Before they turned pro: Jennifer Kupcho
- Colorado Golf Association photo
Winning is never easy, especially when it is your first LPGA Tour win, and a major at that. But for Jennifer Kupcho, capturing the Chevron Championship was no doubt made easier by having the memories of winning at every level, from junior to amateur to college to pro.
As an amateur, the native of Westminster, Colo. dominated in her home state, winning three Colorado Women's Golf Association (CWGA) titles, including one
by 13 shots. She became first player in state history to be named both the CWGA Player of the Year and Junior Player of the Year in the same season.
She refined that winning habit at Wake Forest, racking up nine individual titles including the
NCAA Women's Championship in 2018. The awards followed, including being named a First-Team WGCA All-American, and winning the 2018 McCormack Medal as year-end No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
Her first big win on the international stage came in 2017 with a
wire-to-wire win at the Canadian Amateur, but it was her performance at the inaugural Augusta National Women's Amateur (ANWA) that catapulted Kupcho to new heights and previewed the success she would have on the LPGA Tour. Kupcho went five under on her final six holes to outduel Maria Fassi and become the
first woman to ever win at Augusta National.
How fitting it was that her first major professional win was the same week that the ANWA was being held, three years after her memorable win there.
Here are a few of the stories from our coverage of Jennifer Kupcho the amateur: