Tag: 2024 Arnold Palmer Cup

Team USA dominates Sunday Singles to retain Arnold Palmer Cup in Ireland

The United States extended its leads in the Palmer Cup series to 15-12-1.

The Americans are bringing home the cup again.

Team USA and the International squad entered Sunday Singles tied at 18 with 24 matches left to decide the 2024 Arnold Palmer Cup. However, the Americans left no doubt, dominating the final day of competition to win the Palmer Cup for the second straight year and third time in the last four.

The Americans won Sunday Singles 14½-9½ to claim the Palmer Cup on Sunday at Lahinch in Ireland. Although the Internationals won the first three matches of the day, Team USA stormed back, beginning with World No. 1 amateur Gordon Sargent’s 5-and-4 win over Bastien Amat for the first point of singles. The final margin was 32½-27½.

Also earning points for Team USA in singles was Melanie Green, who last week became the first American in 28 years to win the Women’s Amateur Championship in Europe, and stalwart Rachel Kuehn, who was again a key piece for Team USA in an international competition.

The Arnold Palmer Cup trophy the 2024 Arnold Palmer Cup at Lahinch in Ireland. (Photo: GCAA)

In the final four matches out, Jackson Koivun, the consensus national player of the year, Preston Summerhays, Anna Morgan and 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur runner-up Latanna Stone each claimed victories for Team USA.

Mary Kelly Mulcahy, a Division II player at Findlay for Team USA, became the fourth American to go 4-0 in the Palmer Cup since 2018, joining Amari Avery, Gina Kim and Emilia Migliaccio. She’s the first non-Division I player to accomplish the feat.

“I’ve been working toward getting here for months and believed that I prepared the right way,” Mulcahy said. “Knowing that, I was able to come here with confidence and just enjoy the experience.”

The United States extended its leads in the Palmer Cup series to 15-12-1. The Arnold Palmer Cup is a Ryder Cup-style competition featuring men’s and women’s collegiate golfers from the United States against their International counterparts.

The win was USA’s first on international soil since 2018 at Evian Resort Golf Club in France and second since 2010 at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland.

The Internationals led after the opening day of play before the Americans stormed back Saturday to tie the competition heading into singles.

On Sunday, Auburn rising sophomore Anna Davis made an ace on the par-3 16th hole.

“I haven’t had a hole-in-one since I was about 8 years old, so the 10-year drought is over,” Davis said right after her ace.

24 things to look forward to in amateur golf in 2024, including the Curtis Cup and new NCAA Championship venue

The championship calendar for amateurs is loaded this year.

The calendar has turned to 2024, which means the golf schedule is fresh, kicking off this week with the PGA Tour’s The Sentry in Hawaii.

However, the professional game is only one aspect of the global sport. Amateur golf takes up a big chunk of the schedule, and there are plenty of signature events to be excited about in the coming year.

Whether it’s the Curtis Cup or a new NCAA Championship venue, players returning from injury or others having one last semester in their college careers, there is plenty to look forward to in the amateur golf realm.

Here are 24 things to look forward to in amateur golf in 2024.

Arnold Palmer Cup announces head coaches, assistants for 2024 competition at Lahinch

The competition heads to Lahinch in 2024.

LAS VEGAS — The head and assistant coaches for the American and International squads at the 2024 Arnold Palmer Cup were named Tuesday during the annual coaches convention at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas.

LSU’s Garrett Runion and Arizona State’s Matt Thurmond will be Team USA co-head coaches, and Minnesota’s Rhyll Brinsmead and Ireland’s Barry Fennelly will guide the International team. Florida’s Dudley Hart and LSU’s Alexis Rather are the Team USA co-assistant coaches while Scotland’s Stew Burke and Ireland’s Aaron O’Callaghan will assist Team International.

The Ryder Cup-style competition, which features men’s and women’s collegiate golfers from the United States against their International counterparts, will be played July 5-7 at Lahinch in Ireland.

Runion, who has been a part of two national championships and earned multiple conference and regional coach of the year awards thus far during his collegiate coaching career, is in his sixth season as the LSU women’s golf head coach. The Tigers have 12 wins, including their first SEC Championship in 30 years in 2022, and made three straight NCAA Division I National Championship appearances with Runion at the helm.

Thurmond is in his eighth season as head men’s golf coach at Arizona State and has earned Pac-12 Coach of the Year three times, including in 2019. The Sun Devils have won 19 tournaments, including back-to-back NCAA Regionals, and have earned 18 PING All-American and three straight Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year honors during his tenure.

Hart is in his seventh season on Florida and coach J.C. Deacon’s coaching staff, and first as associate head coach. The Gators put together a historic season in 2022-23 that led to six tournament titles, including the program’s fifth NCAA Division I National Championship and 16th SEC Championship. Hart was named the 2023 Jan Strickland Outstanding Assistant Coach Award recipient, becoming the second Gator to receive the award, joining John Handrigan in 2015. During his tenure, the Gators have won 14 tournaments and earned nine PING All-America and 14 PING All-Southeast Region honors.

Rather is in her 14th season with the Tigers and her sixth working with Runion. She spent eight seasons under the tutelage of long-time LSU head coach Karen Bahnsen in addition to playing for Bahnsen in the purple and gold from 2003-08, where she recorded a program-record 125 rounds played and chipped in for the only birdie in a sudden death playoff for the eighth and final qualifying spot at the 2008 NCAA East Regional that advanced LSU to the NCAA Championship.

Brinsmead, who was a Team International assistant coach at the 2023 Palmer Cup, took the helm as the head women’s golf coach at Minnesota in January 2021. In her first two-plus seasons, she has led the Gophers to four top-fives, including in two of their four tournaments this fall, and 17 top-10 finishes. Seven of her players have earned WGCA All-American Scholar honors.

Fennelly is in his 13th season as head coach of both the men’s and women’s programs at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. Under Fennelly’s direction, Maynooth has become the perennial leader in Ireland, having won two National club titles and numerous Irish, British, and European University titles.

Burke was named head coach at Kansas State on June 30 after holding the same position at Tulane the previous four seasons. The Wildcats recorded a 291.33 team stroke average this fall, which is their best fall stroke average since at least 2011. At the White Sands Invitational in October, which included individual winner Haley Vargas, Kansas State captured their first team victory in four years. Carla Bernat, 2023 Palmer Cup alumna, also won the Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational, marking the first time in six years that Kansas State had multiple individual winners.

O’Callaghan is in his seventh season as the Demon Deacons’ associate head coach, coming to Wake Forest in July 2018 after four seasons at Louisville. This fall, the Wake Forest men’s golf team won both the team and individual titles at the Highlands Invitational at the Chicago Highlands Club, with 2022 Palmer Cup alumnus Michael Brennan claiming his seventh career individual title, the fourth most in program history.

The Americans lead the all-time series 14-12-1.