Who is LPGA golfer Lauren Coughlin? All you need to know about the American 

Lauren Coughlin is among those who got off to a strong start on Thursday (October 12) at the Buick LPGA Shanghai. She shot a 4-under 68 to sit in a share of third place, two shots behind leader Wichanee Meechai.

Coughlin was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, but spent her childhood and teenage years in Chesapeake, Virginia. It was during this time that she discovered golf and excelled at an early age.

In fact, Lauren Coughlin was the first girl to play all four years on her high school boys' golf team (Hickory High School). She was also named to the Virginia High School League (VHSL) All-State boys and girls' teams in 2010.

Lauren Coughlin earned a scholarship to play golf at the University of Virginia, where she had an outstanding amateur career. She did not play in any collegiate tournaments during her freshman season (2011-12).

However, she competed in and won the 2012 Virginia State Golf Association (VSGA) Women's Amateur Championship. She then won this tournament two more times in her amateur career.

In her sophomore season, she became one of the best players on the team. She led the Cavaliers in stroke average (74.61) and was the team's top finisher at the NCAA East Regional (15th). She finished second on the team with a 48th-place finish at the NCAA Championship.

As a junior, she continued to improve, including a fourth-place finish at the ACC Championships to help the Cavaliers win the team title. A year later, she won the same tournament in singles, a season in which she was ranked 8th in the American Amateur.

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A look into Lauren Coughlin's professional career

Lauren Coughlin's final season as an amateur ended in June 2016, but her professional career did not begin until a few months later in 2017. She began this stint on the LPGA Futures Tour (now called the Epson Tour).

After the 2017 season, Coughlin moved up and began her career on the LPGA Tour in 2018 (although she had already made her debut at that level the year before). However, things did not go well for her and after making only four cuts in 18 events, she had to return to the Futures Tour.

Coughlin played the 2019 and 2020 seasons on the developmental tour until she earned enough points to return to the LPGA Tour in 2021. Since then, she has stayed on the world's top women's circuit.

Overall, Lauren Coughlin has played in 79 LPGA Tour events, making 38 cuts. The best season of her career came in 2023 when she achieved both her best career finish and best career Rolex Ranking placement.

The best finish of her career came at the 2023 CPKC Women's Open, where she tied for 6th. Thanks to that result, she was ranked 108th in the world. Her current ranking is 119.