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Arnold Palmer Cup will see college golfers’ clash move to Bay Hill from Lahinch

Andrew Griffin — Wed, 08 Apr 2020 11:00:10 +0000

The Arnold Palmer Cup will now be played in December after being swtiched from Lahinch to Bay Hill Club, in Florida, because of the coronavirus pandemic. Picture by PETER LOCKLE

THE Arnold Palmer Cup – the annual match between the best American and international college golfers – is the latest casualty of the coronavirus pandemic.

The 2020 Arnold Palmer Cup was originally scheduled to be played at Lahinch GC, in Ireland, from July 3-5.

Because of the COVID-19 outbreak sweeping across the USA and Europe, it will be rescheduled to take place at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge, on December 21-23, 2020.

The matches will return to the PGA Tour venue at Bay Hill, host of the inaugural playing of the Arnold Palmer Cup in 1997.

Surrey’s Angus Flanagan winner of the Carris Trophy in 2016. Picture by LEADERBOARD PHOTOGRAPHY

Surrey’s former Carris Trophy winner Angus Flanagan, from St George’s Hill, who is in his third year at University of Minnesota, is one of two English players who will now play at Bay Hill, just before Christmas.

The other is Hallamshire’s Alex Fitzpatrick, the younger brother of European Tour winner Matt Fitzpatrick, who played in last year’s Walker Cup defeat for Great Britain and Ireland against the USA, and is at Wake Forest.

The two teams were selected – using the Arnold Palmer Cup rankings based on US college results and picks by each selection committee and the two sets of coaches.

Three Irish players have been denied the chance to play on home soil at Lahinch – Arizona State’s Olivia Mehaffey, Wake Forest’s Mark Power, and Maynooth University’s Caolan Rafferty.

The University of Washington’s Alan Murray is the head coach of the men’s team, who was looking forward to leading the Internationals in the Irishman’s homeland.

Maynooth’s Barry Fennelly is Murray’s assistant coach, while Mehaffey’s team-mates are being led by University of Virginia’s Ria Quiazon-Scott, from the Philippines.

Lahinch Golf Club – which hosted last year’s Home Internationals which was won by defending champions England – will now host the Arnold Palmer Cup in 2024.

Amy Palmer-Saunders – the daughter of legend Arnold Palmer – said in an online statement. “Mindful of the difficult and challenging time for everyone coping with the effects of this pandemic, it is hoped that rescheduling to December will allow the matches to be played in 2020.

“The guidance of leading public health authorities will dictate any further changes to the schedule, with this competition only taking place if it is safe and responsible to do so.”

Palmer’s daughter Amy added: “We look forward to welcoming the top men and women collegiate golfers to Bay Hill.

“My father would have wanted to find a way to honor their excellence in these unprecedented times and hosting the rescheduled Arnold Palmer Cup at Bay Hill will be a fitting way to do so.

“While we are disappointed not to visit Lahinch this summer, we are thrilled that Lahinch has agreed to host in 2024.

“The Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation, which carries on the legacy of my parent’s philanthropic initiatives, and conducts the Arnold Palmer Cup with the GCAA, WGCA and foundation partners Rolex and Nike, is so appreciative of their support during these trying times, as well as The R&A and USGA.

“We are also especially grateful for our collaboration with Lahinch Golf Club, its members and the Lahinch community, and their collective support for the Arnold Palmer Cup. We anticipate a wonderful Palmer Cup in 2024.”

Lahinch will become the third Repubic of Ireland course to stage the Arnold Palmer Cup

Lahinch follows great Irish hosts

LAHINCH Golf Club is fully committed to staging the Arnold Palmer Cup in 2024 when it returns to Europe.

Padraig McInerney, tournament director at Lahinch Golf Club, said: “The postponement of this year’s Arnold Palmer Cup is perfectly understandable amid this current pandemic.

“While it is a great disappointment for Lahinch Golf Club, its members and the entire local community, we remain fully committed to the event – and the wonderful concept of honouring young, talented golfers and, in doing so, providing them with the opportunity to experience international competition over some of the world’s great courses.

“We offer our congratulations to those honoured with selection in 2020 and look forward to continuing our relationship with the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation, college golf and to hosting the 2024 Arnold Palmer Cup.”

Lahinch Golf Club was founded in 1892 and is consistently ranked in the top 50 golf courses in the world.

Originally laid out by Old Tom Morris, Dr Alister MacKenzie was retained in 1926 to redesign the course.

MacKenzie declared: “Lahinch will make the finest and most popular golf course that I, or I believe anyone else, ever constructed.”

Lahinch will become the third course in the Republic of Ireland to host the tournament after Doonbeg, in County Clare, in 2002, and Ballybunion, in 2004.

Bay Hill is renowned as the winter home of Arnold Palmer, combining world-class golf in an exclusive club setting.

The par 72, 7,381-yard Championship course sweeps across 270 acres along the shores of the Butler Chain of Lakes.

Since 1979, Bay Hill has been home to the Arnold Palmer Invitational – one of the most popular tournaments on the PGA Tour.

Arnold Palmer Cup alumni Francesco Molinari (2019) and Matt Every (2014-15) have claimed victory at Arnie’s tournament.

The 18th hole at Bay Hill has seen plenty of drama in the Arnold Palmer Invitational

How the Arnold Palmer Cup evolved

THE Arnold Palmer Cup was co-founded by Arnold Palmer and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).

It began at Orlando’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge in 1997.

The event is a Ryder Cup-style tournament featuring the top men’s and women’s university/ college golfers matching the United States against a team of international players.

The Arnold Palmer Cup has been played at some of the world’s greatest courses including St Andrews’ Old Course, Whistling Straits, which is set to the Ryder Cup in September, Royal Liverpool’s Hoylake, Baltusrol, The Honors Course, and Cherry Hills.

The United States leads the series with 12 wins to 10 – just one of the 13 matches has been tied.

The 2018 matches at Evian Resort Golf Club, the French club which hosts the LPGA Major annually, became the only major tournament which features men and women playing side-by-side as partners.

And in 2019 the event became truly global with the Americans taking on an International team for the first time.

The Internationals claimed 13 of the 24 points in the Sunday singles matches at The Alotian Club, in Arkansas to become the first visiting team to win on US soil since 2009.

The first six editions of the Arnold Palmer Cup were played between the USA and Great Britain Ireland, before it became a European team in 2003 for the match at Kiawah Island, with the visitors winning at the the 1991 Ryder Cup venue in a reverse of the professionals’ match’s outcome.

The USA won at Royal Portrush, in Northern Ireland, in 2010, with the Europeans gaining the upper hand at Royal County Down, another superb course in the six counties, two years’ later.

The hosts also won when the Arnold Palmer Cup was played at Walton Heath – another Ryder Cup venue – in 2014, and Formby GC, in Lancashire, in 2016.

The winning International team at the 2019 Arnold Palmer Cup with former US president Bill Clinton at the Alotian Golf Club, in Arkansas.

Arnold Palmer Cup’s famous alumni

SINCE its inception, more than 100 Arnold Palmer Cup alumni have gone on to earn cards on either the PGA Tour, European Tour or LPGA.

Twenty-nine have represented Europe or the USA in the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup, and more than 60 have claimed in excess of 240 victories on the PGA or European Tours.

Among the Europeans to feature were Graeme McDowell, Luke Donald, Jon Rahm, Andrea Pavan, Alex Noren, Alejandro Canizares, Joost Luiten, Jorge Campillo, Justin Walters, Paul Dunne, Richard Ramsay, Scott Jamieson, Thomas Pieters and Norway’s Viktor Hovland, who won the Puerto Rico Open in February.

Hovland played in the 2017 Arnold Palmer Cup alongside Hampshire’s Harry Ellis, who went on to claim the Amateur Championship two weeks later.

Surrey’s Ben Taylor, who graduated from the Korn Ferry to earn his PGA Tour card for 2020, played in 2013, while Woburn’s Steve Lewton, who is on the Korn Ferry Tour this season after coming through its Q-school, played back in 2006 at Prestwick, when a European team won 191/2-41/2.

The American teams have featured Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler, Webb Simpson, Bryson DeChambeau, J B Holmes, Matt Kuchar, Patrick Cantlay, Brandt Snedeker, Ryan Moore, Lucas Glover, Charles Howell III, Hunter Mahan, Ben Curtis, and Nick Watney.

•The Arnold Palmer Cup is supported by Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation.

It provides a platform for perpetuating the legend – who won seven Majors – and his commitment to youth development plus the growth of amateur and collegiate golf.

For more information visit ArnoldPalmerCup.com

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Straight down the middle for Crosby’s boy as his USA team win Walker Cup at Hoylake

Andrew Griffin — Mon, 09 Sep 2019 05:00:48 +0000

The USA team’s five-point victory against Great Britain and Ireland at Hoylake was the biggest away win since Sunningdale in 1987. Picture by USGA

THE USA Team rebounded from a 7-5 overnight deficit, winning 10½ out of a possible 14 points to capture the 47th Walker Cup Match over Great Britain & Ireland at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, on Sunday.

It was the first USA victory on GB&I soil since 2007 at Royal County Down when a team containing Rory McIlroy, Danny Willett and David Horsey lost 111/2-121/2 to an American team featuring Dustin Johnson, Ricky Fowler and Webb Simpson.

The final tally of 15½-10½ 12 years later was the most decisive winning margin for a visiting USA team since a 16½-7½ victory at Sunningdale, in 1987

The USA retained the trophy after their 19-7 win at Los Angeles Country Club two years ago and now leads the overall series 37-9 with just one match tied.

While the USA team performed well during the morning foursomes matches, securing two-and-a-half points to trim the GB&I lead to just one point with 10 singles matches to come.

And it was the afternoon singles that truly made the difference, as the visitors won eight out of 10 – equalling their singles performance in the final sesssion two years ago.

Any thoughts of a nail-biting finish to men’s amateur golf’s most prestigious team competition were banished in just four hours.

USA captain Nathaniel Crosby (left) is congratulated by GB&I captain Craig Watson after the American’s victory at Royal Liverpool. Picture by USGA

Winning USA captain Nathaniel Crosby, who played at Hoylake when the Americans last won at Royal Liverpool in 1983, said proudly: “The singles were amazing The guys played great.”

John Augenstein, who was runner up in last month’s US Amateur at Pinehurst, hit the opening tee shot of the competition on Saturday morning – and then secured the winning point beating Somerset’s Thomas Plumb, 4&3.

“I did not know that my match this afternoon was the clinching point,” said Augenstein. “I mean, it really doesn’t matter who clinches it.

“The fact is that we’re a team and we won the Walker Cup for each other and for the United States.”

Team-mate John Pak was the only player not lose a match, wining his one foursomes and two singles matches.

The Florida State junior – who played for the Seminoles alongside Hampshire’s Harry Ellis the 2017 Amateur Champion – picked up crucial points on both days.

He came back from a late deficit against Ireland 2019 Amateur Champion James Sugrue, winning the last two holes to defeat the Mallow man by one-hole, despite the efforts of a large contingent from the Irish club cheering on their man very loudly on Saturday afternoon.

“Yesterday afternoon with John Pak, that was a really pivotal match,” added Crosby, who was the sixth son of legendary crooner and golf fan Bing Crosby. “I think that really made a big difference in our psychology.

“We could have been two points or even worse down going into today. These guys are inseparable. They’ve got a great memory now.”

Other notable performance from the USA team included Brandon Wu and Alex Smalley, each of whom played in all four sessions and earned three points, with the latter beating Ireland’s Caolin Rafferty 2&1 in the third match.

Yorkshire’s Alex Fitzpatrick lost the 18th to Isaiah Salinder to go down by two holes in the top singles match. Picture by USGA

Hallamshire’s Alex Fitzpatrick – who was cheered on by his Ryder Cup brother Matt – had just lost to by two holes to Isaiah Salinder at the top of the order.

Mid-amateur Stewart Hagestad – the only player on either side who played two years ago – had a sparkling final day, winning two matches.

He and foursomes partner Akshay Bhatia – the youngest player in USA Walker Cup history – bounced back from their foursomes defeat against West Cornwall’s Harry Hall and Conor Gough, on Saturday.

They exacted revenge in the rematch with a 3&2 victory in Sunday’s foursomes. Hagestad and Bhatia won their singles matches in convincing fashion, 5&3, and 4&2 – against James Sugrue and Hall – respectively.

“Obviously the boys are disappointed,” said GB&I captain Craig Watson, who played alongside Hampshire’s Justin Rose, in another heavy defeat for the Home Nations in the 1997 Walker Cup on US soil.

“It didn’t go quite to plan but they can be proud of their achievements to get in the team first of all and of their performance this weekend. I’m proud of all of them,” Watson added.

Sandy Scott claimed GB&I’s first point of the afternoon after an impressive 4&3 win over Wu.

The 21-year-old from Nairn went five up before the turn, only to lose the next three holes to the American from the ninth.

Scott bounced back with birdies on the 12th and 14th to go four up – and closed out the match when the 15th hole was halved in par.

Somerset’s Tom Sloman salutes a winning putt on the 15th in his foursomes match against World No. 1 Hammer Cole. Picture by USGA

Sloman salvaged some pride for the home crowd by beating Steven Fisk by two holes in the bottom match to make the final score 15½-10½.

Cole Hammer – the World No. 1 who was awarded the Mark H. McCormack Medal last month – recorded the biggest victory of the weekend with a 6&5 victory in Sunday singles against Conor Purcelll, having lost his first two matches.

Sloman and Plumb, who had been lined up to reproduce their England and county foursomes partnership, bounced back from losing on Saturday to claim a crucial points in last game before lunch, beating Cole and Fisk 5&3.

US Amateur champion Andy Ogletree beat Stoke Park’s England Amateur Champion Conor Gough 2&1.

The 17-year-old, who was younger than Rose when he made his Walker Cup debut 24 hours earlier, had also seen his unbeaten record go in the foursomes playing with Hall.

Nearly 11,000 fans flocked to Hoylake over the two days, with the match played in sunny, mild conditions with light winds.

Final scores can be viewed here.

•The 48th Walker Cup Match will be held at Florida’s Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, from May 8-9, 2021. The traditional September date has been moved to avoid any problems with the hurricane season in the States.

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England miss out on Euro’s glory as Sweden condemn them to third silver in a row

Andrew Griffin — Mon, 15 Jul 2019 14:08:52 +0000

The England team who were beaten 41/2-21/2 in the final of the European Amateur Team Championship by hosts Sweden at Llunghusen Golf Club.

ENGLAND narrowly missed out on the chance to win the European Men’s Team Championship for a record 12th time when they lost to hosts Sweden in the final of this year’s championship at Llunghusen GC.

Tom Sloman, Alex Fitzpatrick and Ben Jones all claimed top-10 finishes as England finished second behind Ireland in the 36-hole strokeplay qualifier earlier in the week.

And they went on to defeat both Wales and Scotland by 4-3 before losing 4½- 2½ to the hosts in a keenly contested final in which all but one of the matches went at least as far as the 17th green.

The English team were the first to put a point on the board when Somerset pair Tom Sloman and Tom Plumb recorded their third foursomes win of the tournament with a 2&1 win over Ludvig Aberg and Christoffer Palsson.

But David Nyfjall and Vincent Norrman ensured the scoreline was level at lunch with a 4&3 victory over Alex Fitzpatrick and Matty Lamb.

In the afternoon Harry Hall made it three-out-of-three in the singles with a 2&1 victory over Norrman, and Plumb also halved with Nyfjall – but that was not quite enough to see the team over the line.

The result means England have won three sliver medals in a row having also achieved that feat in Austria in 2017 – and then again in Germany 12 months later.

The men’s team comprised Sloman (Taunton & Puckeridge) Fitzpatrick (Hallamshire), Jones (Northamptonshire County), Plumb (Yeovil), Hall (West Cornwall) and Lamb (Hexham).

For full scores click here.

Women’s team end up in fifth place

•ENGLAND ended the European Ladies’ Team Championship on a high note when they beat Scotland 3-2 to claim fifth place at Is Molas in Sardinia.

The team made up of Lianna Bailey, Roehampton’s Annabell Fuller, Berkhamsted’s Alice Hewson, Stoke by Naylan’s Lily May Humphrey and Cornwall’s Women’s Amateur Champion – Emily Toy, from Carlyon Bay – lost the chance of collecting a medal when they were beaten 5½ – 1½ by Sweden in the opening round of the knockout competition.

But they then defeated Denmark 3½-1½ before rounding the championship out with a win over the Scots. The event was won by Sweden who beat Spain 5-2 in the final.

For full results from the championship click here.

Boys also fifth as hosts France win

THERE was also a fifth-place finish for the English team at the European Boys’ Team Championship where hosts France won in front of the own fans at Chantilly.

England – represented by Hallamshire’s Barclay Brown, Stoke Park’s Conor Gough, Bishop’s Stortford’s Max Hopkins, Florida-based Joe Pagdin, Rotheram’s Brabazon Trophy record-breaker Ben Schmidt and Robin Williams, from Peterborough Milton – lost 4-3 to Ireland in the opening round.

But the U18s then defeated Italy 3½-1½ before rounding things by beating Spain by the same scoreline.

Click here for full results

Girls qualify in fifth but lose to hosts

THE English Girls team finished fifth in qualifying at the European Girls’ Team Championship, at Parador El Saler, in Spain, but then lost 4-3 to Spain, 3-2 to The Netherlands and 3½ – 1½ to Sweden to finish eighth.

The event was won for the first time by Denmark who beat Spain in the final. Click here for full results.

ENGLAND GIRLS: Jessica Baker (Gosford Ladies), Rosie Belsham (Whitely Bay), Ellie Gower (Gleneagles), Charlotte Heath (Huddersfield), Euphemie Rhodes (Burnham & Berrow and Caitlin Whitehead (Carus Green).

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