honours at 1-over. Three other Canucks — Alena Sharp, Samantha Grewal and Ellie Szeryk — will work the weekend.