Jennifer Kupcho completely lost her swing 2 months ago. Here’s how she rebounded to win her fourth LPGA title

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[PHOTO: Emilee Chinn]

Jennifer Kupcho didn’t know where the ball was going two months ago. She’d lost her swing and was struggling mentally. That’s now a distant memory. Kupcho drew on her previous success to help dig herself out of her funk and made a pressure-packed birdie putt on the 18th hole to win the ShopRite Classic, shooting a five-under 66 at a rainy Seaview Golf Club in New Jersey. She topped Ilhee Lee by a shot.

Kupcho, the 62nd-ranked player in the world, won for the fourth time on the LPGA circuit. The 28-year-old hadn’t won since 2022 when she won three times, and that included the Chevron Championship. She won $US262,500 from the overall $US1.75 million purse.

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Last week at the US Women’s Open, Kupcho missed the cut, but she still felt like she played well and brought her solid ball-striking from Wisconsin to New Jersey. She was consistent all week and finished at 15-under 198 after rounds of 68-64-66.

Lee, a former tour winner, hadn’t made a cut in three years while playing a limited schedule, but was the 36-hole leader and birdied the final hole, forcing Kupcho to make her birdie or head to a playoff. A part-time player who’s battled injuries in the past five years, Lee is now healthy and all of a sudden catching fire. She qualified to get into the US Women’s Open but missed the cut, and now nearly won for the second time in her career.

What it means

There’s parity on tour this year. Kupcho is the 14th different player to win, and there have been no multiple winners. It’s such a different season than last year, when world No.1 Nelly Korda won seven times. Kupcho is the third American to win this season, joining Yealimi Noh and Angel Yin.

It also means that Kupcho has her confidence back. The Coloradan hadn’t been able to capitalise on her three-win 2022 season, but she was rock solid in building a lead and coming in clutch when she needed it.

Kupcho said she lost her swing at the JM Eagle LA Championship, where she missed the cut after finishing six-over for two rounds, and then couldn’t predict where her ball was going at the Chevron Championship in Houston. She works with a mental coach and has been better at relaxing and not being so tight in tense moments and she figured out her swing in short order by getting back to fundamentals.

How it happened

Kupcho birdied three of her first five holes to take a three-shot lead on a rainy, windy day and weekend. That lead didn’t last long as she fell into a tie many times but never lost a piece of the lead. Sei Young Kim shot a final-round 65 but finished more than an hour ahead of Kupcho. Kim aced the par-3 17th hole to get back in the thick of things. At 76 yards, it was the shortest hole on the LPGA this season.

Kupcho bogeyed the fifth and 11th holes but really controlled the back nine and birdied the 14th, 16th and 18th. Lee had an eagle putt on the par-5 18th but finished with a tap-in birdie to tie Kupcho at 14-under. Kupcho two-putted for the win.

Aussie watch

Robyn Choi almost nabbed another top-10, sharing 11th place at nine-under, six shots adrift of Kupcho. Choi has made only three starts on the LPGA Tour this year, but has three top-20s to show for it. Karis Davidson finished equal 26th at six-under, while Sarah Kemp was T-54 at two-under. Sarah Jane Smith and Su Oh missed the cut.

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Best of the rest

Ihlee Lee made her first made cut since the Ascendant LPGA in 2023. She came into the season with no status on tour… Korda played well again, shooting a three-under 68 to finish tied for 15th. She’s still searching for her first victory this season… Mao Saigo, who won the Chevron Championship, contended again as she started the final round one shot behind. She shot an even-par 71 (four birdies, four bogeys) to tie for fifth… Japanese star Ayaka Furue shot a 70 on the final round and tied for fourth… World No.2 Jeeno Thitikul shot 68-68-68–204 to tied for 11th. She missed the cut at the US Women’s Open.

Quotable

“I struggled a lot at the beginning of the year. I completely lost my swing back in LA, pretty much. I tried to figure that out. Going into Chevron, I didn’t know where the ball was going. To be able to say I won now, only a few weeks later, is kind of insane.” – Jennifer Kupcho on struggling this year before her ShopRite Classic victory