Jennifer Kupcho fired a 3-under 69 Friday at Mountain Ridge Country Club, taking the outright lead at 5-under 139 at the Mizuho Americas Open with play still ongoing in the afternoon wave.

The 28-year-old American, who entered the day at 2-under and tied for 10th, was in red-hot form on the front nine, carding four birdies in a stretch that had her as low as 6-under for the tournament. She birdied the second, third, sixth and eighth holes — the latter two being par-5s — to make the turn in 32.

"Yeah, I think early this morning on the front nine there was definitely a lot less wind, hardly any at all really," Kupcho said. "It was a lot easier to get closer to the pins and honestly just be a little bit more aggressive with the putts."

Kupcho's back nine proved more difficult. She picked up a birdie at the par-5 13th to reach 7-under, but bogeys at the par-3 14th hole and par-5 17th hole brought her back to 5-under heading into the final hole. She made par at 18 to post 69 and complete her round.

The course has drawn comparisons to major championship-style setups, a notion Kupcho said resonated with her.

"Yeah, definitely. You definitely have to think through everything," Kupcho said. "Think about the miss. Think about — I mean, sometimes in U.S. [Women’s] Opens I definitely think about, okay, I'm just going to lay this 10-footer up so that I can have a tap-in instead of a five-footer back up the hill."

Kupcho, who owns four LPGA Tour titles including the 2022 Chevron Championship — her lone major — is a familiar contender at this event. She finished solo second in 2023 and tied for third in 2024 before slipping to a T33 last year. With 36 holes remaining, she is poised for another strong finish at a tournament she has long favored.

With 36 holes to play and the afternoon wave still on course, Kupcho is well-positioned to contend for her fifth LPGA Tour title. Asked about her mindset heading into the weekend, she kept it simple.

"Just go out there and keep playing smart," she said. "You never know what can hit you. I think you put yourself in one bad spot and you can make a triple, so just playing smart, just continuing to hopefully put myself in good positions, and if not, take my medicine where I need to."

Jennifer Kupcho Posts Strong Second Round, Sets Up Weekend Run at Mizuho Americas Open

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