No. 11 at Lahinch Golf Club
(Photo Courtesy of the GCAA)
NORMAN, OK (March 3, 2017) -- Lahinch Golf
Club,
overlooking the Atlantic Ocean on the west coast
of
Ireland, will host the 24th playing of the Arnold
Palmer Cup in 2020. The matches will mark the
third
Arnold Palmer Cup be held under the expanded
format to include men’s and women’s USA
collegiate
golfers against the counterparts from around the
world. The annual Ryder Cup-style competition
will
be played July 3-5.
“Arnie’s Army Charitable Foundation is
pleased
the Arnold Palmer Cup will return to the west of
Ireland for the 2020 matches at Lahinch Golf
Club,”
said Kevin Bingham, CEO of Arnie’s Army
Charitable
Foundation. “Lahinch boasts a long and rich
history
and shares Arnie’s Army’s passion for the game
and
the positive lessons it teaches us all, most
especially
young people. Mr. Palmer was a great proponent
of
international competition and the way it brings
people closer together. We’re pleased that future
college players and their junior caddies will enjoy
this character building experience on one of the
world’s finest links.”
Lahinch Golf Club was founded in 1892 and
is
consistently ranked in the Top 50 golf courses in
world golf. Originally laid out by Old Tom Morris,
the
services of Dr. Alister MacKenzie were retained in
1926 to redesign the course, following which he
declared “Lahinch will make the finest and most
popular golf course that I, or I believe anyone
else,
ever constructed.”
Since 1895, the spectacular links course has
played host to Ireland’s oldest amateur
championship ‘The South of Ireland’. Past
Champions include Darren Clarke, Paul McGinley
and
Graeme McDowell, who participated in the 2000
&
2001 Arnold Palmer Cups. Other past champions
of
“The South” include Justin Keogh and Stuart
Grehan, who were honored to represent Europe
in
the 2002 and 2016 Arnold Palmer Cups,
respectively. To add to this rich tradition of
promoting and encouraging the amateur game,
three-time Major winner Padraig Harrington won
the
Irish Amateur Championship at Lahinch in 1995
while, last year, the Club hosted the Irish Ladies
Championship for the twelfth time, with Olivia
Mahaffey winning the title in glorious sunshine at
Lahinch.
The links regularly plays host to U.S. golfers
as
they plot their preparations for The Open
Championship each July.
Commenting on the decision to award the
2020
Arnold Palmer Cup to Lahinch, Club Captains
Gerry
Pierse and Angela Cullinan said, “This is a great
honour for Lahinch. It is also, we believe,
recognition of the Club’s support and
encouragement for the amateur game stretching
back over a century, with the hosting by the Club
of
the first South of Ireland Championship in 1895
and
the Irish Ladies Close Championship in 1904. We
have no doubt but that the experience of
competitive golf on a classic links course will
create
lasting memories for the young men and women
who are selected to represent their respective
teams. As a Club we will do all in our power to
ensure that the tournament is true to the ethos
of
the game and the vision of Mr. Palmer by using
our
friendship in golf as one of the great avenues for
communication and understanding between the
nations of the world. Above all we can assure all
visitors to Lahinch who come to participate,
whether
as player, spectator or administrator, a truly
unique
and wonderful Irish welcome.”
ABOUT THE
Palmer Cup
The annual Ryder Cup-style competition
features
top men and women collegiate players from the
United States
against their International counterparts.
Each team will be comprised of 12 men's and
12
women's golfers.
Day one will feature Mixed Four-Ball
competition, day
two will see Mixed
Foursomes in the morning and Four-Ball in the
afternoon, with 24 singles
matches on the final day.
View Complete Tournament Information