Arnold Palmer famously said upon the design of his masterpiece at Tralee Golf Links that he may have designed the front nine but “God designed the back nine.”
This weekend, the hallowed turf of Tralee will welcome some of the world’s top collegiate golfers for the Arnold Palmer Cup as the Internationals tackle the might of the USA. Indeed it is quite fitting that a competition that is always played out in a fantastic spirit will take place at the second home of Mr. Palmer who grew to love this place – legend has it he was serenaded by the great Chuckie O’Connell in the locker room in his underwear!
Palmer’s legacy is felt everyday in Tralee Golf Links and this will only be heightened when the collegiate team competition named in his honour comes to town from Friday until Sunday.
In 1997 Palmer was approached by the Golf Coaches Association of America regarding lending his name to an international collegiate event between the United States and Great Britain and Ireland.
The event would use a Ryder Cup-style format and bring together the top eight collegiate players in the United States against their counterparts from GB&I. Palmer, a former collegiate player and coach himself, has been called America’s greatest Ambassador for the game of golf. With his blessing and the support of the Arnold Palmer Golf Company, the inaugural event was played at his own Bay Hill Club in Florida in June 1997.
“I had long thought that an international competition such as this would enrich the lives of young men through the universal bond of the great game of golf,” said Mr. Palmer.
The International side are the current holders following a 35-25 victory over the USA in Congaree last year having lost out in Lahinch the year before. This time around they will be looking for revenge on Irish soil again.
The USA holds a 15-13-1 record in the series across the GB&I and Internationals era of the competition.
FORMAT
The teams consist of 12 men and 12 women.
There is a total of 60 matches played over four sessions and three days:
- Friday – 12 mixed four-balls
- Saturday – 12 foursomes and 12 mixed foursomes
- Sunday – 24 singles
A WORD FROM THE CLUB
“It’s the 30th year and the 30th edition of the Arnold Palmer Cup, and it was a very fitting event for us to take our first real steps into the international tournament sphere,” said Maurice O’Meara, Tralee Golf Links General Manager.
“The overlap between the Palmer Group and the ‘Palmer’ name made for great synergy for us, alongside the nature of the event and the way it promotes both male and female amateur golf. So, the anticipation and excitement ahead of it is huge here.
“When we were first approached about hosting it, it was easy to say ‘yes’, because it just seemed so perfect for us.
“In March of 2025, we put together a five-year Strategic Plan called ‘Our Club, Our Future’ of which the overall mission is to ensure that we are one of the leading links golf destinations in the world, and one of our core goals was to host a major international event, so this is huge for everyone at the club.”
Tralee Golf Links will be the sixth Irish golf club to host the Arnold Palmer Cup, following in the footsteps of Doonbeg, Ballybunion, Royal Portrush, Royal County Down, and Lahinch. Anyone wishing to see the next generation of major champions on both the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour should take advantage of the FREE entry this weekend.
More than 95 former Arnold Palmer Cup players have claimed over 435 victories on the PGA, European, LPGA, and Ladies European Tours, including The Masters and US Open Champions Jon Rahm and Dustin Johnson, The Women’s Open and Chevron Championship winner Lilia Vu, The Open and PGA Championship winner Collin Morikawa, two-time PGA Champion Justin Thomas, U.S. Open Champions Wyndham Clark, Bryson DeChambeau, Webb Simpson, Graeme McDowell, and Lucas Glover, U.S. Women’s Open Champions Allisen Corpuz and Maja Stark, The Open Champions Brian Harman, Francesco Molinari and Ben Curtis, The Chevron Championship winner Jennifer Kupcho, and ANA Inspiration Champion Patty Tavatanakit as well as FedEx Cup Champions Viktor Hovland, Patrick Cantlay, Johnson, Thomas, Billy Horschel, Brandt Snedeker and Bill Haas, and LPGA Rolex Player of the Year Vu.
“It’s an extremely democratic event,” O’Meara suggested. “And it fits very much into the modern world because it goes by the rankings so if you’re a college golfer, and you’re good enough, then you’ll get the chance to qualify and play in it.
“Spectators who come and watch will see several players who will be on their TV screens in a few years’ time, and, not to be selfish about it, but we are really excited to see how they play our golf course and how our golf course challenges them. And I think a lot of other people will be really keen to see that too.”
TEAMS
U.S. TEAM
Men
Kihei Akina, BYU
Ryder Cowan, Oklahoma
Wheaton Ennis, Texas A&M
Josiah Gilbert, Auburn
Max Herendeen, Illinois
William Jennings, Alabama
Jonathan McEwen, Washington and Lee
Jacob Modleski, Notre Dame
Cayden Pope, Auburn
Jack Turner, Florida
Willy Walsh, Pepperdine
Connor Williams, Arizona State
Women
Amely Bochaton, Wingate
Kylie Chong, USC
Anna Davis, Auburn
Jasmine Koo, USC
Chloe Kovelesky, Wake Forest
Mackenzie Lee, SMU
Farah O’Keefe, Texas
Macy Pate, Wake Forest
Megan Propeck, Florida
Kiara Romero, Oregon
Bailey Shoemaker, USC
Avery Weed, Mississippi State
INTERNATIONAL TEAM
Men
Nguyen Anh Minh, Oregon State (Vietnam)
Daniel Bennett, Texas (South Africa)
Jack Buchanan, USC (South Africa)
George Cannon, Stirling (Scotland)
Connor Graham, Texas Tech (Scotland)
Malan Potgieter, Louisiana (South Africa)
Luke Poulter, Florida (England)
Niall Sheils Donegan, North Carolina (Scotland)
Arni Sveinsson, LSU (Iceland)
Zack Swanwick, Florida (New Zealand)
Harry Takis, San Diego State (Australia)
Tim Wiedemeyer, Texas Tech (Germany)
Women
Vanessa Borovilos, Texas A&M (Canada)
Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio, Texas A&M (Spain)
Paula Francisco, Florida (Spain)
Veronika Kedronova, Kent State (Czech Republic)
Lauren Kim, Texas (Canada)
Marie Madsen, North Carolina State (Denmark)
Rianne Malixi, Duke (Philippines)
Maria Jose Marin, Arkansas (Colombia)
Paula Martin Sampedro, Stanford (Spain)
Caitlin Maurice, St. Andrews (New Zealand)
Patience Rhodes, Arizona State (England)
Marta Silchenko, Oklahoma State (Latvia)
ARNOLD PALMER CUP BY THE NUMBERS
30th staging of the event at Tralee Golf Links in 2026
15 – The United States holds the advantage, winning 15 of the 29 previous editions with Great Britain & Ireland/Europe/Internationals winning 13, and one tie
6 – Tralee Golf Links will be 6th Irish club to stage the event, following Doonbeg, Ballybunion, Royal Portrush, Royal County Down and Lahinch
26 – The number of Irish players who have competed in the event, with Graeme McDowell, Justin Kehoe, Gareth Shaw, Gary Hurley, Stuart Grehan, Olivia Mehaffey, Lauren Walsh, Max Kennedy, and Ryan Griffin each playing in two
14 – Arnold Palmer Cup players have gone on to win a combined 20 major championships
Leave a comment