Except for one thing.

After being one of three finalists for the award for the second straight year — but not receiving the prize unveiled on the Golf Channel — Kupcho still owns the NCAA individual title this time around.

That’s the ultimate consolation.

As for the Annika Award presentation, the 21-year-old Wake Forest senior-to-be had to settle for being a finalist again as Arkansas’ Maria Fassi earned the honor this time around.

Fassi, a native of Mexico who has qualified in Colorado for multiple USGA championships, landed the award. She won six individual titles during the season, but finished 66th in the national tournament that Kupcho won.

It’s possible that Kupcho may have paid a price for the voting process for the Annika Award. Voting — by college golfers, coaches and selected members of the golf media — opens after the NCAA Regionals and continues until after the national championships. So it’s very possible that some votes were cast before Kupcho won the national title on May 21. She was eighth on the Annika Award watch list as of May 3.

Kupcho finished the college season with four individual victories, with three of them coming after April 1. In fact, she won an NCAA Regional tournament for the second straight year to go along with her national championship. She’s claimed seven titles in her college career so far and has finished sixth, second and first in the Women’s NCAA Finals. She’s the first Coloradan to win an individual NCAA Division I women’s golf national title.

The Jefferson Academy graduate, who’s spent considerable time developing her game with instructor Ed Oldham at The Ranch Country Club, is a two-time first-team All-American. She broke the Wake Forest women’s record for season stroke average that she set last year as she averaged 70.6 in 2017-18.

Now ranked second among the world’s female amateurs, Kupcho will compete this weekend as part of an eight-player U.S. team against Great Britain & Ireland in the Curtis Cup, a biennial match-play competition featuring some of the world’s top women amateurs. The 40th Curtis Cup matches will take place Friday through Sunday at Quaker Ridge Golf Club in Scarsdale, N.Y.

Earlier this week, Kupcho did win a prestigious honor — the 2018 Honda Award for women’s golf, presented by the Collegiate Women’s Sports Awards. The Honda Award is given to the top women’s athlete in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports, recognizing athletic achievement, scholastics and community involvement.

On Wednesday evening, the Westminster resident was named to the team that will represent the U.S. in the 2018 Arnold Palmer Cup, which for the first time is including a women’s contingent of players.

“It is a great honor to be on the first team that includes women,” Kupcho (pictured) said by email on Thursday morning. “I can’t wait to play overseas and get to know more men’s college golfers as well as play with my teammate from Wake Forest, Emilia (Migliaccio). I can’t wait to represent the USA!”

Kupcho is a junior at Wake Forest in North Carolina, where Palmer played his college golf. The King passed away in September 2016 at age 87.

The Palmer Cup features the best college golfers from the U.S. squaring off against an International squad in a Ryder Cup-style match-play format. This will be the first year that an International team will be competing instead of one just representing Europe.

The 2018 Palmer Cup is set for July 6-8 at Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France. The club annually hosts the Evian Championship on the LPGA Tour.

Each squad will feature 24 players — a dozen men and a dozen women. On the U.S. women’s end of things, 11 of those golfers were announced on Wednesday, appropriately at Bay Hill in Orlando, Fla., site of this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational on the PGA Tour.

There were six automatic picks for the American women and five committee selections. A coach’s pick will be added on May 4.

Kupcho was among the committee selections. As Kupcho noted, also on the U.S. squad — as an automatic pick — is Wake Forest teammate Migliaccio.

Kupcho, currently No. 3 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings, was the women’s NCAA individual runner-up last year after leading by two strokes with two holes remaining. In the national individual women’s college rankings this season, Kupcho sits No. 12 according to Golfweek and No. 15 according to Golfstat. So far this season individually, Kupcho has collected a victory, a runner-up and a sixth-place finish among her six tournaments.

The 20-year-old has been a dominant force in Colorado women’s golf for several years and has been making a mark nationally and internationally recently.

Besides finishing second in the Women’s NCAA Championships in 2017, Kupcho qualified for her second straight U.S. Women’s Open, and she went on to finish 21st overall — and second among amateurs — in arguably the most presigious women’s golf tournament in the world.

Kupcho also claimed her first national title as she won the Canadian Women’s Amateur by five strokes. At the U.S. Women’s Amateur, she made the match play round of 64. Collegiately, in the 2017 calendar year Kupcho won two individual titles, including at an NCAA Regional, and she was a finalist for women’s college player of the year.

The Jefferson Academy graduate earned the CWGA highest’s honor — the President’s Award — in 2017 after being named the CWGA Player of the Year for an unprecented three consecutive years (2014-16). She was inducted into the Sportswomen of Colorado’s Hall of Fame last year after being named the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame’s Golf Person of the Year in 2016.

Additionally in 2017, Kupcho won her third consecutive CWGA Stroke Play, this one with a 13-shot victory margin. And at the CoBank Colorado Women’s Open, she placed second for the second time while competing against a field that included many professionals.

The USGA announced in November that Kupcho was one of a dozen American players invited to a December practice session leading up to the 2018 Curtis Cup, a biennial competition between the top women’s amateurs from the U.S. and Great Britain & Ireland. Kupcho isn’t guaranteed a spot on the eight-person U.S. Curtis Cup squad, but has a leg up toward earning a berth in the matches, which will be played June 8-10 in Scarsdale, N.Y.

Also among the women competing in the 2018 Arnold Palmer Cup — but on the International squad — will be Maria Fassi of Mexico and the University of Arkansas, who has qualified several times in Colorado for USGA championships.

The Arnold Palmer Cup was first contested in 1997. It was held at Cherry Hills Country Club south of Denver in 2009, with Coloradan Steve Ziegler competing for the U.S. team.

The Americans lead the all-time series in the Palmer Cup 11-9-1.

Among past Palmer Cup contestants are Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler, Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Billy Horschel and Matt Kuchar.

Here are the 2018 Arnold Palmer Cup teams:

UNITED STATES
Men
Shintaro Ban, UNLVӬ
Zach Bauchou, Oklahoma State
Brad Dalke, Oklahoma
S.M. Lee, Dalton State
Collin Morikawa, CaliforniaӬ
Chandler Phillips, Texas A&M
Davis Riley, AlabamaӬ
Justin Suh, Southern CaliforniaӬ
Sahith Theegala, Pepperdine
Braden Thornberry, Ole Miss
Matthew Wolff, Oklahoma StateӬ
Coach’s Pick
ҬAnnounced May 4

Women
Jamie Freedman, Nova Southeastern
Mariel Galdiano, UCLA
Kristen Gillman, AlabamaӬ
Dylan Kim, Arkansas
Jennifer Kupcho, Wake Forest
Andrea Lee, Stanford
ҬEmilia Migliaccio, Wake Forest
Sophia Schubert, TexasӬ
Lauren Stephenson, Alabama
Alana Uriell, Arkansas
Lilia Vu, UCLAӬ
Coach’s Pick
ҬAnnounced May 4

Coaches 
“¨Head Coach — Therese Hession, Ohio State”¨
Head Coach — Ryan Hybl, Oklahoma
“¨Assistant Coach — Ryan Blagg, Baylor”¨
Assistant Coach — Susan Rosenstiel, Alabama

INTERNATIONAL
Men
Harry Hall, UNLV — England
Viktor Hovland, Oklahoma State — Norway”¨
K.K. Limbhasut, Cal — Thailand
Hurly Long, Texas Tech — Germany
Stefano Mazzoli, TCU — Italy”¨
Fredrik Nilehn, Texas Tech — Sweden
“¨Alvaro Ortiz, Arkanasas — Mexico”¨
Jovan Rebula, Auburn — South Africa
“¨Lorenzo Scalise, Tennessee — Italy
Andy Zhang, Florida — China
The R&A Foundation Scholars Tournament Champion
ҬContested April 2-3
Coach’s Pick
ҬAnnounced May 4

Women
Jaravee Boonchant, Duke — Thailand
Maria Fassi, Arkansas — Mexico”¨
Jiwon Jeon, Daytona State — South Korea
Olivia Mehaffey, Arizona State — Northern Ireland”¨
Ainhoa Olarra, South Carolina — Spain”¨
Pimnipa Panthong, Kent State — Thailand
Maddie Szeryk, Texas A&M — Canada
Patty Tavatanakit, UCLA — Thailand”¨
Albane Valenzuela, Stanford — Switzerland
Dewi Weber, Miami — Netherlands”¨
Coach’s Pick
Announced May 4
The R&A Foundation Scholars Tournament ChampionӬ
Contested April 2-3

Coaches
Head Coach — Herb Page, Kent State — Canada”¨
Head Coach — Anne Walker, Stanford — Scotland”¨
Assistant Coach — Jan Dowling, Michigan — Canada”¨
Assistant Coach — Adrien Mork, TCU — France
 

In all, 69 golfers (60 of whom are amateurs) will compete at the site for two spots in the Women’s Open, arguably the most prestigious tournament in women’s golf, which this year will be contested July 7-10 at CordeValle in San Martin, Calif.

Among the top entrants is two-time CWGA Player of the Year Jennifer Kupcho (above) of Westminster, who is ranked No. 43 in the world among women’s amateur golfers. Kupcho, a freshman at Wake Forest, just qualified as an individual for the NCAA Championship Finals. In her last three college tournaments, she’s been runner-up twice (including in the ACC Championships) and sixth in an NCAA Regional at Stanford. Overall, she’s posted six top-10 finishes in 10 tournaments so far as a freshman.

Kupcho and other in-state residents are attempting to become the first Coloradans to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open in their home state since 2012.

Also scheduled to compete at Heritage at Westmoor is Maria Fassi of Mexico, who qualified last year in Colorado for the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open. Fassi, now 18, has also qualified in the Centennial State for the 2013 U.S. Girls’ Junior and the 2015 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball. She’s 55th in the Women’s World Amateur rankings.

Others in the top 100 in those rankings who are entered Monday are University of Colorado golfer Esther Lee (34th) and Mariah Stackhouse (95th), who helped Stanford clinch the NCAA women’s team title last year.

Heritage at Westmoor is one of 25 qualifying sites for the U.S. Women’s Open, including 21 in the U.S. All told, the USGA accepted 1,855 entries for the 2016 Women’s Open.

For Monday’s pairings at Heritage at Westmoor, CLICK HERE.

Maria Fassi lives just north of Mexico City, but when it comes to qualifying for USGA championships, she feels right at home in the Denver area.

Each of the past two years, the talented golfer from south of the border has made trips to Colorado successful ones as she’s qualified for U.S. national amateur championships — the U.S. Girls’ Junior in 2013 at CommonGround and the inaugural U.S. Women’s Four-Ball last fall at Heritage at Westmoor.

And Wednesday proved a charm as the 17-year-old earned a spot into arguably the most prestigious women’s golf tournament there is, the U.S. Women’s Open.

The high school junior (above) shot rounds of 70-69 for a 5-under-par 144 total at Riverdale Dunes in Brighton to secure one of the two qualifying berths available for the Women’s Open, which will be contested July 9-12 in Lancaster, Pa.

Joining her in advancing was another highly-regarded amateur from outside the U.S. Bertine Strauss of South Africa, who just completed her college career and graduated from the University of Texas, earned medalist honors Wednesday at 138 following rounds of 70-68.

Asked to explain her USGA qualifying success in Colorado, Fassi said, “The conditions are really like what I’m used to playing. It’s the same altitude (actually Mexico City is a couple thousand feet higher) so that helps a lot. I have good memories here, so to remember that you did good here helps.”

As for Strauss, while she had never been to Colorado before this week, she’s likewise quite accustomed to playing golf at a mile-high-plus altitude as she’s from an area in South Africa that’s slightly higher than Denver. So she too felt right at home, particularly in landing a spot in the U.S. Women’s Open for the first time.

“I might just want to keep on coming back,” the 23-year-old said with a smile. “It’s got good memories so far. No reason not to want to keep coming back.”

A player with close ties to Colorado came up just short of advancing. University of Denver golfer Elyse Smidinger, who in the last year has qualified in Colorado for the U.S. Women’s Amateur and the U.S. Women’s Publinks, couldn’t quite make the grade on Wednesday. With a nice up-and-down for birdie on the last of her 36 holes Wednesday, Smidinger posted a 140 total (68-72), which left her as the first alternate from the Riverdale Dunes site.

In all, five players finished with sub-par totals on Wednesday. No Coloradans qualified in the Centennial State for the third consecutive year, but two in-state golfers who have previously played in the U.S. Women’s Open were in the hunt. Becca Huffer of Denver (2012 qualifier) finished sixth at even-par 144, while Carleigh Silvers of Greeley (2014 qualifier) was eighth at 145.

As it was, the two 2015 qualifiers have some pretty strong credentials. Strauss (left), a three-time South African Junior Champion, is the reigning Big 12 Conference women’s golfer of the year and last month won the Ping Arizona State University Invitational. She currently stands 56th in the women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings.

Strauss has never before competed in a USGA championship, but thanks to an eight-birdie, two-bogey day on Wednesday, national tournament No. 1 is a big one.

“It’s a great honor to go to the U.S. Women’s Open,” she said. “You always watch it on TV and it’s one of the biggest stages for women’s golf. I’ll love to go. It will be a good eye-opener for me, wanting to play professionally, to see how everything works. I’ll be very excited.”

Fassi early this year won the Mexican Women’s Amateur and is currently ranked 223rd in the world among women’s amateurs.

Although at 17, Fassi already has competed in four USGA championships — two U.S. Girls’ Juniors, a U.S. Women’s Amateur and the U.S. Women’s Four-Ball — and is exempt into the 2015 Girls’ Junior and the Women’s Am, getting into the U.S. Women’s Open falls into a different category.

“It means the world,” said Fassi, who has committed to play college golf at the University of Arkansas. “I want to turn professional when I’m older. To be able to play a professional tournament at this stage, this will be a really good chance for me. There’s no words to explain that.”

Fassi racked up 11 birdies to go along with six bogeys in her two rounds on Wednesday.

For scores from Wednesday’s qualifier, CLICK HERE.
 

Previously on the docket for the two high school seniors were final exams, graduation, the regional state qualifying golf tournaments and the state meet.

Then last week, Kupcho and Vance added a trip to Bandon Dunes in Oregon for the inaugural U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship, set for May 9-13, 2015.

Kupcho and Vance earned a berth in the USGA national championship by sharing medalist honors in a qualifying tournament held Oct. 6 at Heritage at Westmoor in Westminster. The Coloradans posted a 3-under-par 69 best-ball total to share the top spot in the 11-team field with 16-year-olds Maria Fassi and Maria Balcazar, both golfers from Mexico. (Vance, in a black shirt, is pictured above with Kupcho.)

Those two teams claimed the available qualifying spots at Westmoor for the 2015 U.S. Women’s Four-Ball, the first ever held. The USGA announced in early 2013 that it was adding women’s and men’s Four-Ball Championships beginning in 2015, while discontinuing women’s and men’s U.S. Public Links Championships after this year.

“I think it’s extra special (to qualify for this event) because for 50 years and however long it will be going on, we’ll be able to say we played in the first one,” said Vance, who attends Dakota Ridge High School.

“It’s going to be fun to play in the first one, and to do it with Gillian is going to make it even better,” added Kupcho, a senior at Jefferson Academy.

The U.S. Women’s Four-Ball will be the sixth USGA championship for Kupcho and the second for Vance, who was the qualifying medalist in Colorado for the 2014 U.S. Girls’ Junior.

Kupcho and Vance, friends who have known each other and competed for seven or eight years, had to bounce back after a best-ball bogey on the opening hole at Heritage at Westmoor. But a birdie on No. 2 led to them playing the final 17 holes in 4 under.

“We both struggled (at times), but we were good because we were playing together,” said Kupcho, the runner-up in this year’s HealthOne Colorado Women’s Open.

“We ham-and-egged it really well,” Vance said. “When she wasn’t playing well, I played well, and when I played bad she played really well.”

Both Kupcho and Vance will be playing NCAA Division I golf next year, with Kupcho committed to Wake Forest and Vance to the University of Colorado.

Fassi, who recently competed for Mexico in the World Junior Girls Championship, is no stranger to having played in Colorado. She qualified in the state for the 2013 U.S. Girls’ Junior (along with Kupcho).

Fassi and her fellow Mexico native Balcazar made four birdies and one bogey at Heritage at Westmoor, just as Kupcho and Vance did. Both teams birdied the 18th hole to post their 69s.

Coloradans Sydney Gillespie and Adara Pauluhn were the only other team to break par in the Oct. 6 qualifier as they earned the first alternate spot by shooting a 71 at Heritage at Westmoor.

For all the results from the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Qualifying, CLICK HERE.