Lauren Coughlin romps to 5-shot win at LPGA Aramco Championship...

This was her third consecutive second-place finish after opening her season by winning in Orlando, moving Korda up a spot to No. 1 in the world ranking. Leona Maguire (71) also finished at 2 under, and the only other player with an under-par score was Miyu Yamashita (74) at 1 under. Korda wasn’t the only tough competitor for Coughlin to overcome. The $4 million prize money in the event organized by Golf Saudi and co-sanctioned by the LPGA and Ladies European Tour drew 38 of the top 40 players. It’s the first such event in the United States, and more appear to be coming to North America. Players compared this tournament to a major because birdies were so difficult to come by at Shadow Creek. Only four players wound up under par for the tournament. Coughlin, the former two-time Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year at Virginia, showed why she feels comfortable at Shadow Creek, even though the format for this year’s tournament switched from match to stroke play. She made the final pairing last year before a 1-up loss to Madelene Sagstrom. Her comfort was evident all four days around the 6,765-yard tract that makes players pay dearly for putting the ball in poor locations. Coughlin was in a three-way tie for the lead after the first round and never relinquished that position as others fell off. She came close to turning the tournament into a laugher at times Friday and Saturday but, going into the final round, Coughlin enjoyed just a two-shot margin over Korda, the 2024 LPGA Tour Player of the Year. Korda ended the third round with back-to-back birdies and an apparent message she wasn’t going anywhere. But then the final round began, and it became clear fairly quickly which direction the tournament was heading. Coughlin began to pull away and all but ensured by the eighth green she would be the one to place her hands on the trophy. Coughlin rolled in a downhill right-to-left 45-footer for birdie on the par 3. Korda then preceded to triple putt, including missing a 2-footer for par. Suddenly, Coughlin was at 9 under and Korda at 3 under — and the rest of the round all but a formality. Korda got within four shots when Coughlin opened the back nine by bogeying the 10th and 12th holes, but Korda did the same on Nos. 13 and 15 to again make it a six-shot difference.