'Absolutely Insane'

Colorado native Jennifer Kupcho drains birdie putts of 90 and 30 feet the last 2 holes to win Solheim Cup partners match for first time in 5 years and give U.S. tie going into Sunday singles

By Gary Baines 

Just when the results couldn’t seem to get much worse for Jennifer Kupcho at recent Solheim Cups, the Colorado native turns into Superwoman.

The Colorado Golf Hall of Famer seemed to be destined for her third straight loss in the 2026 Solheim Cup in the Netherlands — and to prolong a rough stretch at the event dating back to 2023. But that’s when she came up with one of the most improbable finishes to a match in the history of the competition.

With her and her American four-ball partner Lindy Duncan 1 down with two holes left, Kupcho sank a 90-foot birdie putt down a slope and over a hump to win the 17th hole. “That was insane,” she would later say.

Then, as if that weren’t enough, the 29-year-old drained a 30-foot walk-off birdie on No. 18 to win the match and give the U.S. an 8-8 tie going into Sunday’s singles session.

“That was huge,” American coach Angela Stanford said. “It absolutely turned our tide. … Kupcho has had a tough couple of days. But she’s a fighter. She just doesn’t give up. It’s awesome.”

Jennifer Kupcho reacts to sinking the winning putt in her four-ball match on Saturday.

Kupcho responded to the spectacular finish with not only a couple of big-time celebrations, but by shushing the pro-European crowd after dropping her two bombs.

“She was insane,” Duncan said of Kupcho. “Absolutely insane, those putts she made. Oh, my gosh. 17 I’ll never forget. … Playing in the afternoon today with Jen was one of the best times of my life on the course, for sure.”

As Kupcho was doing a TV interview shortly after the match, Americans can be heard chanting “Kupcho, Kupcho.”

The 1-up victory over Europeans Carlota Ciganda and Celine Boutier also greatly changed the complexion of these matches for Kupcho personally. She had come into the session not only 0-2 in this Solheim Cup, but 1-7-1 in her most recent nine matches in the event.

Now, with the Saturday evening heroics, the four-time LPGA Tour winner will definitely head into Sunday’s singles with a much more positive mindset. Kupcho will face Ciganda in a singles match that starts 6:10 am (MT) on Sunday.

“I think we had an amazing afternoon to kind of take the crowd down a level,” Kupcho said “They were getting a little bit rowdy out there, so to silence them a little bit … I think me and Lindy played a really great match and really brought the momentum to the team. I think everybody is super excited to get out there tomorrow and I think we’re going to take our momentum with us.

“We’re tied and we can go out there and just do our best and make the USA proud.”

Kupcho shushes the European crowd after her winning birdie putt.

The winning putt on 18 — with it being the last active match of the day and all the fellow players, captains, fand and TV audience focused on the proceedings — was certainly memorable. But how No. 17 played out might have been even more remarkable.

Kupcho had pushed her tee shot well right on the par-4, into native grass. She couldn’t see the green and had to hit over a few trees, but managed to leave her approach on the back edge of the green — with the pin near the front of the putting surface. With the putt more than halfway to the cup, several people around the green were heard saying, “One time, one time.”

And sure enough, the ball hit the flagstick and drop into the hole, putting the American spectators into a frenzy.

“I had zero expectations,” Kupcho said regarding the 90-foot putt on No. 17. “I really hardly even read it. I was like, ‘You know what? I hit these long putts in practice rounds all the time. I’m just going to get up there and hit it and we’ll see if it goes in. To see it go in, I think the coolest thing is having pretty much the entire team directly behind me and then everyone in the fairway screaming. It was insane. I mean, I don’t know how to explain what I felt inside, but pure excitement and joy.”

Said European captain Anna Nordqvist: “How many times out of 10 do you make that putt? It’s an unbelievable putt she makes on 17 — and even the putt she makes on 18 — so you can’t really do anything about it.”

Both Boutier and Ciganda had birdie attempts of under 10 feet to tie the 17th hole, but both missed.

Kupcho (right) with partner Lindy Duncan during a Golf Channel interview.

The victory was Kupcho’s first in a Solheim Cup partners match (four-ball or foursomes) since 2021 as she had gone 0-5-1 in those competitions from 2023 until Saturday.

It’s notable that all this happened in a match involving Kupcho and Ciganda. The two were paired in the final group of the 2020 Colorado Women’s Open, with Kupcho overcoming her fellow LPGA Tour player for her first professional victory. And on Friday, Ciganda had set up her and Boutier for victory by making seven birdies in the first 16 holes.

Kupcho herself finished the better-ball match with five birdies. She and Duncan ended up 8 under for the 18 holes.

Kupcho played both sessions on Saturday. In Saturday morning’s foursomes she partnered for the second straight day in foursomes (alternate shot) with Rose Zhang. And like on Friday, the end result was a loss, albeit in much different fashion.

This time, the two Americans were 2 up through nine holes, but ended up on the wrong side of a 1-up match after a teeter-totter back nine in which the lead changed hands three times. Kupcho and Zhang led 1 up through 15 — where they received a conceded birdie when the Europeans found the water.

Europeans Leona Maguire and Esther Henseleit won two of the last three holes — including No. 18 with a par — to defeat Kupcho and Zhang, 1 up.

The Europeans won despite Henseleit missing three putts of 6 feet or less starting on No. 9.

But Henseleit rebounded with stellar pitch shots on No. 16 and 18 that led to the Europeans winning both holes — with a birdie and a par, respectively. Going into the 18th hole tied, Kupcho hit a tee shot into a fairway bunker and Zhang’s ball struck the lip of the bunker, advancing only about 10 yards. Kupcho’s third finished short of the green and Zhang’s bid for a pitch-in for par didn’t come close, giving the Europeans the win.

“That’s quite a dagger,” Golf Channel analyst Morgan Pressel noted of the American loss on the 18th hole.

But Saturday afternoon, Kupcho turned the tables and made her opponents feel the pain.

The defending champion U.S. leads the Europeans 11-7, with one tie, all time in the Solheim Cup competition. But the Americans haven’t won in Europe since 2015 in Germany. The teams tied in 2023 in Spain, but Europe retained the Cup because it had won the matches in 2021.

Kupcho remains the only golfer who has grown up in Colorado to play in the Solheim Cup matches, which debuted in 1990. She’s making her fourth appearance in the event.

All-time results for Jennifer Kupcho in Solheim Cup:

2026 Saturday Four-Ball — Jennifer Kupcho and Lindy Duncan, USA, def. Carlota Ciganda and Celine Boutier, Europe, 1 up

2026 Saturday Foursomes — Leona Maguire and Esther Henseleit, Europe, def. Jennifer Kupcho and Rose Zhang, USA, 1 up

2026 Friday Foursomes — Maja Stark and Linn Grant, Europe, def. Jennifer Kupcho and Rose Zhang, USA, 3 and 2

2024 Sunday Singles — Jennifer Kupcho, USA, def. Linn Grant, Europe, 2 and 1

2024 Saturday Foursomes — Charley Hull and Esther Henseleit, Europe, def. Jennifer Kupcho and Ally Ewing, USA, 1 up

2024 Friday Foursomes — Emily Pedersen and Maja Stark, Europe, def. Jennifer Kupcho and Ally Ewing, USA, 2 up

2023 Sunday Singles — Anna Nordqvist, Europe, def. Jennifer Kupcho, USA, 2 and 1

2023 Saturday Foursomes — Emily Pedersen and Carlota Ciganda, Europe, def. Jennifer Kupcho and Lilia Vu, USA, 2 and 1

2023 Friday Four-Ball — Jennifer Kupcho and Allisen Corpuz, USA, tied Emily Pedersen and Maja Stark, Europe

2021 Monday Singles — Leona Maguire, Europe, def. Jennifer Kupcho, USA, 5 and 4

2021 Sunday Four-Ball — Jennifer Kupcho and Lizette Salas, USA, tied with Leona Maguire and Mel Reid, Europe

2021 Sunday Foursomes — Jennifer Kupcho and Lizette Salas, USA, def. Anna Nordqvist and Matilda Castren, Europe, 3 and 1

2021 Saturday Four-Ball — Jennifer Kupcho and Lizette Salas, USA, def. Carlota Ciganda and Sophia Popov, Europe, 1 up

For all the results from the 2026 Solheim Cup, 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