The LPGA Tour is still six weeks away before resuming its schedule, but two of its members had that winning feeling last week in state opens against solid competition.
Jennifer Kupcho, the former NCAA champion at Wake Forest and inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion, shot 68 in the final round to win the Colorado Women’s Open by three shots over two-time LPGA winner Carlota Ciganda.
Kupcho, a Colorado native, won $50,000. She played only three LPGA events last year as a rookie in which she earned more, the biggest for $290,778 for her runner-up finish at the Evian Championship.
It was her first professional victory.
Celine Boutier of France, who won her first LPGA event last year and made her debut in the Solheim Cup, won the Texas Women’s Open at Old American Golf Club near Dallas, where she lives. Boutier shot 67 in the final round to win by three over Cheyenne Knight, who won her first LPGA event last year at Old American.