The sixth spot on the United States Solheim Cup team has been locked up by Lauren Choughlin.
Coughlin made her Solheim Cup debut in 2024, where she was one of the strongest players for the United States team.
Playing in her home state of Virginia, Coughlin went 3-0-1, going 3-0-0 in non-singles matches alongside Rose Zhang, Lexi Thompson and Sarah Schmelzel. While two of those players, Thompson and Schmelzel, likely won’t be back in 2026, Coughlin still is an easy player to pair with others.
Coughlin won for the third time on the LPGA Tour this year at the Aramco Championship in Las Vegas, played at Shadow Creek. All three of her wins on the LPGA Tour have come since 2024.
Angela Stanford made it clear early in the year that Coughlin had a guaranteed spot before she had even clinched it. On one broadcast after that win in Las Vegas, Stanford said that Coughlin’s spot was safe no matter what. Still, it is important to have the top players earn spots automatically.
Coughlin, 33, will likely be one of the oldest players on the United States team along with potentially Lindy Duncan. This will be her second time playing on the team after 2024.
Coughlin joins Nelly Korda, Jennifer Kupcho, Yealimi Noh, Auston Kim and Angel Yin as automatic qualifiers. Because of undisclosed reasons, Yin’s spot is in question and it will be determined within the next two weeks if she plays according to Golfweek.
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