Lauren Coughlin is currently leading the Aramco Championship by 3 strokes.

Now, she prepares herself for the most difficult round of all — competing against the No. 2 player in the world, Nelly Korda, on Sunday.

There's extra meaning in Sunday's matchup because Coughlin and Korda have formed a particularly tight relationship over time. In addition to forming a personal friendship, the connection between the two also stems from the bond between their respective caddies.

"Nelly has become a friend this year, like towards the end of last year too. We go get coffee a good bit. It's going to be fun," said Coughlin after Round 3.

Not only have the two players become friends, but also those who support and carry for them.

"My caddie and her caddie are really, really close, too so it's going to be a lot of fun tomorrow," she added.

Playing at such a tough track as Shadow Creek requires patience. Although the third round put Lauren under great pressure, she managed to stay on top of the leaderboard, making no major mistakes.

In Lauren's opinion, experience is her biggest advantage, as it helps her avoid potential difficulties. It is her fourth year at Shadow Creek, where she can avoid the trouble others usually get into.

Lauren Coughlin On Mastering the Difficulty of Shadow Creek

Coughlin’s strategy involves focusing on hitting good shots to neutralize the golf course. She has hit 13 greens in regulation, which is crucial for this week because of the uncertainty of the fringes and roughs.

“Hitting the greens is like huge out here, because just how the fringe-rough, I guess you can say, intermediate, whatever it is. You don't really want to chip out of that,” Coughlin explained.

In addition, the consistency of her lag putts has made up an integral part of her success during the tournament. Even being put in challenging positions around the greens, she managed to make two-putts consistently.

The key par save on the 15th hole played a vital role, allowing her to end the game strong. Such psychological strength helped her to get a birdie on the 18th hole to keep her winning.

“I saw where Nelly was on 18 green and I just kind of told myself, I've made these putts before so I'm going to make this one, too,” Coughlin talked about her sequence on the last holes.

Despite Korda being a tough competitor due to her past victories in this venue, Coughlin feels excited to play against such an opponent. Being a friend of Korda's adds excitement to the final round of the game.

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Written by

Abhishek Sharma

Edited by

Kalp Thaker