They were challenged mainly by Chris Gotterup and Jennifer Kupcho until the par-5 17th at Tiburon Golf Club.
Gotterup and Kupcho both missed the green in tough spots and had to work hard for par. Novak and Coughlin were in the final group behind them, and Novak poured in a 6-foot birdie putt that gave them a two-shot lead heading into the final hole.
Coughlin’s birdie putt helped them set a tournament record at 28-under 188.
They finished third ahead of Gotterup and Kupcho (63), Denny McCarthy and Nelly Korda (63) and Michael Brennan and Charley Hull (65).
Novak also won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, the only team event on the PGA Tour, with Ben Griffin. He jokingly said it would be the “modern grand slam” to win the mixed-team title that combines PGA Tour and LPGA Tour players.
Novak said he didn’t get a sense of how close it was until he saw a leaderboard on the 13th green, and even then he knew he and Coughlin had one advantage.
“We had more holes than anyone,” he said, referring to the number of birdie opportunities further down the stretch. Novak holed a 7-foot birdie putt on the 13th, followed by a pair of 10-foot birdie putts on the 14th and 15th and what was effectively the clincher on the 17th.
In modified fourballs, both players hit tee shots and play the other’s golf ball the rest of the way, with the low score on the card counting.
Novak and Coughlin each earned $500,000. It was the biggest payday for Coughlin, who won twice on the LPGA last year.
Korda missed a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole, which would have given her and McCarthy some hope, and at worst would have left her alone in second place. Korda will get another chance to win this year, joining her father in the PNC Championship next week.
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