Jennifer Kupcho’s first shushing gesture toward the Solheim Cup crowd came after she holed a birdie putt on the 10th hole at Bernardus Golf Club. This had made her a target of discussion among fans and patrons. But after clinching a win with late heroics on the 17th and 18th holes, she cupped a hand over her ear. Speaking during the post-round conference, she revealed the reason behind her hand gestures.
“Yeah, it was amazing. I think we just did our job and, yeah, they’re out there chanting — my team won’t shut up now, but (laughing). Yeah, they’re out there chanting and it gets a bit annoying at some points, but you just kind of hang in there and I think we did that amazing today,” Jennifer Kupcho said.
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Her playing partner, Lindy Duncan, backed that by saying that the crowd was very loud with a lot of European chants. Kupcho had earlier said that it was not a planned move but a spontaneous gesture. As the crowd grew louder, she wanted to bring them down a level.
Still, despite the noise around them, the duo stayed focused on the game. And it yielded results, as Kupcho effectively snatched a point from Europe’s grasp
Jennifer Kupcho’s clutch moments at the Solheim Cup remind us why this event is pure theater. Subscribe for more interesting stories.
Europe’s pair of Carlota Ciganda and Celine Boutier were 1 up through 16 holes during the final Saturday fourballs match. Kupcho’s drive on the 17th found a waste area on the right, and her approach finished near the back of the green. This left her roughly 91 feet from the hole, but she somehow holed the spectacular birdie putt. Her downhill putt kept rolling across the green before finally dropping into the hole for birdie.
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“Honestly, going into it, I had zero expectations,” Kupcho said about the putt on the 17th. “I hardly even read my putt.”
She repeated the heroics on the final hole, too. This time, it was an approximately 25-foot birdie putt that got Team USA the final point, as the two teams finished tied on 8-8 heading into Sunday Singles.
After holing the 17th-hole putt, Kupcho shouted ‘Vamos!’– Spanish for ‘let’s go — before celebrating with her team. But it wasn’t directed at her Spanish opponent, Carlota Ciganda. The American professional said that it was just a “playful” gesture.
Her partner, Duncan, was equally excited. Speaking at the post-round conference, Duncan shared her experience and said that Kupcho was “absolutely insane.” She will never forget what went down on the 17th. But they aren’t the only ones who got excited.
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“I think the coolest thing is having pretty much the entire team directly behind me and then, obviously, everyone in the fairway, but everybody screaming,” Kupcho said, as reported by Golfweek. “It was insane. I mean, I don’t know how to explain what I felt inside, but pure excitement and joy.”
USA captain Angela Stanford praised the team and said that the moment felt almost similar to Team USA’s historic comeback in Germany during the 2015 Solheim Cup. According to her, this has turned the momentum to their side because she believes that “all of a sudden they [Team USA] now believe that they can get it done.”
This came at a very crucial time because Team USA was two points down after the morning foursomes today. But during the afternoon fourballs, teams of Yealimi Noh & Andrea Lee, Rose Zhang & Auston Kim, and Jennifer Kupcho & Lindy Duncan all scored a point.
Jennifer Kupcho’s emotional finish turned a challenging day into a major momentum boost for Team USA. Team USA now heads into Sunday Singles with renewed belief and a chance to complete a memorable Solheim Cup comeback.
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