Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Jennifer Kupcho finishes with a flurry for fifth-place showing in LPGA Tour’s Queen City Championship; Lakewood’s Griffin Barela notches top-5 on PGA Tour Americas
By Gary Baines – 9/14/2025
Jennifer Kupcho has had kind of an unusual LPGA Tour season by her standards.
The Colorado Golf Hall of Famer ended almost a three-year winless stretch by notching LPGA career victory No. 4 at the ShopRite LPGA Classic in early June. But other than that, she didn’t have a top-10 finish to her credit in 2025.
Until Sunday, that is.
And this one came about sheerly because of a fantastic stretch run. Thanks to birdies on each of her final four holes — and a 6-under-par 30 on her final nine — the former Westminster resident tied for fifth at the Kroger Queen City Championship in Hamilton Township, Ohio.
Kupcho made a double bogey at No. 3 and was 2 over for the day at that point on Sunday. But she went 7 under for her final 15 holes to move into the top 10.
With a 15-under-par total for the week (70-66-70-67), Kupcho finished five strokes behind champion Charley Hull. She earned $52,345 with the performance.
It was the 24th LPGA top-10 for Kupcho, who turned pro in 2019. Besides her four LPGA Tour victories, she also won the 2020 Inspirato Colorado Women’s Open as a pro.
Also with a strong performance in Ohio was former University of Colorado golfer Robyn Choi, who tied for 12th. She finished at 14 under par after a final-round bogey-free 65 which featured two eagles and three birdies.
Kupcho came into the week No. 37 in the women’s world rankings, while Choi was No. 216.
For all the scores from the Queen City Championship, CLICK HERE.
— Strong Week for Griffin Barela: Elsewhere in tour golf, Lakewood native Griffin Barela posted his career-best finish on a PGA Tour-affiliated circuit as he tied for fifth on Sunday at the PGA Tour Americas’ ATB Classic in Alberta, Canada.
The 2021 CGA Amateur champion went 66-68-72-66 for a 16-under-par total, leaving him three strokes behind winner Michael Brennan. Barela went bogey-free in the final round.
Meanwhile, fellow former CGA Amateur champion Dillon Stewart of Fort Collins, winner of a PGA Tour Americas event in July, fell out of the top 10 on the season-long points list — to 11th place — after missing the cut at the ATB Classic. At the conclusion of the Americas season on Sept. 28, the top 10 on the points list will earn 2026 Korn Ferry Tour cards.
For all the scores from the ATB Classic, CLICK HERE.
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com