From lost swing to winner's circle, Jennifer Kupcho's 'insane' ride to victory at ShopRite

From lost swing to winner's circle, Jennifer Kupcho's 'insane' ride to victory at ShopRite
Going into the Chevron Championship, past champion Jennifer Kupcho had no idea where the ball was going. That she won not even two months later feels 'insane' to her, but that's exactly what transpired at the ShopRite LPGA Classic.
At 6,070 yards, the Bay Course at Seaview still packs a punch, particularly when the weather on the Jersey Shore is as soupy and windy as it was on Sunday. It's become a tradition at the ShopRite that major winners take home the prize in the 54-hole sprint, and Kupcho kept it going with a one-shot victory over Ilhee Lee, a South Korean who made the unlikeliest of charges. Major champions have won 20 of the last 27 editions of the event.
'I think on the first tee she kind of joked with me, 'I haven't played the weekend in two years,' ' said Kupcho of Lee, the part-time player who made her first start of 2025 last week at the U.S. Women's Open at Erin Hills.
Kupcho, 28, hadn't won since she claimed three titles in 2022, including the last major ever contest at Mission Hills Country Club. The ShopRite victory comes one week after a missed cut at Erin Hills.
Earlier in the year, Kupcho said she had some tough conversations with her inner-circle, including her husband, swing coach and mental coach.
'I mean, essentially just going to them and being like, I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know how to swing a golf club. I have no idea how to do this anymore,' said Kupcho.
'I felt like I had completely lost what I was doing. I think that's like basically what I went to them with. So essentially them just calming me down and bringing back me to earth, that I was being a bit crazy. I just really needed to dumb it down to the fundamentals basically.'
Kupcho's closing 5-under 66 included birdies on three of the last five holes, getting her to 15 under for the tournament. Lee, who made her 200th career LPGA start this week, has played an extremely limited schedule for several years now after a shoulder injury put her on the sidelines. She came into the week ranked 1,426th.
After a front-nine 39, Lee came alive on the back nine with five birdies for an inward 29. She birdied the last two holes, coming up just short of forcing a playoff with a solid look at eagle on the 18th. After Lee settled for birdie on the last, Kupcho poured in a 9-foot birdie putt of her own on the 54th hole to claim her fourth LPGA title.
'It was so fun to watch Jennifer playing, and I was always watching her on TV,' said Lee, who won the rain-shortened Pure Silk Bahamas Classic 12 years ago for her lone LPGA title..
'I was right next to her, and actually, I was cheering for her because it's just golf. I mean, it's not (like I) need to make it happen. We all try our best.'
Sei Young Kim finished ace-birdie on her last two holes to take the clubhouse lead as the final group was making the turn. The 32-year-old, a 12-time winner on the LPGA, last won in 2020 and finished solo third at the ShopRite.
To find her lost swing, Kupcho said it came down to hitting a lot of golf balls and getting technical with her coach, Ed Oldham, something she's usually not prone to do. The final message: Be an athlete and go hit the shots.
Midway through the final round at Seaview, Kupcho said she and her caddie kept things light by trying to figure out the difference between an otter and a beaver. As Lee mounted a back-nine charge, Kupcho said it got a bit nerve-wracking out there in the sea mist.
When asked if Lee's more light-hearted approach helped her own disposition down the stretch, Kupcho said not really.
'Honestly, no, I'm pretty like crazy,' said Kupcho. 'Like I can get very angry very quickly. I think that's one thing that this year when I lost my swing and wasn't putting my best, I kind of worked on that, worked with my mental coach to just stay in the present instead of reacting so badly. Obviously, it's okay to react sometimes but just moving on to the next shot and staying in the present.'
Couldn't have gone any better this week.

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