In another strong showing at a 2-person team event, Colorado native Jennifer Kupcho and partner Akshay Bhatia finish 3rd in Grant Thornton Invite after leading going into final hole; local players don’t significantly help their cause at PGA Tour Q-school finals
By Gary Baines – 12/15/2024
There’s something about two-person team events that often seems to bring out the best in Jennifer Kupcho.
The Littleton native, who was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame two weeks ago, teamed with Lizette Salas to win the LPGA Tour’s Dow Championship two years ago. And she and Ally Ewing finished runner-up in the same tournament this year.
And it was more of the same this weekend at the Grant Thornton Invitational in Naples, Fla., where LPGA and PGA Tour players paired up in a 54-hole, 16-team event.
Kupcho, a three-time winner on the LPGA Tour, and Akshay Bhatia, a 22-year-old who’s won twice on the PGA Tour, finished third after taking a one-stroke lead into the final hole on Sunday. Despite both players hitting ideal tee shots on 18 in the modified four-ball format used in the final round, they recorded their only bogey of the day, with Bhatia’s approach sailing long into the water and Kupcho missing the green right and seeing her par putt slide left of the cup.
Bhatia had drained a 40-foot eagle putt on No. 17 to pull the duo ahead by one. But Jake Knapp and Patty Tavatanakit birdied 16 and 17 to overtake Kupcho/Bhatia and post a one-stroke victory.
“We’re always wanting to be in contention, so it’s just great to be out here (and) great to be out with the PGA guys,” Kupcho said. “It’s just been a really fun week.”
Though the Grant Thornton is an unofficial event, Kupcho and Bhatia, who had never met before this week, earned $165,000 each. They went 59 (scramble), 68 (alternate shot) and 64 (modified four-ball) for a 25-under-par total. Tom Kim and Jeeno Thitikul birdied the last two holes to grab solo second place.
In official LPGA Tour events in 2024, Kupcho recorded six top-10 finishes, including a second place and a third.
For all the scores from the Grant Thornton Invite, CLICK HERE.
— Meanwhile, at the final stage of PGA Tour Q-school in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., none of the four players with strong Colorado connections helped their status significantly with their performance.
Former Air Force Academy golfer Kyle Westmoreland, who already had Korn Ferry Tour status for 2025, finished 50th on Sunday (72-76-65-71). Meanwhile fellow former Falcon Tom Whitney, who lost his PGA Tour card after his rookie season in 2024, ended up 72nd (70-76-68-72). Littleton native and former University of Denver golfer Chris Korte tied for 117th place (78-71-69-72), which leaves him with conditional status on the KFT and an exempt spot for the Latin America Swing of the 2025 PGA Tour Americas season. Korte was a regular on the Americas Tour in 2024. Meanwhile, Denver-area resident and four-time PGA Tour winner Martin Laird, who withdrew after two rounds of the final stage, will have a conditional spot on the PGA Tour next year.
The top five finishers and ties at the final stage of Q-school — Lanto Griffin, Hayden Buckley, Takumi Kanaya, Alejandro Tosti, Will Chandler and Matthew Riedel — landed their PGA Tour cards in Ponte Vedra Beach.
Here were the round-by-round scores for the players with strong Colorado connections:
50. Former Air Force Academy golfer Kyle Westmoreland 72-76-65-71—284
72. Former Air Force Academy golfer Tom Whitney 70-76-68-72–286
117. Littleton native and former DU golfer Chris Korte 78-71-69-72–290
WD. Denver-area resident Martin Laird 72-78
For all the scores from the final stage of Q-school, CLICK HERE.
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