Meet Lauren Coughlin’s Caddie Terry McNamara: His Bond With Annika Sorenstam, Personal Life & More Revealed

After turning pro in 2018, Lauren Coughlin still hasn’t tasted her first victory yet. Coming to the year 2024, will the year-end with another drought for her? It’s hard to say for now. Beyond the performance of the pros, what else significantly impacts the game on the greens? That’s right, the caddies.

Caddies just don’t carry the bags of the golfers but are often advisers, and navigators on the greens too. In Lauren Coughlin’s case, Terry McNamara fulfills this crucial role. Interestingly, he also shares some historic moments with Annika Sorenstam. So, what kind of person is he?

Terry McNamara, a famous yet private individual

Although Terry McNamara is well-known in the golf world and holds a place in the Caddie Hall of Fame for his contributions to the sport and his role in promoting the importance of caddies, he remains a very private individual. McNamara made it to the headlines more than twenty years ago, when he started working with Annika Sorenstam in September 1999 after she parted ways with caddie Colin Cann after six years of partnership.

Interestingly, despite being on the course for so long, McNamara hasn’t disclosed anything about his childhood or family. Adding to the mystery, he doesn’t have any social media accounts either. He played around 48 tournaments with Sorenstam and was her bag man until 2005. Aside from Sorenstam, McNamara also spent some time with pros like In-Kyung Kim and Momoko Ueda.

In the year 2024, Terry McNamara’s name has been brought up again, but by whom? At the 2024 CPKC Women’s Open, he has been caddying for Lauren Coughlin. Following the conclusion of the second round, the 31-year-old was on top of the leaderboard, and she credited her caddie for the performance.

Coughlin joined the press conference at the Earl Grey Golf Club and was asked, “It seemed like everyone expected the scores to be sort of low going into the week. Did it play differently? Obviously, the weather is different, but are the scores different out there than what you maybe anticipated today?” She replied, “Yeah. I think my caddie and I were talking about it this morning. Pre-wind, I kind of figured that the scores might be pretty low or that it was definitely gettable. But the wind was pretty challenging, and so I’m not super surprised. It’s pretty tight out there with a lot of crosswinds, and if you’re not on the fairway, the greens are pretty tough to hit. So, yeah, it’s not surprising to me that it’s playing a little bit tougher than anticipated.” 

Later, she also pointed out that the caddies are going to be of great importance at the 2024 CPKC Women’s Open. This might be because of McNamara’s knowledge of the game since he has been on the greens for a long time. With knowledge about the game, McNamara also has some historic moments with Annika Sorenstam.

Some of the historic moments that Terry McNamara has had with Annika Sorenstam

In March 2001, at the Moon Valley Country Club in Phoenix, Arizona, Annika Sorenstam became the first player in LPGA history to shoot 59 at the Standard Register Ping. She carded 13 birdies and no bogeys, finishing the second round with a 13-under-par 59. In the same year, Sorenstam set another milestone as a female golfer.

In May 2003, she became the first woman to play in a PGA Tour event since 1945, participating in the Bank of America Colonial tournament. During both tournaments, Terry McNamara was her caddie. Reminiscing about the moment in 2013, McNamara said, “She goes to say something to me, and her mouth moves and no words come out,” explaining the pressure of the moment as per the Playing Through website. Although McNamara isn’t with Sorenstam anymore, the time he spent with her might remain in his mind forever.