Top-ranked Jennifer Kupcho ready to compete in Augusta National Women's Amateur

Jennifer Kupcho had made up her mind. She wasn’t going to play in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

Even though she had made it through LPGA qualifying school in the fall, the Wake Forest senior decided she would enjoy her spring college tournaments and turn pro after graduation.

Then a schedule change occurred, and the world’s top-ranked female amateur had a change of heart. She would play in the inaugural event created by Augusta National Golf Club.

“It kind of just started when I got the invitation originally, I had said no because getting my card and deferring I had made a decision to focus on school and take my last semester as being an athlete and student and devote myself to Wake Forest,” she said.

“Then I kind of thought, maybe it really is a big deal. Augusta National has always been a men’s thing. Now they’re giving women a chance.”

The 54-hole tournament will be played Wednesday and Thursday at Champions Retreat Golf Club. After the 72-player field is cut to the low 30, the final round will be held Saturday at Augusta National.

No one would have blamed Kupcho if she had decided to forgo the rest of her college career and turn professional. Plenty of others did, but the reigning NCAA individual champion from Westminster, Colo., wanted to finish what she started.

“We have a really strong team with our returning five from last year and adding two freshman,” said Kupcho, who will be joined by teammate Emilia Migliaccio in the field this week. “We all get along pretty well, and it’s been fun to challenge each other.”

Another complication occurred after Kupcho accepted her invitation to play in Augusta. The ANA Inspiration, the year’s first major on the LPGA circuit, invited her to play. She declined.

“After I had deferred my status on the LPGA, I was just going to stick to amateur events,” she said. “When I do get to ANA, I want to play it as a professional, not necessarily as an amateur, so I said I’m already playing in an event and I’ll stick with that and go play at Augusta.”

Kupcho has proven that she can overcome adversity. At the 2017 NCAA Championship, she was in control until she took a triple bogey on the next-to-last hole. She lost by one.

A year later, at Karsten Creek in Stillwater, Okla., Kupcho overcame a rough patch in the final round to post a two-shot victory. The win helped propel her to No. 1 in the world rankings, and she won the Honda Award as the nation’s top women’s collegiate player.

“After going through heartbreak, it was pretty cool to come back and win it,” she said. “It was just so hard to recover from it, all the mental stuff, and come back stronger.”

Kupcho has maintained her top ranking and is trending in the right direction. She’ll enter the Augusta National event as one of the favorites.

In early March, she tied for second at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate. A week later, she won the Tar Heel Classic at Casa de Campo with rounds of 66, 69 and 67.

Kupcho came to Augusta directly from the Bryan National Collegiate in North Carolina, where she shared medalist honors with Migliaccio. It was her ninth career title, leaving her one short of the school record.

Provided she makes the cut to reach Augusta National, Kupcho will have an advantage of sorts. She played the home of the Masters Tournament during her sophomore year.

“I played pretty well. It’s not easy,” she said. “It was just more being awestruck on the course. Honestly, I don’t really remember the round itself. Just how cool it was to be there.”

She describes herself as a “pretty long hitter” and says her putting is pretty good. The short game is her weakest point, she said.

Regardless of how she plays, she knows this week will be something special. Even if she originally planned to skip it.

“I think everyone is really excited,” Kupcho said. “They’ve never given women’s golf a big chance. I think we’re hoping it goes really well. Most people don’t get to play (Augusta National), and it’s their dream to play there.”