American Lauren Coughlin makes late birdies for 66 to lead Women’s Scottish Open

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IRVINE, Scotland (AP) — Lauren Coughlin rolled in a bending, 20-foot putt as part of three birdies on the closing stretch Saturday to cap off a 6-under 66 in the Women’s Scottish Open and give her a one-shot lead over Megan Khang at Dundonald Links.

Coughlin picked up her first LPGA Tour title three weeks ago in Canada and put herself in position to lock up a spot on the U.S. Solheim Cup team.

“I’m starting to hit the ball extremely well, and I’m just starting to feel really good about my game and myself and trying to keep it going,” Coughlin said.

Khang opened with 11 straight pars, but three birdies toward the end of her round gave her a 69 and allowed the American to close the gap to one shot.

Coughlin was at 12-under 204.

Charley Hull of England narrowly missed a long eagle putt on the par-5 18th. Her tap-in birdie gave her a 69 that left her three shots out of the lead, along with Olympic silver medalist Esther Henseleit of Germany, who had a 66.

Henseleit has two Ladies European Tour victories and is building momentum from her silver medal at the Paris Olympics. She was paired Saturday with gold medalist Lydia Ko, who had a 71 and was five shots behind.

Henseleit pulled into a share of the lead by making eagle on the par-5 14th hole. Coughlin made her 20-foot birdie putt on the 15th, while the German missed her birdie try from 10 feet. On the par-4 16th, Henseleit missed a 3-foot par putt to fall behind.

Hull opened with an 81 in the Olympics, her first time back from a shoulder injury, and played 8 under the rest of the week at Le Golf National. It was too late for the podium, but she figured she was finding some form going into two weeks in Scotland.

The Women’s British Open, the final major of the year, is next week at St. Andrews.

“Go out there, have a laugh and make birdies. And if I don’t make birdies, it’s not the end of the world,” Hull said.

Canadians Savannah Grewal, of Mississauga, Ont., and Brooke Henderson, of Smiths Falls, Ont., each shot a 2-over 74 in the third round and remained well back of the leaders.

The wind eased up slightly, though the temperatures were cold enough for some players to wear mittens between shots.

Minjee Lee of Australia was challenging for the lead until a soft bogey on the par-3 15th hole. She responded by chipping in for birdie on the 16th to get within two shots of the lead. But on the closing hole, where Coughlin had made birdie to reach 12 under, Lee went for the green in two and bounced into the narrow burn. She made bogey for a 72 and was four behind.

Coughlin has had a breakthrough season, not only with her victory but moving up to No. 26 in the women’s world ranking having started the season outside the top 100. Her attention has been on the Solheim Cup. She currently is No. 4 in the standings, but a victory on Sunday in Scotland should clinch one of the automatic spots.

Coughlin was an All-American at Virginia. The matches are being held Sept. 13-15 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club near Manassas, Virginia. This would be her first Solheim Cup team.

“I live an hour and 10 minutes from it. It’s my home state, so I couldn’t be more excited,” Coughlin said.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf