By: Max Bechtoldt
July 16, 2022, Jennifer Kupcho had seemingly cemented herself as a force to be reckon with on the LPGA Tour. She had just won the Dow Championship alongside her friend and Solheim Cup partner Lizette Salas. It was her third win of the season, which also included her first major championship, becoming the last LPGA Tour player to leap into Poppie’s Pond at Mission Hills. This breakout came shortly after she went 2-1-1 at the Solheim Cup, a great rookie performance.
Since that time, Kupcho hasn’t looked the same. From that win through the 2023 season, Kupcho had zero wins, four top 20s, 2 top 10s and seven missed cuts. At the Solheim Cup, she went 0-2-1.
Her lone bright spot of the 2023 season, was at this week’s host course, Liberty National.
At the 2023 Mizuho Americas Open, she took Rose Zhang, a fellow Augusta National Women’s Amateur winner, to a playoff before finishing in solo second place. Over the weekend, she provided consecutive rounds in the 60s on one of the toughest courses on the schedule.
In 2024, she has evened out her game pretty steadily. In 10 starts, she has made every cut, and has finished in the top 20 three times. She had her lone top-10 finish of the season in Arizona at the Ford Championship, where she finished in eighth. Her game is moving in the right direction, and it needs to pick up.
Kupcho has fallen to No. 52 in the world rankings, after having risen to the top 15 in 2022. She is well out of range for the Olympics and is going to struggle to qualify for the Solheim Cup, currently at No. 15 in those standings. A good result here would go a long way to earning her a spot in Virginia this fall.
The recent play sparks a trend of playing well that could point to strong play moving forward. Back on a course she likes, during her birthday week, it could be a time for Kupcho to reintroduce herself as a star of the tour.
