Photo Credit: Yahoo Sports
0
0
Lauren Coughlin put together one of the wildest stretches in LPGA Tour history Saturday. Coughlin shot a 9-under 26 over her opening nine holes at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. She made nine straight birdies to set the LPGA record for the lowest nine-hole score. The incredible run came during the second round at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Arkansas. Coughlin started her round on the back nine. She immediately caught fire with a birdie on the par-4 10th hole. Then, she simply kept going.
Coughlin birdied every hole from No. 10 through No. 18. She never made a par during that stretch. Her ninth consecutive birdie came on the par-5 18th hole. She hit a wedge to roughly three feet before making the putt. That gave Coughlin a remarkable 26 for her opening nine holes. She finished the front nine in 32 strokes. Her final score reached 61, which marked a career best. The performance also placed Coughlin in position to chase an even bigger milestone. She needed to shoot 3-under on her final nine holes to break 60. That would have made her the second LPGA player to shoot below 60.
Instead, Coughlin added one more birdie on the par-3 third hole. She then closed with six consecutive pars. That left her with a bogey-free 61 for the round. Still, the 61 hardly takes away from what happened earlier. Coughlin became the first player in LPGA history to open a round with nine consecutive birdies. Her 26 also became the lowest nine-hole score in LPGA Tour history. The previous nine-hole mark had stood at 27 strokes. Coughlin lowered that mark by one stroke with her remarkable run.
The timing made the round even more impressive. Coughlin entered Saturday after shooting a 2-over 73 during Friday’s opening round. She needed a major turnaround after that difficult start. She certainly delivered one. Coughlin moved up 106 spots on the leaderboard during Saturday’s round. She finished the second round tied for 21st at the time. The cut came at 4-under, so her opening-round struggles made Saturday’s comeback even more important.
The tournament itself features a 144-player field and a $3 million purse. The LPGA returned to Pinnacle Country Club for the 2026 event. The tournament runs from September 25 through September 27. Coughlin entered the event as one of the notable players in the field. She ranked among the world’s top 25 players before the tournament. She also arrived with a win already on her 2026 résumé. Earlier this year, Coughlin captured the Aramco Championship. That victory gave her a third LPGA Tour title.
However, Saturday’s performance created a completely different highlight. Coughlin’s opening nine holes featured perfect scoring. She did not need an eagle to make history. Instead, she produced nine consecutive birdies. That kind of consistency requires outstanding ball striking and putting. It also requires the ability to stay composed after each successful hole. Coughlin admitted that adrenaline started building around the ninth green. She knew she had something special happening. After making another birdie on No. 3, she realized she still had a chance at 59.
The 59 ultimately stayed out of reach. Still, Coughlin walked away with something that may prove even more memorable. She owns the lowest nine-hole score in LPGA Tour history. Annika Sorenstam still holds the LPGA’s 18-hole scoring record. Sorenstam shot 59 during the second round of the 2001 Standard Register PING in Phoenix. Coughlin came close to creating another piece of history Saturday. Instead, she created one of her own.
A 26 over nine holes already sounds unbelievable. Doing it with nine straight birdies makes the accomplishment even more remarkable. For Coughlin, the round also showed how quickly golf can change. One day after shooting 73, she produced a career-best 61. More importantly, she made LPGA history along the way. Nine holes. Nine birdies. Twenty-six strokes. That is a round Coughlin will remember for the rest of her career.
This is big for the LPGA Tour that records are being broken on tour.
Author Profile
-
Bradley Walker (VP) and Head of our Florida operations for NGSC Sports, bringing extensive experience across collegiate, professional, and amateur athletics. His coverage spans USF Athletics, including football, baseball, lacrosse, and softball, as well as University of Tampa baseball.
Bradley also provides coverage of minor league baseball with the Clearwater Threshers and Major League Baseball with the Tampa Bay Rays. On the national stage, he covers college football bowl games and conference championship matchups, along with premier golf events across the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and LPGA Tour.
In addition to his reporting work, Bradley is the play-by-play announcer for Pinellas Park High School Patriots football, lending his voice and insight to Friday night lights.
He is also an active podcast host and contributor, serving as a host on The Walker Report, where he delivers in-depth sports analysis, interviews, and coverage across multiple levels of competition.
Latest entries
GolfSeptember 28, 2026Lauren Coughlin Makes LPGA History With 26
GolfSeptember 28, 202610 Golf Rules That Should Change
BasketballSeptember 27, 2026USF Women’s Basketball Enters a New Era
BasketballSeptember 27, 2026USF Names James and Wilson Basketball Captains
About the Author
