2022 Tournaments We'll Remember: the Chevron Championship
Over the next two weeks, the SI Golf team will look back on 10 memorable tournaments from 2022.
The Event: Chevron Championship
Site: Mission Hills Country Club, Rancho Mirage, Calif.
Dates: March 31-April 3
Result: Jennifer Kupcho wins by two shots over Jessica Korda
Why We’ll Remember It: For more than three decades, one of the LPGA's enduring images has been the leap into Poppie's Pond at Mission Hills by the winner of the major championship, whether it was the Nabisco Dinah Shore, the ANA Inspiration or the Chevron Championship (to name just a few of its names).
Jennifer Kupcho took the last leap.
Next year the tournament is moving to Houston, the sponsor's North American base, marking the end of an era for the LPGA. The record will show that the last major at Mission Hills was won in dominating fashion by an American.
Kupcho fired 66-70-64 over her first 54 holes, setting a tournament record by two shots and taking a six-shot lead to Sunday. With that kind of cushion she could afford to shoot 74 in the final round with seven bogeys including a bogey-bogey finish; the winning margin was still two shots over fellow American Jessica Korda.
The win was a breakthrough for Kupcho, as her last victory before Chevron was the inaugural Augusta National Women's Amateur in 2019. Such a historic win from someone who also won an NCAA title begged the question of how much more winning would follow, and the answer finally came three years later.
“I think that's the biggest thing about it all, was I keep getting asked about Augusta three years later. It's like, 'have you not seen what I've been doing out here?' Not that Augusta is not special, but now I'm a major champion,” Kupcho said. “To add that to the list is something I've been wanting for a few years now.”
A win more than worthy of a leap into a pond.