Canadian Women's Amateur Championship

Kupcho goes wire-to-wire to capture Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship

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(Claus Andersen/ Golf Canada)

Jennifer Kupcho shot a 2-over-par 72 to capture the Duchess of Connaught Golf Cup at the 104th playing of the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship on Friday at Cutten Fields.

On a windy day that saw only two players score under par, Kupcho (Westminster, Colo.) carded five birdies, three bogeys and two double-bogeys to cruise to a five-shot victory.

“I’m really excited,” she said, next to the 18th green after tapping in the championship-clinching putt. “I played really well this week and I’m just excited to get a national title.”

The 20-year-old started the day up four strokes on both Maria Fassi and Lilia Kha-Tu Vu and knew that she had to adjust her game plan based on how her fellow group members were playing.

“My strategy was to just hit greens,” she said. “That’s kind of the low-down of the whole thing. The greens are tough so I needed to just two-putt and then play to who I was playing with. Those were the people who were close, and how they were playing made me feel decent about my game.

Vu captured the silver medal after she shot a 3-over-par 73. The 19-year-old golfing out of Fountain Valley, Calif., made two birdies on the day but registered bogeys on each of her last two holes to end up 2 under par for the tournament.

Naomi Ko, a member of Team Canada’s National Amateur Squad from Victoria, B.C., shot the low round of the day with a 3-under-par 67. Ko’s best round of the tournament moved her into a three-way tie with Fassi and Rachel Heck who all earned bronze medals. Ko limited herself to just one bogey while knocking down four birdies, three of which came on the back nine.

Fassi had the roughest day of the three women in the final grouping with a 4-over-par 74 to end at 1 under for the championship. The 19-year-old Mexico native was coming off back-to-back stellar rounds – including a course-record 62 on Wednesday – but her opening round 78 proved to be too much to come back from.

Heck, just 15-years-old, finished the championship with a 2-over-par 72. She was rolling along in the windy conditions at Cutten Fields until her bogey putt lipped out on the challenging 14th green for a double-bogey. The Memphis, Tenn., product finished her final round with four straight pars with assistance from her sister and caddy Abigail.

Kupcho’s victory earns her an exemption into both the 2017 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship and the CP Women’s Open at Ottawa Hunt & Golf Club in Ottawa from Aug. 21-27. For being the lowest-scoring Canadian, Ko also earned an exemption into the CP Women’s Open.

Click here for full results.


Pos Player Today Thru Total R1 R2 R3 R4 Total
1 United States Jennifer Kupcho  Westminster, CO +2 F -7 65 70 66 72 273
2 United States Lilia Kha-Tu Vu  Fountain Valley, CA +3 F -2 71 64 70 73 278
T3 Canada Naomi Ko  Victoria, BC -3 F -1 70 72 70 67 279
T3 United States Rachel Heck  Memphis, TN +2 F -1 70 66 71 72 279
T3 Mexico Maria Fassi  Mexico +4 F -1 78 62 65 74 279
6 Canada Susan Xiao  Surrey, BC +3 F +3 66 71 73 73 283
7 United States Andrea Lee  Hermosa Beach, CA +2 F +4 71 72 69 72 284
T8 Korea, Republic Of Sandy Choi  Republic of Korea E F +5 71 73 71 70 285
T8 Australia Hira Naveed  Australia +6 F +5 70 75 64 76 285
T10 United States Janet Mao  Johns Creek, GA +1 F +6 70 74 71 71 286
T10 Canada Grace St-Germain  Orleans, ON +5 F +6 68 74 69 75 286
T10 Thailand Jaravee Boonchant  Thailand +7 F +6 70 69 70 77 286
T13 Philippines Yuka Saso  Philippines +2 F +7 72 73 70 72 287
T13 United States Mariel Galdiano  Pearl City, HI +2 F +7 75 70 70 72 287
T15 United States Morgan Gonzales  Chandler, AZ +3 F +8 72 73 70 73 288
T15 United States Lauren Greenlief  Ashburn, VA +5 F +8 70 75 68 75 288
T17 United States Gina Kim  Chapel Hill, NC +1 F +9 73 73 72 71 289
T17 United States Emily White  Saline, MI +2 F +9 72 70 75 72 289
T17 United States Emilia Migliaccio  Cary, NC +3 F +9 73 70 73 73 289
T17 Canada Jaclyn Lee  Calgary, AB +4 F +9 74 71 70 74 289
T17 Canada Maddie Szeryk  London, ON +4 F +9 74 72 69 74 289
22 Indonesia Tatiana Wijaya  Indonesia +4 F +10 73 72 71 74 290
T23 Hong Kong Michelle Cheung  Hong Kong +3 F +11 74 73 71 73 291
T23 United States Anna Newell  Tampa Bay, FL +6 F +11 72 70 73 76 291
T25 United States Elizabeth Wang  San Marino, CA +1 F * +12 77 71 73 71 292
T25 Canada Monet Chun  Richmond Hill, ON +4 F +12 78 72 68 74 292
T25 United States Lauren Hartlage  Elizabethtown, KY +4 F +12 73 72 73 74 292
T25 United States Alyaa Abdulghany  Newport Beach, CA +4 F +12 73 73 72 74 292
T25 Colombia Camila Serrano  Colombia -2 F * +12 79 72 73 68 292
T30 United States Kaho Monica Matsubara  San Diego, CA +3 F +13 76 74 70 73 293
T30 United States Haylee Harford  Leavittsburg, OH +8 F +13 72 70 73 78 293
T32 United States Hannah Wood  Highlands Ranch, CO +3 F * +14 76 72 73 73 294
T32 China Yue Zhang  China +3 F * +14 74 75 72 73 294
T32 United States Olivia Cason  Owensboro, KY +8 F +14 74 72 70 78 294
T32 United States Allisen Corpuz  Waipahu, HI +10 F +14 73 71 70 80 294
T36 United States Molly Skapik  Miamisburg, OH +5 F +15 73 72 75 75 295
T36 Canada Katherine Zhu  China +5 F +15 70 74 76 75 295
T36 Australia DeeDee-Taylah Russell  Australia +4 F * +15 75 71 75 74 295
T36 Canada Michelle Kim  Surrey, BC +6 F +15 74 75 70 76 295
T36 United States Patricia Wong  Walnut, CA +2 F * +15 75 69 79 72 295
T36 Nigeria Anita Uwadia  Nigeria +1 F * +15 76 73 75 71 295
42 United States Stephanie Lau  Evanston, IL +9 F +16 75 71 71 79 296
T43 United States Jiyoon Jang  Rancho Mirage, CA +9 F +18 75 73 71 79 298
T43 Canada Jessica Ip  Richmond Hill, ON +3 F * +18 75 75 75 73 298
T45 Canada Kat Kennedy  Okotoks, AB +7 F * +19 73 75 74 77 299
T45 United States Courtney Dow  Frisco, TX +7 F * +19 73 77 72 77 299
T45 United States Chloe Velasco  Victoria, TX +6 F * +19 76 75 72 76 299
T45 Canada Hannah Lee  Surrey, BC +3 F * +19 73 73 80 73 299
T49 United States Erin Harper  Dublin, OH +9 F * +20 79 71 71 79 300
T49 United States Lauren Diaz-Yi  Thousand Oaks, CA +5 F * +20 78 73 74 75 300
T51 Mexico Evelyn Arguelles  Mexico +8 F * +21 75 73 75 78 301
T51 Thailand Jacqueline Chulya  Thailand +6 F * +21 72 75 78 76 301
T53 Colombia Cynthia Diaz  Colombia +7 F * +22 72 77 76 77 302
T53 United States Kelsey Zeng  Orlando, FL +3 F * +22 78 75 76 73 302
T53 United States Chelsea Dantonio  Lancaster, NY +2 F * +22 74 74 82 72 302
T56 Canada Katy Rutherford  Calgary, AB +9 F * +23 76 75 73 79 303
T56 Canada Gloria Usu Choi  Langley, BC +6 F * +23 76 73 78 76 303
58 China Zhiying “Cindy” Zhou  Niagara Falls, ON +9 F * +24 73 73 79 79 304
T59 Canada Allison Chandler  Chester, NS +9 F * +25 73 75 78 79 305
T59 New Zealand Momoka Kobori  New Zealand +8 F * +25 73 74 80 78 305
T59 Colombia Maria Vesga  Colombia +6 F * +25 74 74 81 76 305
T59 Canada Diana McDonald  Kingston, ON +6 F * +25 76 77 76 76 305
63 Canada Noemie Paré  Victoriaville, QC +6 F * +27 76 76 79 76 307
T64 Canada Kelsey Sear  Unionville, ON +6 F * +28 76 77 79 76 308
T64 Canada Alexandra Naumovski  Hornby, ON +5 F * +28 73 80 80 75 308
T66 Canada Mary Ann Hayward  St. Thomas, ON +10 F * +29 76 74 79 80 309
T66 Canada Emily Zhu  Richmond Hill, ON +8 F * +29 74 77 80 78 309
68 Canada Kristen Giles  Georgetown, ON +13 F * +31 73 78 77 83 311
69 Canada Courtney Tolton  Mitchell, ON +8 F * +32 74 77 83 78 312
70 Canada Natalie Chu  Vancouver, BC +14 F * +36 76 77 79 84 316