CPKC WOMEN'S OPEN

August 20, 2025

Lauren Coughlin

Mississaugua Golf & Country Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Okay, welcome to the media center at the 2025 CPKC Women's Open. Pleased to be joined by defending champion Lauren Coughlin. You became a Rolex first-time winner at this event last year. Share what that experience was like now that you've had a year to reflect on it.

LAUREN COUGHLIN: Yeah, it was super special. Obviously a lot of great memories at this event last year. Had a lot of fun. Excited to be back defending here in Toronto.

My dad is from Buffalo so I have family coming over the border here to see me starting tomorrow. I'm excited about that. They don't get to see me play very often so really excited for the week.

Q. You played well here the last two years, earning a win last year and a top 10 in 2023. What do you think is it about this event that caters to your game?

LAUREN COUGHLIN: I think the golf courses we've played the last couple years have been really tight off the tee. This one I would say is -- I mean, I've only seen eight holes so far, but feels like it matches with that as well.

So I hit a lot of fairways and so -- and I'm a really good iron player, so the fact I can hit a lot more fairways than some other people can has played to my strengths a lot.

Q. You've had five Top 10s this season. Can you talk about where your game is right now and maybe how you're preparing for the last stretch of the season?

LAUREN COUGHLIN: Yeah, been playing really good the last few weeks. Played really well to start year as well. I mean, my game feels really good. I'm hitting the ball well. Started putting really well starting Scotland or so.

If I can make some putts, then I think I usually can play pretty well. Yeah, these greens are really good. Course looks great. It's in amazing shape.

So, yeah, just trying to get used to the firmness and the speed of the greens. Last week's greens were really, really fast. These ones are still really good, but not quite up to that speed. Downhill they are pretty lightning.

But yeah, I think just trying to get used to everything this week and get my body ready to go for tomorrow.

Q. Welcome back. You touched on it a little bit, but what did last year's win in Canada do for you in your career?

LAUREN COUGHLIN: I think it just kind of gave me the confidence that I could get it done when I needed to, that I could hit shots, make putts when I needed to coming down the stretch. Yeah, I think I just learned I don't need to do anything other than being myself out there and have a lot of fun and be really relaxed. If I can do that, I can contend.

I think it just kind of kept everything -- kind of started everything for me last year. Obviously I won a couple weeks later in Scotland; then I played really well at Solheim Cup, which was like my whole main goal for the whole year.

I think it just gave me a lot of confidence that I am good enough out here.

Q. As a follow up, you mentioned you have family in Buffalo coming up. Anyone in particular that you can name that's coming up that you haven't seen for a while?

LAUREN COUGHLIN: Yeah, so it's my dad's cousins, they're like my uncles, Keith and Kevin Sawyer and their wives Theresa and Jill Sawyer.

They're coming. Most summers when I was growing up we would come up to Buffalo to hang out with them and play golf. So used to come up here a bunch when I was growing up. Well, not up to Toronto, but up to Buffalo.

And, yeah, Kevin and Jill came to watch me at Solheim last year. But I haven't seen Keith and Theresa in probably a few years, so it will be really good to see them. They don't really get to watch me play golf in person very often, so it will be fun to hang out with them and have them get to watch me.

Q. Curious, when you said you've only seen some holes on the golf course, when you get to a venue you haven't seen, what's the process to learn the golf course as soon as possible?

LAUREN COUGHLIN: Yeah, getting used to the greens and around the greens and the rough and how the -- most weeks will be similar depending on the area we go. You know, certain grasses are going to play certain ways. We were just in the Pacific Northwest, so it's pretty similar: bent greens, poana and similar roughs.

So just getting used to how the ball reacts on the greens compared to the week before is the main thing, grasses and sightlines.

My caddie is really good so he's going and making sure strategy-wise where I need to be trying to hit the golf ball and things like that. My job is getting used to the greens as best and quickly as possible.

Q. This week being the defending champion, how much has this changed your preparation? Is there more time spent doing media?

LAUREN COUGHLIN: Yeah, I think because I defended in Scotland a few week ago I kind of got over the jitters of, okay, what is it going to feel like, what it's going to -- the reminiscing. Maybe because it's a different golf course that I don't have the same nostalgia per se. Like, oh, I hit it here in the final round, whereas like in Scotland my first practice round I was like, this is where I hit the ball.

So getting over that was a little bit different than this week. Okay, I have a pretty clear goal. I need to learn this golf course as quickly as possible. So it's a little bit different. I would say not as much -- there is a lot of nostalgia in that this was my first one and means a lot that way, but it's a different golf course, so I don't have quite the same emotional pull to it like I did in Scotland because it was at the same golf course.

Q. What would you say you learned about yourself defending in Scotland?

LAUREN COUGHLIN: Yeah, I think I knew that it was really -- I'm pretty sentimental, so like being back there was really cool and special. I also was like, I want to play well this week, so I have to get over and get back to being present here this week and try and prepare and get my game as sharp as I can for this week right now, not thinking about last year.

Because if I keep thinking about last year, I'm probably not going to play very well and I wanted to play well. So kind of the same thinking here. Sunday when I was about to red eye over here I was definitely thinking about last year and stuff but it's like I want to play well again, so I need to get over it and get here in the present right now and focusing on preparing this week as best I can.

Q. You touched on it a little bit before. How, if any, do you feel like your life might've changed since you won on the LPGA?

LAUREN COUGHLIN: I'm a little busier, like week in and week out. Like off weeks especially. But I've started to say no to a lot more things than I did in the beginning part of the year just because like I do really enjoy my down time home. Mentally more than anything being able to recharge and get ready for -- so I would say that's the only real difference is I'm a little bit busier in my off weeks. Other than that I feel exactly the same.