Ladies of the Links Featured Player: Jennifer Kupcho
Apr 6th 2022
Jennifer Kupcho was born on May 14, 1997 in Littleton, Colorado. She began playing golf at the age of five. An accomplished amateur player before attending Wake Forest University, Kupcho won the Colorado Junior PGA Championship and Big I Junior Classic. In 2015, Kupcho was the Colorado Women’s Golf Association Player of the year, winning the state title and runner-up and low-amateur at the Colorado Women’s Open. She was the first player in Colorado state history to be named bot the Junior Player of the Year and the CWGA Player of the Year in the same season. She advanced to the round of 16 at the 2015 U.S. Amateur.
As a freshman at Wake Forest in 2015-2016, Kupcho played in 11 tournaments and led the team with a 73.18 scoring average. That was good enough for third in school history and a freshman record. She recorded four top-five and seven top-10 finished. Kupcho was individual runner-up at the ACC Championship and the Bryan National Collegiate. A tie for 6th at the NCAA Stanford Regional qualified Kupcho for the NCAA Championship, where she tied for 6th at 5-under par. In doing so, she became the first golfer in program history to finish the NCAA Championship under par. She capped off the year by winning the Colorado sectional to player in the 2016 U.S. Women’s Open.
Kupcho continued her stellar play as a sophomore in 2016-2017, setting a school record with a scoring average of 70.61. She played in ten events and had eight top-five and nine top-10 finishes. In addition, Kupcho won individual titles at the Tar Heel Invitational, Landfall Tradition, and NCAA Athens Regional. She nearly won the NCAA Championship, finishing second. Kupcho played six events under par and set a school record with 12 straight rounds under par. She took home the Colorado sectional for the second straight year to qualify for the 2017 U.S. Women’s Open, where she was low amateur ant 21st overall. Kupcho’s play was recognized with First-Team WGCA All-American, First-Team Golfweek All-American, and All-ACC honors.
As a junior in 2017-2018, Kupcho broke her own school record with a scoring average of 70.60. She posted six top-5 and seven top-10 finishes in 12 tournaments. She won titles at the Ocean Course Invitational, Bryan National Collegiate, NCAA Tallahassee Regional, and NCAA Championship. She led wire-to-wire at the NCAA Championship, becoming the first player to do so since 2002. Kupcho became the first National Player of the Year in program history by winning the Honda Award. She became the number one amateur in the world ranking in July 2018 and played at the LPGA Marathon Classic, finishing tied for 16th.
Kupcho finished her collegiate career with a 71.43 scoring average in 2018-2019, good for third best in program history. She earned two more collegiate victories at the Tar Heel Classic – Casa de Campo and the Bryan National Collegiate. Her nine victories were second in Wake Forest History and set a career record with 35 rounds below 70. Kupcho was named First-Team WGCA All-American, ACC Co-Player of the Year, All-ACC and won 2018 McCormack Medal as year-end number one in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. Kupcho won the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur, and earned her LPGA Card during 2018 Q-series, making her professional debut at the 2019 U.S. Women’s Open.
In her first LPGA Tour even as a professional, Kupcho made the cut at the U.S. Women’s Open and finished tied for 62nd. After missing the cut at the Women’s PGA Championship, Kupcho impressed with a tie for second at The Evian Championship, two shots behind Jin Young Ko. Although she missed the cut in the final major at the Women’s British Open, Kupcho had a solid rookie season, recording three top-10 finishes, 11 cuts made and 39th on the money list at over $525,000.
Kupcho made 10 cuts in 14 events during her second season on the LPGA Tour in 2020, finishing 29th on the money list. She shot a career-low round of 65 during the second round of the ShopRite LPGA Classic, repeating that score the next round in a runner-up finish at the event. She made the cut in three out of the four majors, finishing tied for 22nd at the ANA Inspiration, tied for 30th at the U.S. Women’s Open, and tied for 7th at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
Last season Kupcho recorded five top-10 finishes, including runner-up at the LPGA Drive On Championship. She made 19 cuts in 23 events and earned a career high $591,680 for the season. For the first time in her career, Kupcho made the cut in all five major championships. Kupcho was also a member of the 2021 U.S. Solheim Cup team, finishing with a record of 2-1-1.
Kupcho got into the winner’s circle for the first time on the LPGA Tour by winning taking the first major of the 2022 season, the Chevron Championship. In the process, she set a 54-hole record in the championship with a score of 16-under par. She held on to win by two strokes over Jessica Korda. The win vaulted Kupcho to 16th in the Rolex World Golf Rankings and 5th for the CME Race to the Globe.