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Kupcho’s thrilling third round gives her commanding lead at Chevron Championship

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Published 9:13 PM

71 players competed in the third round at Mission Hills Country Club. While one player torched the field and course.

Jennifer Kupcho tied her career round and shot 64 with 9 birdies. Kupcho began the day with five birdies on the first six holes.

"Everything was working. I mean seriously this week my putting is definitely the props. I have putted really well and you have to make putts in a major championship," said Kupcho.

Kupcho set a new 54-hole record for this event.

Playing alongside her was former college competitor Patty Tavatanakit. Tavatanakit started off with two birdies on the first two holes and the cooled off with four bogey's on the scorecard.

She sits solely in second six hots back of Kupcho.

"I like chasing," said Tavatanakit. "Better feeling playing without fear and I love doing that."

Stay with News Channel 3's Sports Director Blake Arthur and Bailey Arredondo for continuing coverage of the Chevron Championship.

LPGA Third Round Notes

WITH A WIN

Jennifer Kupcho or Annie Park would be the seventh player to make The Chevron Championship their first win on the LPGA Tour

Kupcho would surpass $2 million in career earnings ($2,318,835) since becoming joining the Tour in 2019 with the $750,000 first prize

Kupcho, Park or Jessica Korda would become the 20th player to make The Chevron Championship their first major title

Kupcho, Park or Korda would also be the first American to win The Chevron Championship since Brittany Lincicome in 2015

Patty Tavatanakit would be the first player since In Gee Chun to make two major championships their first two victories on the LPGA Tour; Chun won the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open as a non-member and then the 2016 Amundi Evian Championship

Tavatanakit would be the second player in the championship’s history to successfully defend the major title, last achieved by Annika Sorenstam (2001, 2002)

Tavatanakit would also be the eighth player to earn at least two Chevron Championship victories

Korda would surpass $7 million in career earnings ($7,397,156) with the $750,000 winner’s prize

Korda would earn her seventh-career victory on Tour

Korda would join her sister Nelly Korda (2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship) as a major champion, becoming the fourth set of siblings to win major championships and the first sister pair

Park would earn her second win on the LPGA Tour, after winning the 2018 ShopRite LPGA Classic to become a Rolex First-Time Winner

PATTY TAVATANAKIT READY FOR A SUNDAY CHASE
Defending Chevron Championship winner Patty Tavatanakit’s third-round 70 – her “worst” round here since a Sunday 76 in 2020 – was the same up-and-down affair as her first two days on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course. After six birdies and four bogeys on Saturday, she will head to Sunday’s final round six strokes behind Jennifer Kupcho.

“Solid. Again, it's been a really solid week,” Tavatanakit said of her round. “A lot of positives to take into tomorrow.”

With a win, Tavatanakit would become the seventh multiple winner of The Chevron Championship and just the second person to successfully defend her title, joining Annika Sorenstam in 2001 and 2002. She would also join Se Ri Pak and In Gee Chun as the only players in LPGA Tour history to win majors as their first two LPGA Tour titles.

Making up a six-stroke deficit isn’t easy, but not impossible. In 2006, Karrie Webb trailed by seven at Mission Hills after 54 holes before holing out for eagle on the 72nd hole to force a playoff with Lorena Ochoa. Webb birdied the first hole of sudden death to clinch the greatest come-from-behind win in championship history.

In 2021, Tavatanakit led by five heading into the final round. In 2022, she’ll chase Kupcho’s six-stroke advantage. So which scenario excites her more? She’s ready for the challenge and up for the chase.

“I like chasing. Yeah, for sure. Better feeling. You play without fear and I love doing that.”

JESSICA KORDA CONTENDING WITH FINAL JUMP ON THE LINE

There’s a Korda in contention at The Chevron Championship. Rolex Rankings No. 27 Jessica Korda took advantage of Moving Day in Rancho Mirage, hitting 16 of 18 greens and 10 of 14 fairways en route to a 5-under 67 in round three, her lowest score of the season and her second-lowest at Mission Hills. Korda has finished in the top-15 once and the top-10 twice in this event, notching a tie for 11th in 2017 as well as ties for fourth and sixth in 2018 and 2019. Though she sits seven shots back of leader Jennifer Kupcho, Korda knows that anything can happen on Sunday at a major championship, especially at the Dinah Shore Tournament Course.

“It's a major so you know the girls up front are going to be nervous, and we're kind of chasing them down and they know that,” said Korda, who finished T4 at the 2018 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. “You always just kind of got to think that you have a chance no matter what and that's kind of the mentality you got to go in there with.” 

The Chevron Championship marks Korda’s fifth start of the season and it’s been a tough go so far for the 29-year-old. She started strong with a solo seventh at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions but was forced to withdraw from the LPGA Drive On Championship at Crown Colony with a rib injury in the first round. Like many other players, Korda took a much-needed six weeks off during the Asian swing to rest and rehab her injury, returning to competition at last week’s JTBC Classic presented by Barbasol. 

On Sunday as she makes her way around Mission Hills for the last time, Korda looks to join her sister Nelly as a major winner, the first sibling duo to do so since the 1900s, and make the final jump into Poppie’s Pond, the first American to do so since Brittany Lincicome in 2015.

“Palm Springs is so nice,” said Korda. “I'm definitely sad that we're leaving. It's one of the golf courses you always look forward to coming back to because you know it, and the more that you know the better you're going to play out here. I'm just trying to keep it somewhere in the middle of the green and make a putt. It's getting really firm, so being smart about where you're landing is pretty key. I don't know what it's going to play like tomorrow. We'll see I guess.”

PLAYER NOTES

Rolex Rankings No. 53 Jennifer Kupcho (1, 66-70-64)

  • She hit 13 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens, with 25 putts
  • Kupcho’s third-round 64 ties her career-low round; she last posted a 64 at the 2021 Pelican Women’s Championship in the second round, where she finished T22
  • Her 200 sets the new 54-hole record at The Chevron Championship
  • This is Kupcho’s second appearance at The Chevron Championship; she tied for 22nd in 2020 and tied for 60th in 2021
  • Member of Team USA at the 2021 Solheim Cup
  • Finished T39 at the 2011 LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament to first earn LPGA Tour status
  • Won the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur in 2019
  • Graduated from Wake Forest University in 2019 with a degree in Communications
  • 2018 NCAA Division I Individual National Champion, and was the first wire-to-wire NCAA champion since 2002
  • 2018 NCAA Player of the Year
  • Won the inaugural 2019 Augusta National Women’s Amateur
  • Played on the victorious 2018 U.S. Curtis Cup, Women’s World Amateur and Palmer Cup teams

Rolex Rankings No. 14 Patty Tavatanakit (2, 67-69-70)

  • She hit eight of 14 fairways and 11 of 18 greens, with 27 putts
  • This is Tavatanakit’s fourth appearance at The Chevron Championship; she won in 2021
  • Represented Thailand at the 2020 Olympics, finishing T23
  • Finished second on the Epson Tour’s 2019 Race for the Card, earning three victories, to first earn LPGA Tour status
  • 2021 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year and Rolex ANNIKA Major Award winner
  • 2019 Gaelle Truet Rookie of the Year on the Epson Tour
  • Played collegiately at UCLA, where she was a seven-time winner and two-time WGCA First-Team All American

Rolex Rankings No. 27 Jessica Korda (3, 71-69-67)

  • Korda hit 10 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens in the third round with 30 putts
  • Her 67 is her lowest round of the 2022 season; it’s also her second-lowest round in The Chevron Championship
  • This is Korda’s fifth start this season; her best finish is a solo seventh at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions 
  • Her best finish in a major is T4, a result she’s carded twice at the 2018 Chevron Championship and the 2018 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
  • She has six career victories, the most recent being the 2021 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions; she’s made $6,647,156 in career earnings
  • Korda is a three-time U.S. Solheim Cup Team member (2013, 2019, 2021), posting an overall 5-4-2 record
  • Has a dog named Charlie

Rolex Rankings No. 184 Annie Park (4, 69-67-73)

  • She hit 10 of 14 fairways and 10 of 18 greens, with 29 putts
  • This is her sixth start in The Chevron Championship; her career-best finish in the major is a tie for 56th
  • This is Park’s seventh season on Tour; her career-best result is a victory at the 2018 ShopRite LPGA Classic
  • This is her fourth event of 2022; her season-best result is a tie for 23rd at the JTBC Classic presented by Barbasol
  • Park was the last entrant to be exempt in this year’s Chevron Championship based on her finish at the JTBC Classic; She parred the 72nd hole to move her up to 80th on the Race to the CME Points List and into the championship
  • She was a member of the 2019 U.S. Solheim Cup Team, posting a 1-2-0 record
  • In 2015, she finished first on the Epson Tour’s Race for the Card to first earn LPGA Tour Membership; she won three times that season in 11 starts, while also earning Player of the Year and Gaelle Truet Rookie of the Year honors
  • Park played collegiate golf at the University of Southern California; As a freshman, Park led USC to its third NCAA team title while winning four individual events, including the 2013 NCAA Women's Golf individual title

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Bailey Arredondo

Bailey Arredondo is a Sports Anchor/Reporter for KESQ News Channel 3. He joined the Desert’s News Leader in January 2022 here.

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