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NAPES, Fla. — Jennifer Kupcho might have been considered an American golfing princess last April as she walked up the 18th hole at Augusta National Golf Club while winning the first Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
This coming after winning the 2018 NCAA individual title as a junior at Wake Forest.
After turning pro in May, the Colorado native disappeared from the leaderboard for several months. She had only one significant check, a fifth in the Marathon Classic worth $52,798.
Everything changed a few weeks later in France at her fourth major in eight starts, the Evian Championship. She shot a final-round 66, finishing two shots behind Jin Young Ko, in a three-way tie for runner-up and most importantly, a check for $290,778.
The LPGA rookie princess is loaded with confidence, and comfortable with her status that includes a 47th place in the Race to the CME Globe rankings.
CME Group Tour Championship: Round 1 tee times, TV info
“This entire year has been a learning experience, working with a good caddie and most importantly, understanding how to control my emotions,” said Kupcho, who had her third top-five finish, a tie for fourth in the TOTO Japan Classic, two weeks ago. “Stressful at the start is one way to describe the year in some respects but as I started to make more friends out here on tour it became more fun.
“The LPGA is a lot different than college golf, you’re by yourself out here and you need to build a support system because you’re on your own. I had never rented a car until I came out here and I’ll buy my first car in the next few weeks.”
Kupcho remembers the most common advice she received after turning pro was to take care of your body.
“So what did I do, paid no attention to sound advice and overworked myself, causing a lot of needless wear and tear on my body,” she said. “I’ve learned how to relax and remain more even keel.”
“There was pressure on me to perform after winning at Augusta but finally after I missed a couple of cuts on the LPGA Tour I was just like, ‘Relax, just go play and prove yourself.'”
Kupcho has a noted tendency to blackout while playing, sometimes caused by migraine headaches. She blacked out while making the final putt at the Evian and does not totally remember the scene.
“I was so focused and nervous, knowing making the putt was vital because of the money involved but I was miserable with the headache,” she said.
Kupcho knows she belongs on tour and can compete for titles.
“I’ve established myself, now I’ll work on goals for 2020,” she said.
And people at tournaments continue to remind her of the Augusta win.
“Just this week here at Tiburón people come up asking me to sign Augusta flags,” she said.
She is one of four rookies in the CME field this week.
Naples’ Tamulis in different role
Naples High graduate Kris Tamulis is playing a different role this week at the CME Group Tour Championship, playing in Tuesday’s pro-am but not the actual tournament starting Thursday.
“This is the first year I played in the pro-am but not the tournament so I hope I’ll be in the 60-player field next year,” said Tamulis, who plays out of Grey Oaks Country Club and has been in the CME field previously. “I played good today but I’m still disappointed about not playing in the tournament. This is the last competitive golf I’ll play until early next year.”
Only 60 LPGA Tour players qualified for the CME this year (down from 72), and the LPGA needed several members to fill out the pro-am fields.
Henderson trying to feel at home
Brooke Henderson, the Canadian who comes in at No. 2 on the Race to the CME Globe standings, said she isn’t surprised that Lexi Thompson and sisters Nelly and Jessica Korda have played well at Tiburón, considering they all grew up putting on Bermuda grass greens in Florida.
But Henderson is trying to close the gap. She bought a part-time residence at Miromar Lakes in 2017 after staying in the area in 2016.
“It’s really nice in the offseason to spend time where it’s warm and sunny,” Henderson said. “We love this area and we actually have made a lot of friends. They’re excited to come out and watch me this week. Hopefully I can capture some of that adrenaline of the hometown crowd and fuel off it the next few days.
Ko idolizes Faxon
Jin Young Ko, who already has wrapped up Player of the Year and comes in as the No. 1 player, credits putting guru and tour player Brad Faxon for helping her putting.
Ko was asked when she was growing up if she had a favorite golfer who was not Korean, and she answered Faxon.
“He’s good, great putting, yeah,” she said. “And then I met him at the U.S. Open last year, and then I did — I had handshake with Brad Faxon before the round.”
Ko then one-putted the first three holes and told her caddie that she didn’t want to wash her hands.
Ko, 24, said she had studied Faxon’s putting videos on YouTube for years.
CME Group Tour Championship
When: Thursday-Sunday
Where: Tiburón Golf Club at Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort
Info: cmegrouptourchampionship.com
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