The chemistry was so good so quickly between Jennifer Kupcho and Lizette Salas at last year’s Solheim Cup that then-assistant captain Stacy Lewis recalled the pair coming off the golf course and saying “Do not break us up.”
After going 2-0-1 at Inverness, the Kupcho and Salas remain undefeated after a commanding five-stroke victory at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational. Their closing 61 put them 26-under 254, within one stroke of the tournament record.
“I think we just have a lot of faith in each other,” said Kupcho. “We make each other comfortable.”
Kupcho, now a three-time winner on the LPGA, including a major, is a leading contender for LPGA Player of the Year. She came into this event No. 9 in the world and heads into next week’s Amundi Evian Championship as a player to watch. The 25-year-old tied for second at Evian as a rookie in 2019.
For Salas, the win at Midland Country Club marked her first LPGA victory in eight years. In that span, she has posted six runner-up finishes, including three at major championships. Salas turns 33 on Sunday.
“Man, it’s been a long time,” she said, “but if I were to win again it would be with Jennifer. We got to spend the whole week together and to continue the momentum that we had back in September. I don’t want to get emotional, but it’s just been a magical week.”
Matilda Castren nearly aced the par-3 18th to lock up solo second alongside partner Kelly Tan. This marks the first top-10 finish of Tan’s career. The pair became close friends while competing on the Epson Tour.
Tan asked Castren, who became the first player from Finland to win on the LPGA last year, to be her maid of honor at her wedding in December.
“I feel like if you would wind back the clock and stop us there and literally tell us in a few years you guys are going to be playing this tournament and you’re going to finish second, I think it was going to be really hard for both of us to believe because we both were really just – I just feel like at the lowest point of our career,” said Tan.
“It just feels really good that we got out of the hole, and being able to compete at such (a) high level and finish second this week proving to us that we could do it.”
Stacy Lewis and Maria Fassi closed with a 59 to jump up to third. Last year, this event served as a springboard for Fassi, who learned a lot playing alongside the fellow Razorback star.
“I mean, I think it’s confidence for both of us,” said Lewis….
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