Similar to 5 years ago at Solheim Cup, Jennifer Kupcho runs into a ‘buzzsaw’ in singles as 2020 Colorado Women’s Open runner-up Carlota Ciganda makes 7 birdies; Colorado native posts 1-3 individual record this year as Europe edges Americans
By Gary Baines – 9/13/2026
Whenever Jennifer Kupcho gets on a bit of a roll at the Solheim Cup, something about her seems to bring out the best in her singles opponents.
It happened five years ago when, after going 2-0-1 in her first three Solheim Cup matches, the Colorado native ran into a buzzsaw as Europe’s Leona Maguire played her first seen holes in 4 under par, was 5 under for the match and defeated Kupcho 5 and 4.
And Sunday proved very similar as Europe’s Carlota Ciganda carded five birdies in the first seven holes in a singles match against Kupcho in the Netherlands, and finished with seven birdies overall en route to a 4 and 2 win over the Colorado Golf Hall of Famer.
That point in one of the last matches of the day helped Europe regain the Solheim Cup with a 15-13 triumph over the Americans.
Kupcho was coming off a spectacular finish in her four-ball match Saturday evening, where she and Lindy Duncan beat Ciganda and Celine Boutier after being 1 down with two holes left. Kupcho drained improbable birdie putts from 90 and 30 feet the last two holes to give the Americans the match victory — and a team tie going into Sunday’s singles.
After holing the 30-foot birdie on 18, Kupcho put her finger to her lips, shushing the European-dominated crowd.
But Team Europe prevailed on the final day by winning seven of the 12 singles matches.
“She’s a fighter, I’m a fighter, and I told her, ‘Look, great playing,’” Ciganda said of Kupcho. “Yesterday, what she did was amazing on Nos. 17 and 18.
“But today I knew she had no chance. I was like, ‘I want to kill you.’”
Followers of golf in Colorado may remember that in the 2020 Colorado Women’s Open, Kupcho and Ciganda were paired in the lead group for the final round. The Coloradan fended off the Spaniard, winning her first tournament as a pro, while Ciganda finished second. Kupcho has since claimed four titles on the LPGA Tour and is ranked 33rd in the world among female golfers.
On Sunday, Ciganda birdied the second, third, fourth, fifth and seventh hole and was 4 up despite losing No. 6 when she hit her tee ball into the water.
Kupcho won the eighth and 10th holes with birdies — her only two birdies of the match — to cut the deficit to 2 down, but Ciganda countered with birdies at 13 and 16 to close out the match.
“I make a lot of putts,” Ciganda said. “I need to take this mentality into the regular (LPGA) tournaments.”
Kupcho, who led the headlines for the Solheim Cup with her finish on Saturday evening, finished with a 1-3 record for the week, winning a four-ball match with Duncan, losing two foursomes matchups with Rose Zhang, and falling in Sunday singles.
In four Solheim Cup appearances, Kupcho now owns a 4-8-2 individual record in the event. She went 2-0-1 in her first three matches as a Solheim Cup rookie in 2021, but has gone 2-8-1 since. She was 2-1-1 overall in 2021, 0-2-1 in 2023, 1-2 in 2024 and 1-3 this year. She’s 2-0-2 in four-balls, 1-5 in foursomes and 1-3 in singles.
As a team, the Americans haven’t won a Solheim Cup in Europe since 2015, though they tied in 2023, with Europe retaining the cup as it won in 2021.
“It was super fun,” Kupcho said of the week overall. “Honestly, I’m so proud of this team. I think we fought our battle over here. I think we stood our ground over here on foreign soil and I’m really proud of us. We all came together and we really gave it our all. … I know it’s a tough loss, but I think we can come out ahead in the end.”
U.S. still leads the Europeans 11-8, with one tie, all time in the Solheim Cup competition.
Kupcho remains the only golfer who has grown up in Colorado to play in the Solheim Cup matches, which debuted in 1990.
All-time results for Jennifer Kupcho in Solheim Cup:
2026 Sunday Singles — Carlota Ciganda, Europe, def. Jennifer Kupcho, USA, 4 and 2
2026 Saturday Four-Ball — Jennifer Kupcho and Lindy Duncan, USA, def. Carlota Ciganda and Celine Boutier, Europe, 1 up
2026 Saturday Foursomes — Leona Maguire and Esther Henseleit, Europe, def. Jennifer Kupcho and Rose Zhang, USA, 1 up
2026 Friday Foursomes — Maja Stark and Linn Grant, Europe, def. Jennifer Kupcho and Rose Zhang, USA, 3 and 2
2024 Sunday Singles — Jennifer Kupcho, USA, def. Linn Grant, Europe, 2 and 1
2024 Saturday Foursomes — Charley Hull and Esther Henseleit, Europe, def. Jennifer Kupcho and Ally Ewing, USA, 1 up
2024 Friday Foursomes — Emily Pedersen and Maja Stark, Europe, def. Jennifer Kupcho and Ally Ewing, USA, 2 up
2023 Sunday Singles — Anna Nordqvist, Europe, def. Jennifer Kupcho, USA, 2 and 1
2023 Saturday Foursomes — Emily Pedersen and Carlota Ciganda, Europe, def. Jennifer Kupcho and Lilia Vu, USA, 2 and 1
2023 Friday Four-Ball — Jennifer Kupcho and Allisen Corpuz, USA, tied Emily Pedersen and Maja Stark, Europe
2021 Monday Singles — Leona Maguire, Europe, def. Jennifer Kupcho, USA, 5 and 4
2021 Sunday Four-Ball — Jennifer Kupcho and Lizette Salas, USA, tied with Leona Maguire and Mel Reid, Europe
2021 Sunday Foursomes — Jennifer Kupcho and Lizette Salas, USA, def. Anna Nordqvist and Matilda Castren, Europe, 3 and 1
2021 Saturday Four-Ball — Jennifer Kupcho and Lizette Salas, USA, def. Carlota Ciganda and Sophia Popov, Europe, 1 up
For all the results from the 2026 Solheim Cup, CLICK HERE.
Colorado Golf Journal 