LAS VEGAS - Head coaches have been named for the 2025 Arnold Palmer Cup at Congaree Golf Club. Kalen Anderson of South Carolina and Nick Clinard of Auburn will be Team USA co-head coaches while Scotland’s Stew Burke and Ireland’s Aaron O’Callaghan will lead Team International. The Ryder Cup-style competition, which features men’s and women’s collegiate golfers from the United States versus their International counterparts, will be played June 5-7. USA leads the all-time series 15-12-1.
Hired as head coach in January 2008, Anderson has transformed South Carolina into a national powerhouse, earning four consecutive No. 1 NCAA Regional seeds, winning five NCAA Regional titles since 2010, and qualifying for the NCAA Championship in 12 of the past 14 seasons. The Gamecocks have won 28 tournaments under Anderson, including the ANNIKA Intercollegiate this fall, and have earned 48 WGCA All-America honors by 15 different players. The 2024 Southeastern Conference (SEC) Coach of the Year, Anderson’s 2023-24 team set the program record for 18-hole single-season scoring average (286.73), with 2024 Palmer Cup alumnae Hannah Darling and Louise Rydqvist earning WGCA Honorable Mention and First Team All-America honors, respectively. Rydqvist was also named SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year and became the first South Carolina golfer to receive the WGCA’s Edith Cummings Munson Golf Award, an annual honor given to the top student-athlete on and off the course in NCAA Division I women’s golf. With 105 SEC Honor Roll recognitions, 70 WGCA All-American Scholars, 29 All-SEC selections, and four SEC Scholar Athlete of the Years, Anderson has been named SEC Coach of the Year four times (2015, 2021-22, 2024) and was the 2022 WGCA Golf Pride South Region Coach of the Year. Darling (2024), Rydqvist (2024), Ana Peláez Triviño (2021), Pauline Roussin-Bouchard (2020-21), Lois Kaye Go (2019), and Ainhoa Olarra (2018) have made Palmer Cup appearances under Anderson at South Carolina. An Edina, Minn., native, Anderson joined the staff of Duke’s Hall of Fame head coach Dan Brooks in the spring of 2006 and helped the Blue Devils to their second-straight national title. Duke went on to add a third title in 2007 and claimed back-to-back Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championships in her time on staff. Anderson saw four Blue Devils earn All-America status in 2006, including three first-team selections. Earning 1998 ACC co-Rookie of the Year honors and recording 16 career top-10 finishes playing at Duke, Anderson helped the Blue Devils to their first national title in 1999. She was a three-time All-ACC selection and 2000 second-team All-American before graduating with a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a certificate in markets and management in 2001.
Clinard is in his 16th season as head coach at Auburn, where his Tigers finished inside the top three in all five tournaments this fall and won the East Lake Cup. The Gastonia, N.C., native orchestrated one of the best seasons in men’s college golf history in 2023-24, winning their final seven tournaments and 10 of their 13 total. Led by 2024 Palmer Cup alumni and PING First-Team All-Americans Jackson Koivun and Brendan Valdes, the Tigers captured their first national championship and fifth SEC title while Koivun became the only golfer to win the Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, and Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Awards in the same season. Clinard earned SEC Coach of the Year and Dave Williams National Coach of the Year honors while assistant (now associate head) coach and Chris Williams, a 2011 and 2012 Palmer Cup alumnus, was named Jan Strickland Outstanding Assistant Coach. Since he was hired in 2009, Clinard has accumulated a program-record 55 tournament wins, 18 All-Americans, 26 GCAA All-America Scholars, 45 All-SEC selections, and 11 NCAA Championship appearances. Koivun (2024), Valdes (2024), Jovan Rebula (2018), Michael Johnson (2016), and Blayne Barber (2011-12) made Palmer Cup appearances while playing for Clinard at Auburn. Clinard spent eight seasons as head coach at UCF (2001-09), winning 11 tournaments. His Knights won four times in 2008-09, including the program’s first Conference USA Championship and the 2009 NCAA Southeast Regional. Clinard was named 2009 Conference USA Coach of the Year and 2009 Eaton/Golf Pride Southeast Region Coach of the Year. His 66 career tournament victories are the second-most by an active Division I men’s coach behind 2003 and 2015 Palmer Cup head coach Bruce Heppler. Clinard graduated from Wake Forest University in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in speech communication. He played one year of collegiate golf at SMU before playing his final three years at Wake Forest from 1992-95, where the Demon Deacons were ranked in the top 10 in the nation all three seasons. Clinard played professional golf for five seasons on the NGA Hooters Tour as well as several Nike Tour and Canadian Tour events from 1996-2001 prior to becoming head coach of UCF.
A 2024 Arnold Palmer Cup Team International Assistant Coach, Burke is in his second season as Kansas State’s head coach. The Wildcats tallied four top-five finishes this fall, including a victory in the season-opening Powercat Invitational, and enter 2025 ranked 30th by Scoreboard powered by Clippd National Rankings. Hired on June 30, 2023, Burke’s Wildcats surpassed their previous single-season team scoring average record by over six shots (290.25) in 2023-24, highlighted by their first tournament victory (White Sands Invitational) since 2019 and Kansas State’s highest finish in a conference championship (third at the 2024 Big 12 Championship). 2023 and 2024 Palmer Cup alumna Carla Bernat broke the single-season scoring average school record by almost two shots (70.90) en route to becoming Kansas State’s first All-American (WGCA Second Team). Burke, the 2022 American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, previously spent four seasons as the head coach at Tulane. He improved the Green Waves’ national ranking by more than 50 spots from the time he took over. The Bridge of Weir, Scotland, native also led the Green Wave to the 2022 AAC Conference Championship, earning a berth into the NCAA Stillwater Regional. Before following Burke to Kansas State, Bernat earned AAC Women’s Golfer of the Year, First Team All-AAC, and Second Team All-America honors in 2023. Burke originally joined K-State in the spring of 2014 and worked in Manhattan through the fall of 2016, helping the Wildcats post its top two stroke average marks in school history in consecutive seasons. He then served parts of three seasons as the associate head coach at USC before taking over the Tulane program in the fall of 2019, helping guide the Trojans to 14 team victories, including the 2019 Pac-12 Championship and 2019 NCAA West Regional, and consecutive appearances in the NCAA Championship Semifinals (2017 and 2018). Burke played collegiately at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri, where he graduated with a degree in sports management in 2007. He obtained a master’s degree in educational, school and counseling psychology with an emphasis in positive coaching from the University of Missouri in 2019, and he is working on another master’s degree in sports studies.
A 2024 Arnold Palmer Cup Team International Assistant Coach, O’Callaghan was named head coach at East Tennessee State on June 10, 2024. The Cork, Ireland, native guided the Buccaneers to top-15 finishes in all five fall tournaments and were led by two-time Southern Conference Golfer of the Week Kristian Bressum. O’Callaghan spent the last six seasons as the associate head coach at Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons secured 15 tournament wins, appeared in all five NCAA Regionals (2020 was canceled due to COVID), and advanced to four NCAA Championships. Wake Forest won at least one tournament each season, including the 2022 NCAA New Haven Regional and 2022 ACC Championship. The Demon Deacons won five times in O’Callaghan’s first season, the most by a Wake Forest team since 1983-84. Wake Forest was ranked in the top five nationally for the majority of the campaign, while the Demon Deacons advanced to match play at the NCAA Championship for the first time in program history. Wake Forest also broke the school record for top scoring average by over four shots per round. O’Callaghan saw seven Demon Deacons account for 11 All-American honors, while he also had 11 All-ACC selections and 14 ACC All-academic selections. Prior to Wake Forest, O’Callaghan spent four years at Louisville as an assistant coach and associate head coach. O’Callaghan helped the Cardinals to four team victories, three NCAA Regional appearances, and a 14th-place finish at the 2016 NCAA Championship. Among the players he coached at UL was two-time ACC Champion and 2016 Palmer Cup alumnus Robin Sciot-Siegrist. As a player, O’Callaghan was an elite junior player in his native Ireland. He won the 2004 Irish Boys U18 Championship and was the recipient of the 2003-04 Jacques Leglise Trophy and 2005 Ireland Junior Sports Star of the Year. He represented Ireland in European and international competitions between 2001-07, including on the Great Britain and Ireland boys team. O’Callaghan played collegiate golf at Southeastern Louisiana from 2005-09, winning twice and earning first-team All-Southland Conference accolades in 2007.
For more information about the Palmer Cup, visit arnoldpalmercup.com.
About the Arnold Palmer Cup
The Arnold Palmer Cup was co-founded by Arnold Palmer and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) and began at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Orlando, Fla., 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 Palmer Cup has been played at some of the world’s greatest courses, including The Old Course at St. Andrews, The Royal County Down, Royal Portrush, Baltusrol, The Honors Course, Cherry Hills, and Lahinch. Beginning with the 2018 matches at Evian Resort Golf Club, the Palmer Cup is the only major tournament that features men and women playing side-by-side as partners.
Since its inception, over 245 former Arnold Palmer Cup alumni have gone on to earn cards on the PGA, DP World, or LPGA Tours; 47 have represented Europe or the USA in the Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup, or Solheim Cup and more than 90 have claimed over 430 victories on the PGA, DP World, or LPGA Tours. The United States leads the Palmer Cup series 15-12-1.
The Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation supports the Palmer Cup, which provides a platform for perpetuating Arnold Palmer’s commitment to youth character development and the growth of amateur/collegiate golf. For more information, please visit arnoldpalmercup.com.
About the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation
The Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation continues the Palmer family’s mission to champion youth health and development. By continuing their efforts to ensure every child gets the opportunity to live a life well played — through support for nature-focused well-being and character development through golf — the foundation is committed to keeping the Palmer legacy at the forefront of the global conversation of golf and society at large. Learn more at palmerfoundation.org.
Rolex and the Arnold Palmer Cup
Through an unwavering commitment to the game of golf for more than 50 years, Rolex has developed one of the broadest and longest-standing relationships between brand and sport. These strong ties date back to 1967 when Rolex partnered with legendary golfer Arnold Palmer, making him the first official Rolex Golf Testimonee. The charismatic American holds a special place in golf history thanks as much to his natural talent and successful playing career as to his pioneering role in the sport. Since that pivotal bond began, Rolex has gone on to establish partnerships at every level of the sport, including with the governing bodies responsible for advancing the sport and with the finest players, from The Big Three to the New Guard who lead today’s rankings. The decision to partner with the Arnold Palmer Cup was thus a natural progression for the Swiss watchmaker and a tribute to Arnold Palmer’s inspiring legacy.
About Rolex
Rolex is an integrated and independent Swiss watch manufacturer. Headquartered in Geneva, the brand is recognized around the world for its expertise and the quality of its products – symbols of excellence, elegance, and prestige. The movements of its Oyster Perpetual and Cellini watches are certified by COSC, then tested in-house for their precision, performance, and reliability. The Superlative Chronometer certification, symbolized by the green seal, confirms that each watch has successfully undergone tests conducted by Rolex in its laboratories according to its own criteria. These are periodically validated by an independent external organization.
The word “Perpetual” is inscribed on every Rolex Oyster watch. But more than just a word on a dial, it is a philosophy that embodies the company’s vision and values. Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of the company, instilled a notion of perpetual excellence that would drive the company forward. This led Rolex to pioneer the development of the wristwatch and numerous major watchmaking innovations, such as the Oyster, the first waterproof wristwatch, launched in 1926, and the Perpetual rotor self-winding mechanism, invented in 1931. In the course of its history. Rolex has registered over 500 patents. At its four sites in Switzerland, the brand designs, develops, and produces the majority of its watch components, from the casting of the gold alloys to the machining, crafting, assembly, and finishing of the movement, case, dial, and bracelet. Furthermore, the brand is actively involved in supporting the arts and culture, sport, and exploration, as well as those who are devising solutions to preserve the planet.
About Nike
The exclusive footwear, apparel, headwear, and glove supplier of the Arnold Palmer Cup, our mission is what drives us to do everything possible to expand human potential. We do that by creating groundbreaking sport innovations, by making our products more sustainably, by building a creative and diverse global team, and by making a positive impact in the communities where we live and work.