- Second LET title for Coughlin
- The American records a five-shot victory at Shadow Creek
Lauren Coughlin proved to be unstoppable at Shadow Creek as she won the 2026 Aramco Championship by five strokes.
The American went wire-to-wire in Las Vegas after being a co-leader after the first day of action and solo leader at 36-hole and 54-hole marks.
Coughlin began the day with a two-shot lead and started strong with a birdie at the first and another on the eighth.
Bogeys on 10 and 12 didn’t make a dent in the lead as other contenders fell away with Shadow Creek proving to be tough once again.
Another bogey on 17 was quickly followed by a birdie on the last hole to seal her third LPGA title and her second victory on the Ladies European Tour (LET).
“I just played really great all week. I had a lot of fun and I’m just happy,” said Coughlin. “It definitely left a sour taste in my mouth last year here not getting the win given how well I played all week, so this makes it extra special this week.
“After I hit that wedge shot on 18 into it, I was alright I think I got it now. It was not that hard to lay-up. I was between clubs and was just like let’s give myself a full wedge into this thing and make it a little bit easier on myself given that I don’t really need to do anything special.”
The victory is Coughlin’s first official win since 2024 after she clinched titles at the 2024 CPKC Women’s Open and the co-sanctioned 2024 ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open.
The 33-year-old did win last year’s Grant Thornton Invitational, which was an unofficial event on the LPGA Tour and PGA Tour.
“It just means more because after 2024 and not winning is hard,” she continued. “I didn’t get it done earlier in the year last year when I had a couple chances and that really bothered me. I was like, what if I don’t ever get to do it again? What if that’s the best golf I ever played in 2024?
“Those thoughts were hard not to think last year. People keep not giving me credit for Grant Thornton. I’m a PGA TOUR winner! So winning Grant Thornton was really nice too, having to make some putts coming down the stretch there and hitting some shots.
“It definitely means more just because you never know if you’re going to get the chance again. I was lucky enough to get it done.”
Ireland’s Leona Maguire and American Nelly Korda ended the week in a share of second place on two-under-par.
LET winner Maguire produced a round of 71 (-1) on the last day which included five birdies and four bogeys to record her best finish of the year.
“Any time you can shoot three rounds under par at Shadow Creek, you’re pretty happy. It’s obviously somewhere I’ve done well in the past and predominantly match play, but the stroke play the one year we did it,” said Maguire.
“I’ve always said it’s one of my favourite venues of the year. I felt like my game had been a lot better lately than some of the scores I shot, and it was nice to see that sort of come to fruition this week on really the hardest course we have played all year. It was a really positive week and I really enjoyed the test that was Shadow Creek.”
World number two Korda played alongside eventual winner Coughlin and couldn’t mount a challenge on the final day but finished with a birdie on 18.
“I just didn’t play good golf today,” said Korda. “I was hitting it pretty poorly off the tee and just finding myself in really tough positions going into the greens and then hitting it in places where I shouldn’t be around the greens.
“It was quite hard to make an up-and-down. I just made a birdie, my only birdie, on 18. It’s quite tough. This golf course is brutal, especially if you’re on the wrong side of the green.
“I’m really happy with the way that my game is trending, and sometimes when you work too hard and you exhaust yourself, you can go the other way. I’m just going to continue doing what I’m doing, and hopefully that leads me to a victory.”
Japan’s Miyu Yamashita was fourth on one-under-par with compatriot Akie Iwai and Australia’s Karis Davidson one shot further back at level.
China’s Ruoning Yin equalled the low round of the week with a 67 (-5) to move into T7 alongside Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen, as Spain’s Carlota Ciganda and Japan’s Nasa Hataoka rounded out the top 10.
In the LET Order of Merit, South Africa’s Casandra Alexander extended her lead at the top of the rankings and now has 832.65 points to her name. Ireland’s Maguire jumps into eighth place with 412.50 points following her second-place finish.
The LET now takes a one-week break before the South African swing begins with the Joburg Ladies Open at Randpark Golf Club from April 16-19.
Keep up with all the action on the LET on our socials – @LETgolf on Instagram and X and Ladies European Tour on Facebook and YouTube – #AramcoChampionship.
