Lauren Coughlin showed her familiarity with Shadow Creek by opening with a five-under 67, putting her in a three-way tie for the lead Thursday with Nasa Hataoka and Women’s British Open champion Miyu Yamashita in the Aramco Championship.
Coughlin played 127 holes last year at Shadow Creek when the tournament was match play, with every match going at least the distance, where she was runner-up to Madelene Sagstrom.
The Aramco Championship is co-sanctioned with the Ladies European Tour with a total purse this week of $4m, which has attracted the top 20 players in the world.
Nelly Korda and Hyo Joo Kim are side by side, again, at least on the scoreboard. Korda made eagle on the par five 18th for a 68, while Kim made bogey on her opening hole and didn’t drop another shot the rest of the way for her 68.
Kim has won the last two weeks on the LPGA Tour, both times with Korda as the runner-up and there haven’t been players who finished 1-2 in consecutive weeks on the LPGA in 25 years.
The last player to win a hat-trick of tournaments in three weeks was Korda in 2024, during her streak of five winning starts. Coincidentally, her third week in a row winning that year also was at Shadow Creek.
Kim said: “Coming into Vegas people keep telling me to win three weeks in a row. I mean, I think I’ll just try my best like usual. There is nothing else.”
Nelly Korda (left) hugs Hyo Joo Kim (right) after the latter’s victory at the Fortinet Founders Cup in 2026 (Associated Press)
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Joint first round leader Coughlin though could be the player to beat given her form on the Shadow Creek course.
“I feel like I know this place really well. Been in a lot of the places that you don’t want to be, so I feel like I just know the spots that I need to land it to a lot of the pins, where to miss if you have to,” said Coughlin, who did not drop a shot until her final hole on the ninth.
Watch the second round of the Aramco Championship from 11pm on Friday on Sky Sports Mix, with coverage on Sky Sports Golf at 12am. Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract.