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Coffing set to ‘put it all together’ at Duramed

Middletown woman would dedicate a win to the man who made it all possible: her dad.

Middletown's Carling Coffing chips onto the green during Wednesday's Duramed Championship Pro-Am at the Golf Center at Kings Island in Mason.

Photo by Pat Auckerman Middletown's Carling Coffing chips onto the green during Wednesday's Duramed Championship Pro-Am at the Golf Center at Kings Island in Mason.

Middletown's Carling Coffing tees off in Wednesday's Duramed Championship Pro-Am at the Golf Center at Kings Island in Mason.

Photo by Pat Auckerman Middletown's Carling Coffing tees off in Wednesday's Duramed Championship Pro-Am at the Golf Center at Kings Island in Mason.

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By John Bombatch, Staff Writer Updated 10:22 AM Thursday, June 18, 2009

MASON — Playing her first full year on the LPGA Duramed Futures Tour, and with Father’s Day just around the corner, there’s nothing Middletown native Carling Coffing would like more than to win this weekend’s Duramed Championship.

With her dad, Tom Coffing, manning the bag for her at each of the 17 stops on tour this season, Carling said it would be nice to repay him for his help through the years.

“If I do win, I’ll definitely dedicate it to my dad. And maybe then I won’t have to buy him a present,” she laughed.

The 54-hole tournament is Friday through Sunday, June 19-21, at the Golf Center at Kings Island.

Coffing began playing on the Futures Tour midway through the 2008 season after graduating from Ohio State. She spent the winter months training in California and improving her game.

That experience, along with being more familiar with the courses on tour, has given Coffing newfound confidence this season.

“I’ve been making more birdies and I feel like with every tournament I play, I’m always in the hunt this season,” she said. “Last year, I was just happy to make the cut.”

Coffing, a two-time All-Big Ten honoree for the Buckeyes, has already made as many cuts (six in eight events) as she did in 10 events last season. She has earned $3,629 in six events, which ranks her 62nd on the money list. The top 10 finishers on the money list this season earn LPGA Tour cards.

Coffing’s best finish this season is a tie for 22nd in April at the Historic Brownsville Open in Rancho Viejo, Texas, a tournament that saw her tied for second overall at one point.

“I’ve really been working on ball striking and my putts,” said Coffing, who won an individual state high school championship in 2002 for the Middletown Middies. “So far, there’s been days when I’m hitting the ball well, but I can’t putt past my shadow. Either that or I’m putting well but shanking my shots off the tee.

“I’m just looking forward to that tournament when I can put it all together. That will be a good tournament for me, and I know that day is coming soon.”

Three-day tickets are $25 with single-day VIP tickets $15 and single-day general admission tickets $10.

The Duramed Futures Tour is the official developmental tour of the LPGA. More than 300 tour players have gone to play in the LPGA, including Laura Davies, Lorena Ochoa, Dottie Pepper, Meg Mallon and Middletown’s Marianne Morris.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2851 or jbombatch@coxohio.com.

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