Established 1997 Format Match play | Course(s) 2016: Formby Golf Club Month played June (2016) | |
Location 2016: Formby, Merseyside, England | ||
The Arnold Palmer Cup is an annual team golf competition between American college golfers and European college/university golfers. Until 2016, it was known as the Palmer Cup. The teams are selected on the basis of nationality, not according to the location of the players' universities. Many of the European players attend American universities as sports scholarships have never been a feature of the university system in Europe. From 1997 to 2002 the United States played Great Britain & Ireland rather than the whole of Europe. Originally contested between eight-man teams, the rosters expanded to ten per side in 2013.
Contents
The current format consists of five four-ball matches, five foursome matches, and two sets of ten singles matches for 30 points overall.
From 2018 there will be two major changes. The teams will be mixed-sex and will consist of 12 men and 12 women. In addition the Europe team will be replaced by an International team covering all players with citizenship outside the United States.
Europe won the 2008 tournament and successfully retained the trophy in 2009 with a 13–11 victory, this tied the overall competition up at 6–6–1. USA won the 2010 tournament for the first time on European soil since 2002 with a 13–11 victory. This gave the USA a 7–6–1 overall advantage in the Palmer Cup series. The USA team won again in 2011, 13–11, to boost the overall record to 8–6–1. Europe won the 2012 Palmer Cup, 13½–10½, by winning seven of eight singles matches on the final day. The USA won in 2013 to make the overall record. Europe won in 2014, 18½–11½, by winning eight of ten singles matches on the final day and cut the USA's advantage to 9–8–1. The USA reclaimed the cup in 2015, 18–12, to improve their overall record to 10–8–1.
Future sites
Michael Carter award
The Michael Carter Award was inaugurated in 2002. On February 13, 2002, former Penn State University golfer Michael Carter died in an automobile accident at the age of 19. "The Michael Carter “Junior” Memorial Award is presented to the Arnold Palmer Cup participant from each team who best represents the qualities and ideals that made this young man unique."
Former participants
The following competitors have subsequently played in either the Ryder Cup or the Presidents Cup: Ben Curtis, Luke Donald (2), Rickie Fowler, Lucas Glover (2), Bill Haas (2), J. J. Henry, J. B. Holmes, Dustin Johnson, Chris Kirk, Matt Kuchar (2), Hunter Mahan, Graeme McDowell (2), Francesco Molinari, Thomas Pieters, Webb Simpson, Brandt Snedeker, Oliver Wilson (3).