Lauren Coughlin and Andrew Novak shot a 4-under-par 68 in Foursomes on Saturday, crafting a one-shot lead with one round left at the Grant Thornton Invitational in Naples, Fla.
A timely eagle on the par-5 17th was a tremendous boost for the pairing, and Coughlin didn’t shy away from making the shot as impressive as possible, sinking it from the bunker.
“She hit a great tee shot,” Novak said. “I was in prime position and didn’t really do much out there. Kind of left the face open. I hit it fine, on the middle of the face. Face was open, left it right. Probably not the spot to miss, but didn’t matter, she picked me up nicely there.”
The pair entered the day just two strokes behind the leaders and notched a single birdie on the front nine, setting the stage for them to make their move over the back half.
Novak and Coughlin added birdies on Holes 12, 13 and 15 and weathered a bogey on 14 before Coughlin’s heroics on the seventeenth put them at 19-under for the tournament.
Coughlin noted that the two discussed rallying following that bogey.
“We said, ‘Let’s go get two more, let’s go get two more.'”
She also acknowledged the challenge of the format, in which a pair of golfers trade shots over the length of a hole.
“I’m really a big rhythm person, so the starting and stopping is like the big challenge at least for me mentally,” Coughlin said.
Previous co-leaders Charley Hull and Michael Brennan are a shot back after their 1-under 71.
Lexi Thompson and Wyndham Clark, Friday’s other co-leaders, are in third place at 17-under after shooting a par 72.
“It’s just about being positive out there and giving your partner a look in the fairway and available shot into the green,” Thompson said. “That’s what we did. We just kind of stayed patient and positive out there.”
The three-day team event at Tiburon Golf Club began with a scramble format and will continue Sunday with a modified fourball (best ball) Sunday.
Four more pairings lurk within three strokes of the leaders, setting up a potential wild finish. Those groups include Brooke Henderson and Corey Conners (5-under 67), Jennifer Kupcho and Chris Gotterup (2-under 70), Nelly Korda and Denny McCarthy (70) and Rose Zhang and Michael Kim (70).
