Lauren Coughlin sets LPGA record by opening with 9 straight birdies en route to career-best 61

ROGERS, Ark. (AP) — Lauren Coughlin became the first player in LPGA history to open a round with nine straight birdies, running the table through nine holes at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship on Saturday.

Coughlin made only one birdie the rest of the way, closing with six straight pars for a career-best 61.

Starting her second round on the back nine at Pinnacle Country Club, Coughlin began with a birdie on the par-4 10th hole and didn’t make a par until the par-4 first. She made the turn in 9-under 26, hitting a wedge to about 3 feet on the par-5 18th for her ninth birdie.

Coughlin said she had never made more than six consecutive birdies in any round.

“Everything just seemed to be going exactly how far I wanted it to, right at the hole and I was putting really good putts on it as well,” said Coughlin, who turns 34 on Sunday.

After shooting a 2-over 73 in Friday’s opening round of the 54-hole event, she moved up 106 spots on the leaderboard into a tie for 21st, eight shots behind leader Yuna Nishimura.

The LPGA single-round scoring record is a 59 by Annika Sorenstam in the second round of the Standard Register PING in Phoenix on March 16, 2001, and Coughlin was well aware of where she stood.

“I started to get a little bit of adrenaline pretty much 9 green on for the next few holes, but then I made the birdie on 3 so I thought I was like, I really have a chance now,” Coughlin said. “Then, yeah, just couldn’t quite get it close enough unfortunately, last few holes.”

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A three-time winner on the LPGA Tour, Coughlin is coming off a strong performance for the U.S. in a losing effort at the Solheim Cup. She played all five sessions, going 3-1-1.

Coming off the excitement of the biennial team competition, the former Virginia star wasn’t too enthusiastic about traveling to Arkansas for an event she usually enjoys.

“Solheim was so awesome and so great and it’s kind of hard to come back after that for a little bit. I feel like yesterday, like all week even, I was like, don’t really want to be here,” she said. “But I told my caddie today, I don’t really want to be here but I’m going to try as hard as I can today.”

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