AIG WOMEN'S OPEN

July 31, 2026

Lauren Coughlin

Mixed Zone

Q. Lauren, another steady effort today. Just walk us through your round out there.

LAUREN COUGHLIN: Yeah, it got pretty windy there pretty quickly early in the round. But, yeah, I played really well. Didn't really make too much today, but played really steady. Made some good par saves. I didn't make a ton of birdies, but I made some good par saves early on in the round.

Yeah, really good. Happy where I'm at heading into the weekend.

Q. How have you managed your way around the golf course with so many crosswinds and pot bunkers to a try to avoid?

LAUREN COUGHLIN: Just hitting it really good I guess. Like I said, a lot of wind, staying short when I can, taking it on a little bit when I can. Couple good bounces as well. One yesterday and one today that kind of kept me out of some bunkers.

Overall, just been playing really steady, easy golf.

Q. Does the strategy it requires to have success around links you think help you lock in and get yourself juiced up to attack this golf course?

LAUREN COUGHLIN: Yeah, for sure. Kind of I felt like last week you couldn't really let up at all or you would make a bogey pretty quick. I feel like it was pretty good prep for this week. Same thing, like you can kind of wander sometimes and kind of can't do that at all. You got to really stay in it and make sure you put your best effort into every shot or who knows where it might end up.

Q. I know we're coming up on the end of the qualification process for Solheim. How much is that in your mind or is it at all?

LAUREN COUGHLIN: It was when I wasn't making some of the cuts there in the middle part of year. Now, not so much. Not really too worried about it anymore.

Just looking forward to hopefully playing well.

Q. No bunkers again today?

LAUREN COUGHLIN: No bunkers again today, no. Two really good bounces. I almost got in one on, was it 14, but kind of bounced over one luckily.

Yeah, I think, again, just good planning but also good execution as well.

Q. What does it take to plan those yardages and club selections? Clearly you figured something out here.

LAUREN COUGHLIN: Yeah, a lot of it is like guessing the wind correctly and then guessing how it's going to react once it gets on the ground, like how much it's going to roll out.

Like when it's downwind, I mean, there are some sometimes where we were trying to hit something ending up at 215 and I hit 6-iron which goes like 160, 165 normally, and like it went right to about 210, 215.

But that's like just guessing and a feel that you either have or you don't I think.

Q. How have you developed that?

LAUREN COUGHLIN: I don't know. Just me and my caddie are just I feel like in sync with it. I feel like you just got to come play it to be able to -- and hopefully in the practise rounds you see similar situations so you can start getting that feel. Oh, man, that thing is really going to run out here. It's downwind or whatever. This fairway is really baked out. It's really going to run. Little things like that.

Q. It's been a lot time since we've seen an amateur win a major, but when you see a name like Paula on the board, do you think in your mind that they're a threat to win?

LAUREN COUGHLIN: Not thinking too much about it. I'm more seeing who is up at the top of the leaderboard and seeing where I need to go there. It's still really cool. I can't imagine being an amateur playing in a major like this. I would've shot 100 I think, so it's very impressive.

Q. (No microphone.)

LAUREN COUGHLIN: No, I think I've just always been like this. I'm just I think been more comfortable being myself and knowing that that's all I really have to do. Uh-huh.