GAINESVILLE, Va. — When Solheim Cup organizers asked Lauren Coughlin if she would need a flight to get to Gainesville, Va., for the 2024 edition of the event, the Virginia resident said don’t worry about it.

Robert Trent Jones Golf Club is located just over an hour away from her home in Charlottesville, Va., and Coughlin and her husband, John Pond, were planning to drive to the Solheim Cup, no flight necessary.

“The golf course is an hour and ten minutes from my house,” said Coughling in a press conference at the FM Championship. “I'm extremely excited. I have friends and family going to be coming, some people that don't really get to get a chance to come watch me play because we don't usually get to play very close to where I live.”

The 31-year-old is competing as a rookie this week at the Solheim Cup, making her debut in the event after a solid 2024 LPGA Tour season that has seen her capture two victories and collect six other top-10 finishes.

Coughlin became a Rolex First-Time Winner in late July at the CPKC Women’s Open in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and then won again 21 days later at the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open, defeating Olympic silver medalist Esther Henseleit by four shots at Dundonald Links in Ayrshire, Scotland.

Her win overseas helped Coughlin mathematically clinch her spot on the U.S. Team, an exclamation point on what had already been a breakthrough year for the journeywoman who has definitely embraced the term “late bloomer” this season.

Teeing it up in the Solheim Cup in her home state was a big line item that Coughlin wanted to check off her list of 2024 goals. And after accomplishing the feat before the qualification period wrapped up, Coughlin has been soaking in every second of the experience this week in Virginia.

“This is my first time getting to represent my country. (I didn’t get to) in junior golf, amateur career, nothing,” said Coughlin. “The fact that my first one is so close to home but also so close to D.C., our nation's capital, is pretty special. We got to go to The Pentagon on Monday and got a tour of that. We met a four-star and two three-star generals. That was pretty incredible.”

Coughlin knows that while this event is all about representing her country and bonding with her 11 U.S. teammates, there is some good golf that needs to be played, too, if the Americans want a chance to earn their first Solheim Cup victory since 2017. And she’s more than prepared to tackle the test that Robert Trent Jones Golf Club will provide all 24 athletes vying to claim the Cup for their respective countries this week.

The LPGA Tour veteran took full advantage of her close proximity to this year’s venue in the leadup to the Solheim Cup, playing the course multiple times well before practice sessions began this week in Gainesville, Va. She gleaned plenty of information from those visits that, coupled with her local knowledge, should serve her well throughout her matches at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.

“It's a great golf course. I feel like I know it pretty well now at this point,” Coughlin said. “A lot of what I'm focusing on is just getting used to the green speeds and the firmness and all that type of stuff. I feel like I already know my lines and everything that I want.”

And even though living close to the tournament venue has proven helpful to her preparation for this week, Coughlin has another secret weapon in her back pocket, one that could prove pivotal for the Solheim Cup rookie’s comfortability on the biggest stage in women’s golf: Terry McNamara.

McNamara was the long-time caddie of 72-time LPGA Tour winner Annika Sorenstam and has looped for various players across 10 Solheim Cups. He has plenty of experience guiding athletes through the highs and lows that come with the energy and pressure generated during this international team competition. For Coughlin specifically, McNamara’s faith in her and her game has proven to be a confidence booster during some of the biggest moments of her career.

Both of Coughlin’s 2024 victories came when McNamara was on the bag, and while the long-time looper doesn’t walk alongside her every week on the LPGA Tour, Coughlin is incredibly grateful for what Terry has brought to her game and her life this season and plans to rely on his wealth of knowledge once again in Gainesville, Va.

“We've been talking about it a lot, especially leading up to it,” shared Coughlin. “There's not really a moment that he's never been in, so he's very easy to lean on.”

Coughlin will compete in the foursomes session on Friday morning, playing alongside her U.S. teammate and fellow two-time LPGA Tour winner Rose Zhang. And even though she may not know what emotions she will be feeling on RTJ’s first tee on day one, the 31-year-old is more than ready to fight for the Solheim Cup in front of a home-state crowd, a privilege for a player who was never sure she would ever make one of these teams in the first place.

“I'm excited to see all the fans,” Coughlin said. “I don't know if I've ever played in a crowd that big before, and I'm very excited. All I've ever heard is the nerves that you feel and the adrenaline that you feel on that first tee shot on Friday.

“It's something that I've been thinking about and preparing for. That's all I can do is control myself and my process, and that's all I'm going to focus on.”

Lauren Coughlin Relishing Solheim Cup Experience in Virginia

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