Stellar weekend gives Colorado native Jennifer Kupcho her best LPGA Tour finish since June; former CU golfer Yannik Paul notches top 10 on DP World Tour
By Gary Baines – 3/31/2024
Jennifer Kupcho made the cut on the number and was in 64th place after two rounds of the Ford Championship in Gilbert, Ariz.
That made her quite the weekend warrior in finishing eighth on Sunday at this week’s LPGA Tour event.
The Colorado native and Jefferson Academy graduate shot a 6-under-par 30 on the front nine on Saturday, posted a 66 and backed that up with a 67 on Sunday, giving her an 11-under-par weekend.
That run on Saturday and Sunday vaulted her 56 spots up the scoreboard, and her showing was her best on the LPGA Tour since June.
The impending Colorado Golf Hall of Famer, winner of three LPGA Tour events in 2022, was once ranked as high as No. 9 in the Rolex women’s world rankings but has dropped to No. 63. But the week in her new home state of Arizona should give her a boost. (April 1 Update: Kupcho subsequently jumped to No. 54 in the world rankings.)
Kupcho went 71-68-66-67 for a 16-under-par total in the Ford Championship, where she finished four strokes behind champion Nelly Korda. The Littleton native made an eagle, 12 birdies and three bogeys on the weekend.
It was Kupcho’s 17th top-10 finish on the LPGA Tour.
For all the scores from the Ford Championship, CLICK HERE.
Elsewhere for players with strong Colorado ties competing on major world golf tours:
— Former University of Colorado golfer Yannik Paul posted his third top-10 finish of the year on the DP World Tour, but his first since January. Paul ended up solo 10th on Sunday at the Hero Indian Open in New Delhi, where he carded rounds of 71-68-68-71 for a 10-under-par total, which left him seven shots behind winner Keita Nakajima. The showing was worth 41,760 euros for the German. SCORES
— Shane Bertsch of Parker recorded his best PGA Tour Champions finish since November as he tied for 11th Sunday in the Galleri Classic in Rancho Mirage, Calif. The one-time winner on the Champions circuit posted scores of 69-71-69 for a 7-under-par total, which left him six strokes behind champion Retief Goosen. SCORES
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com