Lauren Coughlin Leads LPGA Tour's CPKC Women’s Open in Chilly Calgary

Lauren Coughlin shot a 4-under 68 on Thursday in chilly and windy conditions to take the first-round lead in the CPKC Women’s Open.

Fellow American Jennifer Kupcho was a stroke back with Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand and Australians Minjee Lee and Hannah Green.

Coughlin opened the round that began on No. 11 with eight straight pars, then had five birdies and bogey on the final 10 holes with the temperature barely climbing into the 60s at Earl Grey Golf Club.

“It was a lot windier than I was expecting, so just had to stay super patient in the beginning,” Coughlin said. “Kind of started getting some putts dropping. It was tough out there for sure, but I hit a lot of really good shots and a lot of good putts.”

Winless on the LPGA Tour, the 31-year-old former University of Virginia player is coming off a fourth-place finish two weeks ago in France in the major Evian Champions.

“Pretty much ever since Evian I’ve been hitting the ball extremely well,” Coughlin said. “To keep it going, even in an off week, felt really good. It’s just trying to be myself and have fun, and then see what I shoot.”

Kupcho had four birdies and a bogey.