Jennifer Kupcho no doubt has gotten the hang of this “representing your country at team golf championships” by now.
The Westminster resident is playing on a U.S. squad this week for the third time in 2018. She previously helped American teams win the Curtis Cup and Arnold Palmer Cup.
Claiming the title this week will certainly be tougher as there are 57 teams competing in the Women’s World Amateur Team Championships in Dublin, Ireland. There were just two teams at both the Curtis Cup and the Palmer Cup.
Play began Wednesday in the 72-hole World event, with the U.S. finishing the day in eightth place as the top two scores from each three-person team counts toward the country’s total.
The Americans posted a 2-under-par 142 total, which leaves them six strokes behind leader Japan with three rounds remaining.
Kupcho (left), the reigning Women’s NCAA Division I individiaul champion from Wake Forest, led the way for the U.S., shooting a 2-under-par 70 on Wednesday. The world’s top-ranked women’s amateur made two birdies and 16 pars in round 1. She trails leaer Yuka Yasuda of Japan by five in the individual competition.
The other scores for the U.S. team were a 72 from Lilia Vu and a 74 from two-time U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Kristen Gillman. The American team is comprised of the top three-ranked women’s amateurs in the world.
The U.S. finished sixth at the last biennial Women’s WATC, in 2016 as South Korea won.
Meanwhile, University of Colorado golfer Kirsty Hodgkins opened with a 75 on Wednesday, which leaves her in 62nd place individually. Her Australian team shares sixth place at 141.
For all the results from the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship, CLICK HERE.
