Jennifer Kupcho has been on the last two United States teams for the Solheim Cup. Her performance has not been bad. She has played seven points between 2021 and 2023 and her balance is three points. She is undefeated in the fourballs. However, she is currently out of the team for the next edition to be held from September 13 to 15 in Virginia. She does not enter through the LPGA points list or the world ranking, so she would need to be one of the three choices that captain Stacy Lewis has. This week she is earning merits to receive one of the handpicked designations.
Kupcho is playing with Ally Ewing the Dow Championship, a pairs tournament of the LPGA that is held in Michigan. Both lead the tournament with 18 holes left, the last fourballs that will decide the champion this Sunday. Ewing does have her place secured for the Solheim by the LPGA points, as seven qualify and she currently occupies the third place. Everyone knows the importance of feeling in the Solheim when forming the pairs, something that Ewing and Kupcho are amply demonstrating this week in their first experience in this format. Especially in the foursomes, the most delicate modality. They have signed 64 and 67 strokes in alternate shot, a more than interesting result. They are the best in the tournament in this format, with a partial of nine under.
In a way, Kupcho is sending a message to Lewis this week. “I think I can do very well with Ewing”. In any case, it will not be easy to be one of the three choices, as there are several players outside the classified ones with a lot of weight. One of them is Danielle Kang, while Lexi Thompson is currently the ninth classified, so she could perfectly fall. These two players, if not classified, would have two almost guaranteed invitations, especially Lexi, after announcing that she is leaving golf at the end of this season. In addition, there are players like Sarah Schmelzel, who is playing at a great level, Cheyenne Knight or Marina Alex, who have already done very well in the Solheim in previous years.
The competition will be tough, but Kupcho is gaining ground with her great performance alongside Ewing in the Dow Championship. There is no doubt that a victory this Sunday would greatly enhance her chances of being one of the chosen by Lewis. It is an incentive and also an extra pressure.
Ewing and Kupcho have a one-stroke lead over Koreans Haeji Kang and In Kyung Kim and the Chinese-Thai pair formed by Ruoning Yin and Atthaya Thitikul, probably the big favourites to win a priori. Two strokes behind are Caroline Inglis and Amanda Doherty and Grace Kim and Auston Kim, players we will see if they do not pay for their inexperience.
In any case, anything can happen in the fourballs, where this same week we have seen a result of 58 strokes by Yuka Saso and Celine Boutier, so there is still a lot of fabric to cut at the Midland Country Club.
