After holding 2-shot lead early on back 9, Colorado native Jennifer Kupcho and partner Chris Gotterup tie for 2nd place in Grant Thornton team event; it marks her 2nd straight top-3 in the tournament
By Gary Baines – 12/14/2025
Jennifer Kupcho finished third last year in her debut at the Grant Thornton Invitational team event, teaming with Akshay Bhatia. This year, it’s fair to say the Colorado Golf Hall of Famer had bigger things in mind — particularly as leaderboard stood in the early afternoon Sunday in Naples, Fla.
Kupcho, a partner with Chris Gotterup this year as Bhatia was getting married in the Bahamas, led by two shots early on the back nine Sunday at Tiburon Golf Club, where Kupcho competed in the CME Group Tour Championship last month.
But after playing the first 11 holes in 8 under par in the modified four-ball format that was being utilized on Sunday, Kupcho and Gotterup could manage just one more birdie down the stretch. That opened the door for opposing teams, and Lauren Coughlin and Andrew Novak stepped through for a three-stroke victory after making five birdies in the last six holes.
Kupcho, winner of four LPGA Tour titles in her career, notched her second straight top-3 showing in the Grant Thornton, teaming with Gotterup to share second place. They went 58 (scramble), 70 (alternate shot) and 63 (modified better-ball) to end up at 25 under par.
Kupcho and Gotterup each earned $190,000 with Sunday’s showing.
Meanwhile, Wyndham Clark, who was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame last December along with Kupcho, and his teammate Lexi Thompson couldn’t get anything going on Sunday and tied for 10th place in the 16-team event. They carded scores of 55-72-69 to check in at 20 under par.
For all the scores from the Grant Thornton, 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