Suffice it to say it was quite a change of pace at the CGA Women’s Stroke Play Championship.

After successive years in which Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster won the titles by 21, 19 and 13 shots, Friday’s tournament went to a sudden-death playoff — one that lasted three holes to determine a champion.

Erin Sargent of Twin Peaks Golf Course in Longmont rallied from four strokes behind entering the final day to force extra holes at Black Bear Golf Club in Parker. But Kristin Glesne, a resident of San Antonio who plays golf at the University of Iowa and is working this summer at Vail Golf Club, claimed the title in the 71st annual event.

Glesne (left and below) ended up going wire-to-wire in the tournament, but went 57 holes to emerge with the trophy. The 21-year-old two-putted from 25 feet, sinking a 3-footer for par, to beat Sargent on the third extra hole. Sargent three-putted there from 40 feet, missing a 5-footer for par, to fall in the playoff.

Glesne became the first out-of-state resident to win the CGA Women’s Stroke Play since Australian Emma Bennett earned the title in 2007.

“I haven’t won a tournament in a long time,” Glesne said. “I’ve never won a college tournament. The last tournament I’ve won is probably the city junior (in San Antonio) before I went to college, so this is really exciting.”

Glesne, who has grandparents that live in Genesee and a dad who grew up in Denver, just happened upon the CGA Women’s Stroke Play given the fact that she’s living in Colorado this summer.

“I just googled Colorado golf tournaments and I found the CGA,” she said. “I thought this would be a good tournament to play in.

“Everybody has been so welcoming (in Colorado). The CGA has been awesome. It’s cool to come out and win my first event in Colorado.”

Sargent, a University of Wyoming golfer who qualified for the 2015 U.S. Women’s Amateur, finished runner-up in the Women’s Stroke Play for the second straight year.

“I’m just ready for next year,” the Longmont resident said with a smile. “I can’t wait for the next Stroke Play, that’s for sure. Of course I wanted to win it (this year). I felt like I put up some good scores. I hung in there and really tried to chase it this last day.”

This was only the second Women’s Stroke Play since prior to 2010 to be settled by fewer than five shots. Hannah Wood of Centennial scored a one-stroke victory in 2014.
     
Glesne shot rounds of 72-70-76 for a 2-over-par 218 total and could have won the title in regulation, but missed a 3-foot birdie putt on No. 18.

“I was hitting the ball super well the first two days,” she said. “Today I’m sure it had something to do with nerves, but I definitely was not hitting it as well so it was a little bit more of a battle. Erin was playing so well and dropping a lot of putts, so that was definitely putting the pressure on me. “

Sargent (above) went 73-73-72 to tie the University of Iowa golfer. She made four birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey in regulation on Friday.

“All I can say is I fought all day long,” said Sargent, a junior-to-be at Wyoming. “I put up three solid scores. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough, but I’m proud of the way I played. I was committed to every shot I hit and played the best I could.”

Kelsey Webster (below) of Boulder Country Club, who will begin her college golf career at the University of Colorado beginning in the fall, finished third at 221 after closing with a 76.

University of Denver golfer Mary Weinstein placed fourth for the second straight year, this time with a 222 total after her second consecutive 72. 

CGA Women’s Stroke Play
At Par-72 Black Bear Golf Club in Parker
TOP FINISHERS

Championship Flight
Kristin Glesne 72-70-76–218 (won playoff)
Erin Sargent 73-73-72–218
Kelsey Webster 75-70-76–221
Mary Weinstein 78-72-72–222

First Flight
Kylee Sullivan 79-82-76–238
Katherine Hollern 79-80-80–239
Staci Creech 82-78-79–239
Kathy West 83-78-79–240

Second Flight
Susan Hartwell 78-78-80–236
Louise Lyle 81-81-80–242
Allie Besant 91-78-81–250
Nina Dulacki 84-88-79–251

Third Flight
Mariko Coplin 86-91-83–260
Amanda Westrick 93-87-82–262
Ria Woodruff 85-93-92–270
Patricia Smogor 97-94-82–273
Trish Swanson 92-95-86–273

For all the scores from the Women’s Stroke Play, CLICK HERE.

Kristin Glesne, a 21-year-old from San Antonio, retained the lead in the 71st Women’s Stroke Play on Thursday by shooting a 2-under-par 70 at Black Bear Golf Club in Parker.

Glesne, a senior-to-be at Iowa (pictured in photo from hawkeyesports.com), will take a three-stroke lead into Friday’s final round. She made four birdies and two bogeys on Thursday to give herself some additional cushion with a 2-under 142 total.

But several Coloradans are in a position to make a run at the title on Friday. That includes Kelsey Webster of Boulder Country Club, who will begin her college golf career at the University of Colorado beginning in the fall. Webster carded five birdies on Thursday and matched Glesne’s tournament-best 70 and stands in second place at 145.

Erin Sargent, a University of Wyoming golfer from Twin Peaks Golf Course, holds third place at 146 after her second consecutive 73. Sargent finished second in this event last year.

Anna Kennedy of Brigham Young University and Colorado Golf Club, who placed fifth in 2018, sits in fourth place at 147 after a second-round 74.

Glesne, Webster and Sargent will tee off for Friday’s final round at 10:20 a.m.

For results from all the flights at the CGA Women’s Stroke Play, CLICK HERE.
 

Glesne, a 21-year-old from San Antonio, made two birdies and two bogeys on Wednesday. (She’s pictured in a photo from hawkeyesports.com.)

Three Coloradans who are also in the midst of their college golf careers share second place at 73. That includes Anna Kennedy from Colorado Golf Club (Brigham Young University), Erin Sargent of Twin Peaks Golf Course (University of Wyoming) and Jaclyn Murray of Bookcliff Country Club (University of Colorado).

Sargent tied for second in this event last year, while Kennedy was fifth and Murray eighth. Murray made four birdies on Wednesday, Kennedy three and Sargent two.

Kelsey Webster of Boulder Country Club, who will play her college golf at CU beginning in the fall, holds fifth place at 75.

Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster, the 2018 women’s NCAA Division I individual champion, has won the Women’s Stroke Play by double digits each of the last three years, but isn’t defending her title this week.

The 54-hole Women’s Stroke Play will continue through Friday. The championship flight will be comprised of the players with the top 12 gross scores after Thursday’s second round.

For scores from all flights of the Women’s Stroke Play, CLICK HERE.

That might be the collective feeling of every player who feels they might have a legitimate chance to win the CGA Women’s Stroke Play Championship … if Jennifer Kupcho isn’t in the field.

After all, the standout from Westminster won the 2015 CWGA Stroke Play (the former name for the CGA Women’s Stroke Play) by a whopping 21 shots, the 2016 championship by 19 shots, and last year’s tournament by “just” 13.

Do the math, and the average margin of victory for Kupcho in this event over the past three years was 17.7 strokes.

But Kupcho won’t be going for her fourth straight CGA Women’s Stroke Play title this week. Coming off winning the women’s NCAA Division I individual title and competing for the U.S. in its rout of Great Britain & Ireland in the Curtis Cup, Kupcho isn’t entered this year. Besides needing a break, she has jury duty this week.

So the list of players with a good chance to win goes from one to quite a few.

Black Bear Golf Club (pictured) in Parker will host the 71st annual CGA Women’s Stroke Play, with the 54-hole event running from Wednesday through Friday (June 20-22).

The championship flight for the event will feature the players with the top 12 scores after two rounds. Additional flights will include a dozen or more competitors each.

Among the college golfers entered who figure to be in the mix for the title are Texan Kennedy Swann (Clemson University), who finished 10th at the ACC Championship in April; Mary Weinstein (University of Denver), who placed second in this event in 2015 and fourth last year; 2016 runner-up Gillian Vance (University of Colorado); teammates Erin Sargent and Megan Knadler (Wyoming), who tied for second last year; Delaney Elliott (Montana State), who’s recorded two top-five finishes in the Stroke Play in the last three years; and Anna Kennedy (Brigham Young University), who’s posted top-10s each of the last two years.

Also among the 57 entrants is Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Janet Moore, a five-time winner of this event in the 1990s. Moore recently qualified for the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open. Also in the field is Susan Hartwell, who advanced to the round of 32 at last year’s U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur.

For Wednesday’s tee times, CLICK HERE.
 

The Pioneers, coming off a team victory last week at the Golfweek Conference Challenge in Wolcott, posted a 5-under-par 283 total, leaving them in a tie with New Mexico. DU won the Ron Moore title in 2015 and placed second last year. Northern Colorado, the other Colorado-based school competing, shares fifth place out of 14 teams, at 289.

Two players who grew up in Colorado are in the top 10 individually through one round of the 54-hole tournament: Morgan Sahm of UNC (3-under-par 69, fourth place) and Erin Sargent of Wyoming (70, seventh place). Also in the top 10 are defending champion Sophie Newlove of DU and Beah Cruz of UNC (both at 69).

Ingrid Gutierrez of New Mexico shot a 6-under-par 66 to take the individual lead after round 1.

The tournament will continue through Sunday.

Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate
Oct. 6-8, 2017 at Highlands Ranch GC
T1. Denver 283
4. Sophie Newlove 69
11. Mary Weinstein 71
11. Camille Enright 71
19. Jessica Dreesbeimdieke 72
29. Lauren Whyte 73

5. Northern Colorado 289
4. Beah Cruz 69
4. Morgan Sahm 69
29. Marisa Hisaki 73
63. Nicole Polivchak 78
71. Hanna Atkins 80
59. Aili Bundy (competing only as individual) 77
78. Christina Ferreira (competing only as individual) 83

14. Denver B Team 309
38. Maggie Cowart 74
53. Annie Heck 76
63. Sonya Knebel 78
72. Caroline Klemp 81

Also
7. Coloradan Erin Sargent, Wyoming 70
59. Coloradan Sarah Hankins, Wyoming 77
68. Coloradan Jordan Remley, Wyoming 79
 

This year, the field for the Women’s Am qualifier is about a third smaller than last year — but so are the number of national berths at stake.

CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora is scheduled to host the qualifying tournament on Monday (July 10), when 42 competitors are scheduled to compete for four spots in the national championship, set for Aug. 7-13 at San Diego Country Club. That course is where Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Jill McGill won her U.S. Women’s Amateur in 1993.

Several players who have qualified for the U.S. Women’s Am in recent years are in the field, including Colorado State University golfer Katrina Prendergast (2016 qualifier), Erin Sargent of Longmont (2015) and Jaylee Tait of Littleton (2014).

Also scheduled to compete are 2016 Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado girls player of the year Mary Weinstein, 2017 U.S. Girls’ Junior qualifiers Jaclyn Murray and Shelby Poynter, 5A state high school champion Amy Chitkoksoong, University of Colorado teammates Gillian Vance and Brittany Fan, and Stanford golfer Calli Ringsby.

Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster is exempt from qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Am based on her spot in the women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings (now 11th).

Ellen Secor, a CSU teammate of Prendergast, qualified earlier this week for the U.S. Women’s Am. The Portland resident made the grade by shooting an even-par 72 and tying for fifth place in a qualifying tournament in Cameron Park, Calif.

To view Monday’s pairings at CommonGround, CLICK HERE.
 

Jennifer Kupcho seemed surprised by the weight of the CWGA Stroke Play trophy, but she probably shouldn’t be.

After all, she’s had plenty of opportunities to lift it over the last couple of years.

The Westminster resident on Wednesday did something that no other woman had accomplished in the new millennium.

Not only did she become the first player in 20 years to win the CWGA Stroke Play Championship three straight times, but she claimed each of those titles by more than a dozen shots.

But at this point that’s secondary, according to Kupcho.

“It’s exciting to come out of Colorado and have everyone be super supportive of me,” said the Wake Forest junior-to-be, who will be competing in her second consecutive U.S. Women’s Open next month. “That’s probably a bigger deal than winning — just to know that everyone is behind me when I’m out competing on a national level.”

But whatever the case, it’s certainly worth taking note of what Kupcho accomplished on Wednesday.

The No. 11-ranked women’s amateur in the world, Kupcho completed her trifecta by chalking up a 13-shot victory at Lone Tree Golf Club in the 70th CWGA Stroke Play.

Just three weeks before she returns to the U.S. Women’s Open, Kupcho (left and above) became the fifth player to win the CWGA Stroke Play at least three straight years, joining four Colorado Golf Hall of Famers: Janet Moore (1994-97), Carol Flenniken (1968-70), Joan Birkland (1964-66) and Sally Hardwick (1957-59).

Kupcho, the runner-up at last month’s Women’s NCAA Division I Championships, also became the first person since Wendy Werley in 1988 and ’89 to win four straight CWGA major titles (the Stroke Play and Match Play). Alas, Kupcho’s streak is expected to end next month as a scheduling conflict likely will keep her from entering the CWGA Match Play.

“That’s OK,” she responds when asked about her run of CWGA major victories ending.

The 20-year-old finished in style on Wednesday, making seven birdies in the final round to shoot a 5-under-par 67 at the Stroke Play. That gave the three-time CWGA Player of the Year a 6-under 210 total for three days.

“Today I was actually hoping to shoot 67, and I did it,” she said. “After I got to 5 under (after 16), I wanted to make a couple more (birdies) because that would be cool. But you can’t always make them.” Kupcho’s missed birdie putts on the final two holes were from 6 and 10 feet, respectively.

The previous two years in the Stroke Play, Kupcho prevailed by 21 and 19 shots. Overall, she’s won five CWGA majors, with Wednesday marking her second at Lone Tree.

Erin Sargent (left) of Longmont, the 2016 4A state high school champion, tied for second at 223 on Wednesday with her University of Wyoming teammate Megan Knadler of Phoenix. Knadler closed with a 74 and Sargent with a 75.

Mary Weinstein of Highlands Ranch, the 2016 Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado’s girls Player of the Year, shot a 2-under-par 70 on Wednesday to claim fourth place at 224.

Sargent, a 2015 U.S. Women’s Amateur qualifier, relished the experience of competing with one of the world’s top female ams.

“I, of course, gave it my best,” the 19-year-old said. “Overall, it was a solid three days of golf. It’s more experience for me to have for the future.

“Of course, I want to win. That’s just a given. But if I’m not going to win, I’m just going to learn from (Kupcho’s) game and see how I can improve so next time this comes around I have a better chance.

“I definitely like to look at how she plays her game and how I can improve mine so that I can get to the place where I can shoot the numbers that she can. I definitely pay attention to where she puts the ball on the course, what club choice she makes and that sort of thing. I do my best to take what experience and what talent she has and try to apply that to my game so I can get better.”

The lessons were certainly there to be learned on Wednesday. Just in the last 11 holes, Kupcho (left) had seven birdie attempts of 10 feet or less, and several much closer.

“The past couple of days (Monday and Tuesday) I obviously didn’t play my best,” Kupcho said of her rounds of 71-72. “I could have definitely made a lot more putts. I’m a little upset. My goal coming in was to shoot 199 (for three rounds). That didn’t happen so it’s a little bit of a disappointment. But I came out and had one good round to carry that over to the U.S. Open.

“It would have been great to win by that kind of margin (20 or so again), but I didn’t play as well as I could have and everyone else played pretty well.

“Today, I was coming out hoping to make some putts and I finally rolled one in on No. 3. I was super happy about that, and after that they just kind of all went in.”

Well, not all, but certainly an impressive number — enough to carry over into preparations for the U.S. Women’s Open, her next tournament. That’s where, as she noted above, she’ll undoubtedly be getting plenty of support from folks in her home state, as well as in others.

The gross winners of the other flights on Wednesday were Arielle Keating (first), Alexis Chan (second), Sue Hartwell (third) and Jean Miller (fourth).

The low net players were Maddie Kern (first flight), Chan (second), Hartwell (third) and Miller (fourth).

CWGA Stroke Play Championship

At Par-72 Lone Tree GC

GROSS SCORES

Championship Flight

Jennifer Kupcho, Westminster, Colo. 71-72-67″“210

Erin Sargent, Longmont, Colo. 74-74-75″“223

Megan Knadler, Phoenix, Ariz. 77-72-74″“223

Mary Weinstein, Highlands Ranch, Colo. 73-81-70″“224

Anna Kennedy, Parker, Colo. 80-75-72″“227

Delaney Elliott, Superior, Colo. 74-74-79″“227

Kelly Hooper, Spokane, Wash. 76-75-76″“227

Ashlyn Kirschner, Arvada, Colo. 79-76-74″“229

Jaclyn Murray, Grand Junction, Colo. 77-77-75″“229

Gillian Vance, Lakewood, Colo. 75-79-76″“230

Jennifer Hankins, Thornton, Colo. 76-79-75″“230

Sarah Hankins, Thornton, Colo. 78-76-76″“230

Jacquelin Biggs, Englewood, Colo. 78-77-79″“234

Samantha Barker, Highlands Ranch, Colorado 83-70-82″“235

First Flight

Arielle Keating, Colorado Springs, Colo. 81-75-79″“235

Maddie Kern, Westminster, Colo. 77-81-78″“236

Danielle Price, Wakatipu, Colo. 75-82-81″“238

Megan Vernon, Conifer, Colorado 78-80-83″“241

Holly Schaefer, Greenwood Village, Colo. 83-76-83″“242

Sydney Gillespie, Highlands Ranch, Colo. 85-81-76″“242

Kaylee Knadler, Phoenix, Ariz. 82-88-76″“246

Delaney Benson, Littleton, Colo. 84-83-84″“251

Jamie Zook, Colorado Springs, Colo. 82-86-86″“254

Kelsey Webster, Boulder, Colo. 87-88-86″“261

Jaylee Tait, Littleton, Colo. 82-87-WD”“WD

Second Flight

Alexis Chan, Highlands Ranch, Colo. 81-76-79″“236

Tiffany Maurycy, Denver, Colo. 85-78-78″“241

Mariah Ehrman, Westminster, Colorado 89-73-85″“247

Madison McCambridge, Boulder, Colo. 85-78-88″“251

Kelly Rahn, Dacono, Colo. 82-85-92″“259

Kelly Martin, Evergreen, Colo. 91-85-84″“260

Joanna Ringsby, Denver, Colo. 91-87-85″“263

Katherine Moore-Lilly, Longboat Key, Fla. 90-90-83″“263

Kathy Malpass, Evergreen, Colo. 93-84-93″“270

Third Flight

Sue Hartwell, Arvada, Colo. 86-77-86″“249

Haejeong Son, Centennial, Colorado 83-89-85″“257

Laurie Steenrod, Aurora, Colo. 84-88-86″“258

Jennifer Hocking, Colorado Springs, Colorado 88-85-88″“261

LeAnna Rosenow, Arvada, Colo. 91-88-83″“262

Carla Stearns, Aurora, Colo. 83-87-93″“263

Roxanne Witmer, Pueblo West, Colo. 83-90-90″“263

Katty Rothberg, Denver, Colo. 86-86-93″“265

Louise Lyle, Colorado Springs, Colo. 87-89-91″“267

Tess Mitchell, Littleton, Colo. 98-88-87″“273

Nancy Werkmeister, Wheat Ridge, Colo. 89-95-93″“277

Maureen Wood, Lafayette, Colo. 107-98-108″“313

Dee Baker, Florissant, Colo. 92-WD

Fourth Flight

Jean Miller, Arvada, Colo. 85-90-89″“264

Alison O”™Connor, Windsor, Colo. 85-95-85″“265

Sheila Schroeder, Englewood, Colo. 88-88-91″“267

Patty Smogor, Centennial, Colo. 97-86-89″“272

Patricia Swanson, Arvada, Colo. 84-94-95″“273

Karen Leuschel, Broomfield, Colo. 94-95-93″“282

Julie Krueger, Castle Pines, Colo. 88-96-101″“285

Karin Hathaway, Denver, Colo. 99-95-92″“286

Janine Lowe, Littleton, Colo. 95-93-101″“289

Juliet Miner, Castle Rock, Colo. 94-99-97″“290

Linda Schippers, Aurora, Colorado 98-104-105″“307

Connie Norkoli, Aurora, Colo. 115-100-110″“325

NET SCORES

First Flight

Maddie Kern, Westminster, Colo. 75-79-76″“230

Arielle Keating, Colorado Springs, Colo. 80-74-78″“232

Holly Schaefer, Greenwood Village, Colo. 80-73-80″“233

Kaylee Knadler, Phoenix, Ariz. 79-85-73″“237

Danielle Price, Wakatipu, Colo. 75-82-81″“238

Megan Vernon, Conifer, Colorado 77-79-82″“238

Delaney Benson, Littleton, Colo. 83-82-83″“248

Sydney Gillespie, Highlands Ranch, Colo. 87-83-78″“248

Jamie Zook, Colorado Springs, Colo. 81-85-85″“251

Kelsey Webster, Boulder, Colo. 85-86-84″“255

Jaylee Tait, Littleton, Colo. 84-89-WD”“WD

Second Flight

Alexis Chan, Highlands Ranch, Colo. 77-72-75″“224

Tiffany Maurycy, Denver, Colo. 81-74-74″“229

Mariah Ehrman, Westminster, Colorado 84-68-80″“232

Kelly Martin, Evergreen, Colo. 84-78-77″“239

Madison McCambridge, Boulder, Colo. 81-74-84″“239

Joanna Ringsby, Denver, Colo. 84-80-78″“242

Kelly Rahn, Dacono, Colo. 77-80-87″“244

Katherine Moore-Lilly, Longboat Key, Fla. 85-85-78″“248

Kathy Malpass, Evergreen, Colo. 88-79-88″“255

Third Flight

Sue Hartwell, Arvada, Colo. 77-68-77″“222

Haejeong Son, Centennial, Colorado 73-79-75″“227

Roxanne Witmer, Pueblo West, Colo. 71-78-78″“227

Carla Stearns, Aurora, Colo. 73-77-83″“233

Laurie Steenrod, Aurora, Colo. 76-80-78″“234

Katty Rothberg, Denver, Colo. 76-76-83″“235

Tess Mitchell, Littleton, Colo. 86-76-75″“237

Jennifer Hocking, Colorado Springs, Colo. 81-78-81″“240

Louise Lyle, Colorado Springs, Colo. 78-80-82″“240

LeAnna Rosenow, Arvada, Colo. 84-81-76″“241

Nancy Werkmeister, Wheat Ridge, Colo. 81-87-85″“253

Maureen Wood, Lafayette, Colo. 98-89-99″“286

Dee Baker, Florissant, Colo. 83-WD

Fourth Flight

Jean Miller, Arvada, Colo. 71-76-75″“222

Julie Krueger, Castle Pines, Colo. 68-76-81″“225

Alison O”™Connor, Windsor, Colo. 72-82-72″“226

Sheila Schroeder, Englewood, Colo. 75-75-78″“228

Karen Leuschel, Broomfield, Colo. 77-78-76″“231

Patricia Swanson, Arvada, Colo. 70-80-81″“231

Patty Smogor, Centennial, Colo. 84-73-76″“233

Janine Lowe, Littleton, Colo. 78-76-84″“238

Karin Hathaway, Denver, Colo. 84-80-77″“241

Juliet Miner, Castle Rock, Colo. 78-83-81″“242

Linda Schippers, Aurora, Colorado 77-83-84″“244

Connie Norkoli, Aurora, Colo. 93-78-88″“259

The three-time CWGA Player of the Year shot an even-par 72 on Tuesday, leaving her with a five-shot lead heading into the final round at Lone Tree Golf Club. The Wake Forest golfer, who finished second last month in the Women’s NCAA Division I Championships, stands at 1-under-par 143 overall.

Kupcho (pictured), who’s set to compete in the U.S. Women’s Open next month, made two birdies and two bogeys on Tuesday. She’s won the last two Stroke Plays by 21 and 19 shots, respectively, and is hoping to become the first player in 20 years to capture the tournament title three straight times.

Two other college golfers “” Erin Sargent of the University of Wyoming (and Longmont) and Delaney Elliott of Montana State (and Superior) are Kupcho’s closest pursuers with 18 holes remaining. They’re tied for second place with 148 totals as both have gone 74-74.

Sargent posted four birdies on Tuesday, but a double bogey on her final hole was a setback. Elliott went 2 under par for her last four holes.

Arizonan Megan Knadler, a Wyoming teammate of Sargent’s, holds fourth place at 149 after a second-round 77 that included a triple bogey on the 14th hole.

The leaders will tee off for Wednesday’s final round at 10:30 a.m.

For scores from all five flights of the CWGA Stroke Play, CLICK HERE.

Kupcho (pictured), a U.S. Women’s Open qualifier and the No. 11 player in the women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings, made four birdies and three bogeys in round 1 of the 70th annual tourney.

The women’s NCAA Finals runner-up is attempting to become the first player to win four consecutive CWGA majors (Stroke Play and Match Play) since Wendy Werley in 1988-89. And the Wake Forest golfer is aiming to be the first player to three-peat in the CWGA Stroke Play since Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Janet Moore won four in a row culminating in 1997.

Kupcho’s margin of victory in this event has been 21 and 19 shots, respectively, in the last two years.

Mary Weinstein of Highlands Ranch, runner-up to Kupcho in this event in 2015, is her closest pursuer after the first round as she posted a 1-over-par 73. Weinstein, a Regis University golfer and the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado’s 2016 girls Player of the Year, carded three birdies and four bogeys on Monday while paired with Kupcho.

Sharing third place after 74s in round 1 were Erin Sargent of Longmont and Delaney Elliott of Superior. Sargent plays golf for the University of Wyoming and Elliott for Montana State. Each made two birdies on Monday.

Former 5A state high school champion “” and 2016 Stroke Play runner-up “” Gillian Vance, the University of Colorado golfer who competed with Kupcho in the 2015 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball, shares fifth place at 75 with Danielle Price.

Play will continue through Wednesday, with players being flighted after the completion of 36 holes.

For scores from the CWGA Stroke Play, CLICK HERE.

The 54-hole championship will run Wednesday through Friday (July 13-15).

As with last month’s Colorado Junior Amateur, a boys and girls championship will be held simultaneously at the same site.

Mary Weinstein of Highlands Ranch will attempt to win her second JGAC major of the year, while Cole Krantz of Windsor will be defending his boys title in the Junior PGA Championship.

Among the other 58 boys competing are AJ Ott of Fort Collins, runner-up in both the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior and the national PGA Junior Series event at the Air Force Academy; 2015 CGA Junior Player of the Year Coby Welch of Highlands Ranch; 4A state high school champion Jackson Solem of Longmont; and Davis Bryant of Aurora and Daniel Pearson of Longmont, like Solem and Krantz members of the 2016 CGA Junior America’s Cup team.

Weinstein, the 2015 CWGA Junior Player of the Year and winner of the 5A state high school title and the Colorado Junior Amateur this year, will be joined in the 29-player girls field by 4A state high school champion and 2015 U.S. Women’s Amateur qualifier Erin Sargent of Longmont; 2015 CWGA Junior Match Play champ Amy Chitkoksoong of Aurora; and Jaclyn Murray of Grand Junction, like Chitkoksoong a member of the CWGA Girls Junior America’s Cup team.

For Junior PGA Championship tee times, click on the following: BOYS, GIRLS