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Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Jennifer Kupcho set for her fourth straight Solheim Cup after locking up a spot on the U.S. squad this month

By Gary Baines 

Colorado native Jennifer Kupcho has represented the U.S. in all three Solheim Cup matches played in the 2020s — and she’s not going to stop now.

The 2024 Colorado Golf Hall of Fame inductee has clinched a spot for the 2026 Ryder Cup-like competition against the Europeans, the LPGA announced this month.

Kupcho and Angel Yin are the second and third Americans to lock up berths on the U.S. squad that will compete in the Solehim Cup Sept. 11-13 in The Netherlands — joining Nelly Korda.

It will be the fourth consecutive Solheim Cup for Kupcho, who owns a 3-5-2 record after playing in 2021, ’23 and ’24. Two years ago marked Kupcho’s first time on a winning team at the Solheim Cup after she’s been on American squads that have prevailed at the Curtis Cup, Arnold Palmer Cup and a World Amateur Team Championship.

“I’m thrilled to have Angel and Jennifer clinch their spots following the major season,” U.S. Solheim Cup captain Angela Stanford said. “I have watched each of them as they competed for the USA over the past years and both players bring an intensity that our team will need in Europe. I love that these two players clinched at the same time. They are very similar in how they compete and never give up.”

Kupcho remains the only golfer who has grown up in Colorado to play in the Solheim Cup matches, which debuted in 1990. The U.S. leads the Europeans 11-7, with one tie, all time in the Solheim Cup competition.

Kupcho, a Jefferson Academy graduate, won five CGA/CWGA open-age major championships before going on to capture an NCAA Division I individual title, the victory in the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Open, her first pro win in the 2020 Colorado Women’s Open, and four LPGA Tour titles, including one major.

This year, the 29-year-old was in contention for the championship at the U.S. Women’s Open before tying for eighth there in early June.

Kupcho currently sits No. 30 in the world, according to the Rolex women’s golf rankings.

The remainder of the U.S. Ryder Cup team will be finalized later this month, including three via captain’s picks.

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