Whew.
That might be the collective feeling of every player who feels they might have a legitimate chance to win the CGA Women’s Stroke Play Championship … if Jennifer Kupcho isn’t in the field.
After all, the standout from Westminster won the 2015 CWGA Stroke Play (the former name for the CGA Women’s Stroke Play) by a whopping 21 shots, the 2016 championship by 19 shots, and last year’s tournament by “just” 13.
Do the math, and the average margin of victory for Kupcho in this event over the past three years was 17.7 strokes.
But Kupcho won’t be going for her fourth straight CGA Women’s Stroke Play title this week. Coming off winning the women’s NCAA Division I individual title and competing for the U.S. in its rout of Great Britain & Ireland in the Curtis Cup, Kupcho isn’t entered this year. Besides needing a break, she has jury duty this week.
So the list of players with a good chance to win goes from one to quite a few.
Black Bear Golf Club (pictured) in Parker will host the 71st annual CGA Women’s Stroke Play, with the 54-hole event running from Wednesday through Friday (June 20-22).
The championship flight for the event will feature the players with the top 12 scores after two rounds. Additional flights will include a dozen or more competitors each.
Among the college golfers entered who figure to be in the mix for the title are Texan Kennedy Swann (Clemson University), who finished 10th at the ACC Championship in April; Mary Weinstein (University of Denver), who placed second in this event in 2015 and fourth last year; 2016 runner-up Gillian Vance (University of Colorado); teammates Erin Sargent and Megan Knadler (Wyoming), who tied for second last year; Delaney Elliott (Montana State), who’s recorded two top-five finishes in the Stroke Play in the last three years; and Anna Kennedy (Brigham Young University), who’s posted top-10s each of the last two years.
Also among the 57 entrants is Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Janet Moore, a five-time winner of this event in the 1990s. Moore recently qualified for the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open. Also in the field is Susan Hartwell, who advanced to the round of 32 at last year’s U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur.
For Wednesday’s tee times, CLICK HERE.
