CLIFTON N.J. — There are only three Augusta National Women’s Amateur champions, and two of them were playing partners Saturday at the Founders Cup.
Jennifer Kupcho, the ANWA’s inaugural champion (2019) and the LPGA’s most recent major champion, was paired with the reigning ANWA winner, 16-year-old phenom Anna Davis.
After Round 2 when Davis found out she would be paired with a fellow ANWA titleholder, she says she received texts, “like, oh my god, two ANWA champs.”
But when the opening tee time finally came Saturday, Davis didn’t pick Kupcho’s brain.
“I don’t really talk when I golf,” Davis said after Round 3. “Yeah, it’s cool. We have something in common.”
Full-field scores from the Cognizant Founders Cup
Kupcho said she made an effort, but didn’t get much out of the teenager. However, she still enjoyed playing with Davis and seeing her game up close and personal.
“[She’s] Pretty quiet. I tried to talk to her. It’s hard to get stuff out of her,” Kupcho said. “She’s obviously really shy, but it was fun.
“She’s a really good player, and she plays quick, so that also helped a lot to keep it moving. I’m used to quick play, so I think we both kind of got in a rhythm.”
Kupcho added that Davis “bombs it,” with Davis outdriving her several times. However, Kupcho made the more significant move up the leaderboard Saturday, shooting a 68 to Davis’ even-par 72.
With it only being Davis’ seventh-ever LPGA round, there’s still a lot of room for growth. And seeing a fellow ANWA champion in Kupcho notch her first major win last month at Mission Hills gives Davis hope that maybe one day she’ll do the same.
“It kind of gives me a lot of confidence that I know that she won [ANWA] three years ago,” Davis said. “And I don’t know how long she’s been on tour, but I think two years maybe. That definitely gives me hope for the future for sure.”
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