Team International and Team USA are tied 6-6 after the first 12 matches of the 2026 Arnold Palmer Cup at Tralee Golf Links.
Match 1 saw Team International’s Cayetana Fernández García-Poggio and Harry Takis birdie four of the match’s 16 holes en route to an opening 3&2 victory over Team USA’s Kiara Romero and Connor Williams.
“It was great,” said Takis, San Diego State’s first First Team All-American since 1983. “She’s a great partner. She played awesome, and when we both didn’t play well in parts, she stepped up whenever I had a bad hole. When she had a bad hole, I was there. I’ve played on state teams with women but never in a match together, so it was really cool and unique. I really enjoyed it and tried to have fun with it.”
Team International won three of the next five matches that came in to lead 4.5-1.5, including Match 5 where Paula Francisco and Niall Sheils Donegan only led for the final three holes of their 1UP win over Team USA’s Megan Propeck and Jack Turner.
Matches 6, 10, 9, and 11 went Team USA’s way and took a 6-5 lead before Match 12’s tie between Wheaton Ennis and Farah O’Keefe and Team International’s Nguyen Anh Minh and Rianne Malixi notched the team score at six apiece.
Match 8 saw Team International’s Daniel Bennett and Vanessa Borovilos up after each of the first 15 holes before Team USA’s non-Division I representatives Amely Bochaton and Jonathan McEwen battled back to tie the match, giving their team 0.5 points.
“Not our best start, but Amely picked up a few holes that I messed up early on the front nine,” said back-to-back Division III Jack Nicklaus Award presented by Workday recipient McEwen. “I was able to roll in a nice par putt on Hole 8 to see one go in. I was able to make a nice birdie on 9 and swing momemtum with those two holes. We thought a lot better about going into the back nine, where we continued to battle. We got up-and-down from some difficult spots to save par, keep that momentum, and ride it in. We were really happy to get that match back all square.”
“The back nine was really not for me today, but luckily Jonathan carried us there,” back-to-back Division II PING WGCA Player of the Year Bochaton said. “I was really glad and proud to have played with him today. We had a good mix.”
“I can’t think of a time that I’ve played a mixed format like this,” continued McEwen. “It definitely helped knowing somebody was going to hit the fairway from the women’s side of the ball. Knowing that kind of freed me up on the tee box and allowed me to not get too stressed and play some nice tee shots. Having that comfort really helped me play better today.”
“I’m so grateful to be here,” Bochaton said. “I’m going to enjoy the whole week. I know that there’s a lot of people who love being here, so I need to enjoy and have fun.”
“I’m super thankful to be here,” continued McEwen. “It’s a really great thing that the Golf Coaches Association of America puts together something that allows us non-DI players to come and play. I’m super lucky to have that opportunity and hope that I can contribute to the team as much as I can and help out my teammates win.”
Pairings for tomorrow’s two rounds are listed below. Round 2 Foursomes will begin at 7:30am IST and will be followed by approximately 1 pm IST beginning tee times for Round 3 Mixed Foursomes.
Round 2 of the 2026 Palmer Cup will be streamed live on Golf Channel’s YouTube channel 10am-1pm IST (5-8am EST) in addition to streaming on the Golf Channel Mobile App & website. Round 3 will be streamed live on Golf Channel’s YouTube channel 3:30-6:30pm IST (10:30am-1:30pm EST) in addition to streaming on the Golf Channel Mobile App & website.
Follow @ArnoldPalmerCup on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook and visit arnoldpalmercup.com for more information about the Palmer Cup.
Round 2 ~ Foursomes Pairings (all times IST)
7:30 am (#1)
Paula Francisco/Paula Martín Sampedro (International) vs. Mackenzie Lee/Kiara Romero (USA)
7:30 am (#10)
Zack Swanwick/Harry Takis (International) vs. Jack Turner/Willy Walsh (USA)
7:40 am (#1)
Connor Graham/Tim Wiedemeyer (International) vs. Josiah Gilbert/William Jennings (USA)
7:40 am (#10)
Vanessa Borovilos/Lauren Kim (International) vs. Amely Bochaton/Macy Pate (USA)
7:50 am (#1)
Veronika Kedronova/Maria Jose Marin (International) vs. Kylie Chong/Jasmine Koo (USA)
7:50 am (#10)
Daniel Bennett/Árni Sveinsson (International) vs. Kihei Akina/Wheaton Ennis (USA)
8:00 am (#1)
Jack Buchanan/Malan Potgieter (International) vs. Ryder Cowan/Jacob Modleski (USA)
8:00 am (#10)
Cayetana Fernández García-Poggio/Marta Silchenko (International) vs. Megan Propeck/Bailey Shoemaker (USA)
8:10 am (#1)
Marie Eline Madsen/Caitlin Maurice (International) vs. Anna Davis/Farah O’Keefe (USA)
8:10 am (#10)
George Cannon/Nguyen Anh Minh (International) vs. Jonathan McEwen/Connor Williams (USA)
8:20 am (#1)
Luke Poulter/Niall Sheils Donegan (International) vs. Max Herendeen/Cayden Pope (USA)
8:20 am (#10)
Rianne Malixi/Patience Rhodes (International) vs. Chloe Kovelesky/Avery Weed (USA)
Round 3 ~ Mixed Foursomes Pairings (all times IST)
1:00 pm (#1)
Cayetana Fernández García-Poggio/Harry Takis (International) vs. Kihei Akina/Kylie Chong (USA)
1:00 pm (#10)
Paula Martín Sampedro/Zack Swanwick (International) vs. Macy Pate/Willy Walsh (USA)
1:10 pm (#1)
Connor Graham/Lauren Kim (International) vs. Josiah Gilbert/Jasmine Koo (USA)
1:10 pm (#10)
George Cannon/Maria Jose Marin (International) vs. Ryder Cowan/Kiara Romero (USA)
1:20 pm (#1)
Veronika Kedronova/Malan Potgieter (International) vs. Jacob Modleski/Bailey Shoemaker (USA)
1:20 pm (#10)
Patience Rhodes/Tim Wiedemeyer (International) vs. Amely Bochaton/Jonathan McEwen (USA)
1:30 pm (#1)
Daniel Bennett/Marie Eline Madsen (International) vs. Megan Propeck/Jack Turner (USA)
1:30 pm (#10)
Caitlin Maurice/Árni Sveinsson (International) vs. Mackenzie Lee/Connor Williams (USA)
1:40 pm (#1)
Vanessa Borovilos/Luke Poulter (International) vs. Anna Davis/Cayden Pope (USA)
1:40 pm (#10)
Jack Buchanan/Marta Silchenko (International) vs. Max Herendeen/Chloe Kovelesky (USA)
1:50 pm (#1)
Rianne Malixi/Nguyen Anh Minh (International) vs. Wheaton Ennis/Farah O’Keefe (USA)
1:50 pm (#10)
Paula Francisco/Niall Sheils Donegan (International) vs. William Jennings/Avery Weed (USA)
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