LIBERTY CORNER, N.J. and ST. ANDREWS, SCOTLAND (Aug. 17, 2018) – Jennifer Kupcho, 21, of Westminster, Colo., has won the Mark H. McCormack Medal as the leading player in the women's 2018 World Amateur Golf Ranking™ (WAGR). With the honor, Kupcho will be awarded exemptions into the 2019 U.S. Women’s Open and Women’s British Open, if she remains an amateur.

Kupcho had a fantastic year, winning the 2018 NCAA Division I individual championship as well as earning a place on the USA Curtis Cup Team. A rising senior at Wake Forest University, Kupcho earned five collegiate wins, including an NCAA Regional victory, while setting the school record with a 70.6 scoring average during her junior year. Additionally, Kupcho spent five weeks as the No. 1 player in WAGR and spent most of the past two years ranked in the top three.

“It’s a really big honor to get this medal,” said Kupcho. “Obviously it’s been a long stretch of hard work, and it’s great to see it pay off and to have the pride of coming out on top. I’m looking forward to the next college season.”

Kupcho is the first Wake Forest women’s golfer to be awarded the Honda Sport Award, presented annually by the Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) to top women athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports. She earned first-team WGCA All-American honors for the second straight year, and was one of three finalists for the ANNIKA Award, annually given to the most outstanding women’s player of the year. Earlier this summer, Kupcho finished T16 at the LPGA’s Marathon Classic.

After posting a 3-1-1 mark in the USA’s Curtis Cup victory at Quaker Ridge Golf Club, Kupcho has also been selected by the USGA to represent the USA in the 2018 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship at Carton House near Dublin, Ireland, later this month.

The USGA and The R&A co-award the McCormack Medal annually. It is named after Mark H. McCormack, who founded sports marketing company IMG and was a great supporter of amateur golf.

“On behalf of the USGA, our most sincere congratulations to Jennifer Kupcho for earning the esteemed McCormack Medal,” said John Bodenhamer, USGA senior managing director of Championships. “Not only has Jennifer put together a remarkable individual season, highlighted by her NCAA Championship win, but she also represented the USA with respect, talent and passion during the Curtis Cup Match. We look forward to watching her do the same as a member of our World Amateur Team.”

“Jennifer has produced a very high standard of golf over the past year and her excellent results make her a worthy winner of the McCormack Medal,” said Duncan Weir, Executive Director – Golf Development at The R&A. “She is following in the footsteps of a number of outstanding woman golfers and we would like to congratulate Jennifer on this fantastic achievement.”

The World Amateur Golf Ranking, which is supported by Rolex, was established in 2007 when the men’s ranking was launched. The men’s ranking encompasses more than 2,700 counting events, ranking 6,200 players from 106 countries. The women’s ranking was launched in 2011 and has a calendar of more than 1,850 counting events with more than 2,850 ranked players from 78 countries.

About WAGRTM

The World Amateur Golf Ranking™, which comprises a women’s ranking and a men’s ranking for elite amateur players, is offered by The R&A and the USGA as a global service to golf. Through incorporation and assessment worldwide of both amateur and professional events, WAGR encourages the international development of the competitive game. The ranking endeavors to be the most comprehensive and accurate ranking in golf by effectively comparing players from around the world who may never directly compete against one another. It is available to national federations and organizers of amateur and professional events and tours as a criterion for tournament field selection and for purposes of exemptions, national team selection, and orders of merit.

About The Mark H. McCormack Medal

The award is named after Mark H. McCormack, the late founder of sports marketing company IMG and an avid supporter of amateur golf. The Mark H. McCormack Medal is awarded to the player ranked No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking™ after the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship or the European Ladies’ Amateur Championship, whichever concludes last. Established in 2007, the same award goes to the player leading the men’s ranking after the European Amateur Championship or U.S. Amateur Championship, whichever concludes last.

Previous Winners

Women: 2017, 2016, 2015 Leona Maguire (IRE), 2014 Minjee Lee (AUS), 2013, 2012, 2011 Lydia Ko (NZL)

Men: 2017 Joaquin Niemann (Chile), 2016 Maverick McNealy (USA), 2015 Jon Rahm-Rodriguez (SPA), 2014 Oliver Schniederjans (USA), 2013 Matthew Fitzpatrick (ENG), 2012 Chris Williams (USA), 2011 Patrick Cantlay (USA), 2010 Peter Uihlein (USA), 2009 Nick Taylor (CAN), 2008 Danny Lee (NZL), 2007 Colt Knost (USA)

About the USGA
The USGA celebrates, serves and advances the game of golf. Founded in 1894, we conduct many of golf’s premier professional and amateur championships, including the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open. With The R&A, we govern the sport via a global set of playing, equipment and amateur status rules. Our operating jurisdiction for these governance functions is the United States, its territories and Mexico. The USGA Handicap System is utilized in more than 40 countries and our Course Rating System covers 95 percent of the world’s golf courses, enabling all golfers to play on an equitable basis. The USGA campus in Liberty Corner, New Jersey, is home to the Association’s Research and Test Center, where science and innovation are fueling a healthy and sustainable game for the future. The campus is also home to the USGA Golf Museum, where we honor the game by curating the world’s most comprehensive archive of golf artifacts. To learn more, visit usga.org.

About The R&A
Based in St Andrews, The R&A runs The Open, elite amateur events, international matches and rankings. Together The R&A and the USGA govern the sport of golf worldwide, operating in separate jurisdictions but sharing a commitment to a single code for the Rules of Golf, Rules of Amateur Status and Equipment Standards. The R&A, through R&A Rules Ltd, governs the sport worldwide, outside of the United States and Mexico, on behalf of over 36 million golfers in 143 countries and with the consent of 156 organizations from amateur and professional golf.

The R&A is committed to working for golf and supports the growth of the sport internationally and the development and management of sustainable golf facilities.  For more information, visit www.randa.org.