SHOPRITE LPGA CLASSIC PRESENTED BY ACER

June 8, 2025

Jennifer Kupcho

Seaview, A Dolce Hotel

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: All right, welcome to the media center. Joined by 2025 champion Jennifer Kupcho. Just talking about today and your final round here, what were the emotions as you were playing this 18 today?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: Honestly, like I felt like I was just in it. I wasn't really thinking about anything else. I was just thinking about my present shot, present everything.

I kind of went into this week with a number in mind being minus-13. Josh and I, my caddie, had decided on that number, so really just was like laser focused on that the whole time.

Q. It's been a couple years since your last win. What does this one mean to you in the scope of things?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: Yeah, I mean, it's been a long time. I felt like last year -- even though the year before I had won three times, I felt like last year was one of my best seasons, maybe my best season with how consistent I played; obviously just didn't get a win.

But then, yeah, coming into this year off last year I just expected my game to stay the same. Struggled a lot at the beginning of the year. Struggled mentally. Completely lost my swing back in LA pretty much, so really just like trying to figure that out.

Going into Chevron I didn't know where the ball was going. So to be able to say I've won now, like only really a few weeks later, is kind of insane.

Q. And those last couple holes, three birdies coming in, what was Josh telling you as you were coming down the stretch?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: Nothing really. Just continuing to have the normal conversations we have; staying in the moment, staying in the shots. I think like halfway through the round we were trying to figure out the difference between an otter and a beaver, so like random stuff like that to keep my mind off it and just have fun out there.

Q. Did you determine any differences between the otter and the beaver?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: Not really. I mean, obviously the beaver I think is smaller, right? We think that a beaver has like the two front teeth that are bigger, but I feel like that also could just be a cartoon thing. I don't know. We just have to ask Google that one ourselves.

Q. Two-part question for you. You strike me as someone that's very balanced, don't get real rattled. Maybe you do a good job hiding that inside. Is that accurate? Are you naturally a relaxed person? The second part is Ilhee's comments were that she was rooting for you. She was having so much fun out there watching you hit your shots, ya'll were talking about pace of play. How much does a situation like that when you're with someone like that relax you even more?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: Yeah, I mean, to answer that question about Ilhee, she's a great competitor. Obviously she had a little bit of a rough start. I think on the first tee she kind of joked with me, I haven't played the weekend in two years. I was like, okay, this is how today is going to be.

No, it was really fun. She's a great competitor. She's just out there to play her best basically, and, yeah, gave me a little bit of a run for my money at the end there. It was a little bit nerve-wracking. But, yeah, she's a great competitor, great person.

And then honestly, no, I'm pretty like crazy. Like I can get very angry very quickly. I think that's one thing that this year when I lost my swing and wasn't putting my best, I kind of worked on that, worked with my mental coach to just stay in the present instead of reacting so badly.

Obviously it's okay to react sometimes, but just moving on to the next shot and staying in the present.

Q. Lastly, have you looked at your phone yet? Is it blowing up? Any great messages that you've seen that you can share with us?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: I haven't fully looked through it. There is definitely a lot of text messages. It's on do not disturb right now. Yeah, I'll definitely get there. We'll see tonight.

Q. You called your husband or he called you afterwards. What was that conversation like? I thought he might stay; maybe not; he had to go.

JENNIFER KUPCHO: Yeah, so I think he low-key wanted to stay, but we had parked our car in Chicago and he's driving home to our house in Iowa.

I have a sponsor thing tomorrow up in Newark, so just made sense for him to go early so that he wasn't driving through midnight basically to get home, just for safety reasons obviously.

Yeah, he was very excited. Probably shouldn't say what he said. No, he was very excited. Obviously bummed that he couldn't be here. It's a bit of a payback for the U.S. Open. I wasn't there when Allisen won.

It's fine. I understand.

Q. Congratulations. Was the weather a distraction at all? Did that impact your strategic decisions, particularly as it got later in the day?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: I think into the wind, the wind was completely different I feel like today than it has been; a little bit different club selection off the tees.

But overall, it's just golf. You just make adjustments with how the wind is playing. Obviously the spritzing or whatever it was, mist coming in was a little bit annoying at the time, but it's better than the bugs flying in your face.

It is what it is.

Q. When you go through a three-year stretch and you haven't won, does it play a head game with you, you're thinking, I might not ever win again?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: I mean, yeah, sometimes. I think definitely early this season I definitely thought like, am I even good stuff like that to be out here and compete again.

But it kind of just like -- I just continue to have conversations with people on my team, my husband, my family, and really just continue to keep practicing, keep working, and eventually hopefully it'll come.

Q. You mentioned that you lost your swing a couple weeks ago. How did you find it?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: Honestly, just hitting a lot of golf balls, working with my swing coach a lot.

I am not huge into being super crazy about my swing, looking at every single thing, and it kind of turned into that. It was like, what is going on? This is wrong; this is wrong.

Just having that conversation with my swing coach and being like, your swing is fine. Just go out and play. Be an athlete and go hit the shots.

So I think just having that conversation with him and also with my mental coach helping me to just relax and stay in the moment. Again, it's kind of all I've said, but, yeah, just really relax myself, not tightening up so much; just going out and really swinging like an athlete.

Q. And the leaderboard was kind of topsy-turvy on the back nine a little bit. Did you see any leaderboards? Do you normally pay attention to that stuff?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: I haven't been in contention in so long that I was kind of nervous already, so I was just like, I'm not going to look at a leaderboard. I'm just going to focus on what I need to do. I really didn't look at a leaderboard pretty much all day.

Q. That putt on 14 is where you took the lead for good. Take me through that putt a little bit. I think you had missed a couple before that one basically.

JENNIFER KUPCHO: Yeah, I think out here the greens are pretty bumpy, especially in the afternoons, especially when they're wet. I think going into today I knew I had to be patient on the greens and not take it personally if the ball doesn't go in the hole. It is what it is. If I put a good roll on it, that's the best I can do. I can't control what the greens do to the balls.

Looking back, yeah, I did miss a couple. I knew I put the good strokes on them, so I just kept doing that and I knew eventually hopefully they would fall.

Q. We spoke yesterday about being able to stay on property. Did you have dinner with your husband last night? What was the experience like with this scenario, with this setup and having the other women around, too, big happy family kind of?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: Yeah, I think in general we all travel together, stay in similar places. Obviously we have our groups of friends we hang out or stay with. I don't know that that necessarily changes staying on property.

But, yes, I did eat dinner with my husband last night. Here; we ordered in food. It's really great to be able to stay on property, just to be able to walk out and go to the putting green if you want to late in the afternoon after you played a morning round; not having to drive -- ten minutes is not necessarily bad, but staying 20, 30 minutes away definitely racks up the time and really the desire to go out and do a small 30-minute session.

Q. Congratulations, Jennifer. I'm not sure if you've answered this yet, but you mentioned on TV you had some tough conversations earlier in the year. Wondering what those were about if you wouldn't mind sharing. Were those with your husband? Mental coach? Swing coach?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: Yeah, thank you. I think, yeah, mostly my husband and my mental coach and swing coach. Just, I mean essentially just going to them and being like, I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know how to swing a golf club. I don't know -- I have no idea how to do this anymore.

I felt like I had completely lost what I was doing. I think that's like basically what I went to them with. So essentially them just calming me down and bringing back me to earth, that I was being a bit crazy. I just really needed to dumb it down to the fundamentals basically.

Q. And just one more. I know the Tour can be a lonely place. Must be great to have your husband out with you week to week. I'm wondering if you guys -- do you talk much at all about your golf all the time or do you put a limit on it?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: Yeah, I think for the most part, he's very good. For the most part we stay away from golf unless I bring it up. I know he loves golf, but he's out there with Allisen all day, too, so the last thing he wants to do is come home and listen to me talk about golf as well.

We're kind of in the same boat, and I think we both understand that. Unless I really need to get something off my chest or something goes crazy, we don't really talk about it.

Q. Except today you will.

JENNIFER KUPCHO: Yeah.

Q. I'm wondering how you got through The Chevron Championship. You were talking about how you lost your swing in LA and then Chevron. I think you only missed the cut by a shot. How did you get through that both mentally and with your sanity?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: Yeah, I actually hit quite a few bad shots, and I think I really just -- I was very happy that I surrounded myself with my team that week. Usually my swing coach doesn't come out, mental coach is not always out. They were all there alongside my caddie as well.

I think it was really special to have what I felt like was my whole support system behind me rooting for me and helping me in any way they could.

Yeah, I think just -- I said earlier basically going out there and trying to be an athlete and continue what I've done. I haven't just lost something overnight.

So I think they just brought me back to earth with that kind of situation, and I just went out there and played the best I could.

Yeah, I did have a few stray shots and that was mostly the reason that I missed the cut.

Q. You talk about mentally, is there anything you've been working on with your mental coach that has helped you either since then or this year? Anything you're doing differently that's helped you withstand these nerve-rattling moments I'm sure in today's final round?

JENNIFER KUPCHO: I think just relaxing myself. I mean, every golfer gets like you're closing yourself off, you get tighter. So I think just opening myself up, dropping my shoulders, relaxing, and just swinging freely instead of me trying to control the club all the time. Just go out there and swing it.

THE MODERATOR: Thanks so much, Jennifer, congrats.

JENNIFER KUPCHO: Thank you.