Kupcho shakes off nerves

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France – Jennifer Kupcho and her caddie, Jack Cavanagh, used to play for ice cream when they worked together in the bag room at The Ranch Country Club in Westminster, Colorado. Now they’re walking the fairways together in France with a major championship on the line.

“We had another bag room kid that was really good,” said Cavanagh, “but he didn’t do anything.”

Nothing like the rookie Kupcho, whose putter caught fire in an opening-round 66 Thursday in the Evian Championship. She trails Paula Creamer by two strokes in steamy France.

Kupcho played at Evian Resort Golf Club last summer at the Palmer Cup but is making her debut in the major tournament. It’s her second week working with Cavanagh. She asked him two days ahead of the Marathon Classic, and the assistant golf pro managed to find someone to cover for him in the shop and rearrange his lessons at Walnut Creek Golf Preserve. Kupcho tied for fifth that week.

They talk about the “Bachelorette,” among other things, between shots. She’s a big fan.

“He definitely knows my game and what I like and what I don’t like,” said Kupcho.

The Wake Forest grad said she felt pressure to perform after she turned professional this summer due to the spotlight from winning the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur. She currently ranks 98th on the money list.

“I think after a couple missed cuts earlier,” she said, “I was just like, ‘Relax, you just need to go play and prove who you really are.’ ”

From her two previous major starts as a professional, Kupcho said she learned the importance of playing to the middle of the green during majors.

“I’ll just go out and keep playing my game,” she said, “and if no one can keep up with me, so be it.”