Since turning pro in 2019, Jennifer Kupcho has enjoyed huge success, including her maiden Major title at the 2022 Chevron Championship.
She also makes her third Solheim Cup appearance in the 2024 edition of the match at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. However, she’s not the only member of the household at the contest. Kupcho’s US teammate Allisen Corpuz will have caddie Jay Monahan alongside her, who just happens to be married to Kupcho!
Monahan (not to be confused with the PGA Commissioner of the same name) used to be a professional golfer too. However, that all changed in 2020 after he was approached by LPGA Tour pro Caroline Inglis about becoming her caddie. Monahan, who is originally from Iowa, tried it out, working alongside Inglis in five events that year before deciding to take up caddying full-time in 2021.
The couple first met at Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club in Phoenix, Arizona, where Kupcho is a member and Monahan was working as a caddie.
In August 2021, Monahan proposed to Kupcho with a message on a dessert plate saying: “Will you marry me?” As Kupcho wrote in an Instagram message accompanied by photos of the couple and the romantic gesture: “I said yes! Can’t wait to spend forever with you.”
Kupcho and Monahan married on 19 February 2022. The location? Superstition Mountain, where it all began.
It would perhaps seem natural for Monahan to become his wife’s caddie, but instead, he’s the bagman for 2023 US Women’s Open champion Corpuz.
In an interview with the USGA Monahan explained how that arrangement came about. He said: “I had traveled with Jen to Florida for the first two events of the 2022 season (she already had a great caddie) and got a random text from Allisen before that second week.
“It was her rookie year and her status got her into the event late and she needed a caddie. Lucky for me, one of the caddies she knew already had passed along my name. We did a trial that week and it went really well so she hired me going forward.
“Jen and I have talked about the possibility of me caddying for her, but for right now, we both think it works really well when I’m on someone else’s bag!”
That didn't stop Monahan celebrating with Kupcho immediately after she holed her winning putt at the Chevron Championship, something he also did after she won the 2022 Meijer LPGA Classic.
Considering both Jennifer and Jay have enjoyed success at Majors, Monahan also told the USGA there is plenty of friendly competition between them. He said: “Awh, man, we're always going back and forth, whether it's just a casual nine holes when we're home or playing card games, there's always some competition there.”
For the Solheim Cup, at least, they will be working for the same goal – trying to help the US win the match for the first time since 2017, albeit with Monahan alongside Corpuz and Kupcho with her regular caddie, Josh Udelhofen.
