LAHINCH, Ireland - Team USA defeated Team International 32.5-27.5 on Sunday afternoon to win the 2024 Arnold Palmer Cup at Lahinch Golf Club and retain the Cup for the second straight year.
Four-time Palmer Cup participant Latanna Stone provided the Cup-clinching point after retaking the lead on the 14th hole against Team International’s Julia Lopez Ramirez and never looking back, winning Match 57 1UP.
“I was really nervous going up 18,” said Stone, who was selected to Team USA when the Palmer Cup was slated to be held at Lahinch Golf Club in 2020 before the matches were rescheduled to Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge and also won the Palmer Cup with Team USA in 2021 at Rich Harvest Farms. “Having my coach walking by me and seeing all of my teammates sitting on the green waiting for me to come up was really special. What a way to end my career with my two coaches from LSU here.”
The day’s first match in was Match 40 between the top-ranked male amateur in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, Gordon Sargent, and Team International’s Bastien Amat. Sargent recorded six birdies, an eagle, and no bogeys to claim his ninth career Palmer Cup victory 5&4.
Team International got a run of early wins, including from Josele Ballester (4&2), Calum Scott (1UP), Filip Jakubcik (1UP), and Santiago de la Fuente (4&2).
“I hit it pretty well off the tee, so I was always in the fairway and in a good position to put pressure on from the beginning,” said de la Fuente. “With how tight the scoreboard was today, one point can make a difference in winning the Cup.”
Team USA’s Anna Davis recorded a hole-in-one on the par-3, 175-yard 16th hole (seventh hole of Match 48) against Team International’s Paula Martín Sampedro.
“I haven’t had a hole-in-one since I was about eight years old,” Davis said. The 10-year drought is over!”
Crowd favorite Mary Kelly Mulcahy used five birdies en route to her 2&1 victory over Ireland and Team International’s Kate Lanigan in Match 42.
“I got down a couple early but stayed mentally confident,” said Mulcahy. “I think that I was the strongest mentally today of the entire week.”
Mulcahy, the University of Findlay’s first Palmer Cup participant who set the program and Great Midwest Conference record for single-season scoring average in 2023-24, is the first non-Division I selection in Palmer Cup history to go undefeated (4-0).
“I’ve been working towards getting here for months and believed that I prepared the right way,” she continued. “Knowing that, I was able to come here with confidence and just enjoy the experience.”
The win was USA’s first on international soil since 2018 at Evian Resort Golf Club in Évian-les-Bains, France, and second since 2010 at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Portrush, Northern Ireland.
Each year, a man and woman are voted upon by their peers to receive exemptions into the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and Amundi Evian Championship. The 2024 recipients were Jackson Koivun and Rachel Kuehn. Kuehn is the first player to receive their respective exemption in consecutive years.
On February 13, 2002, former Penn State University golfer and GCAA Arnold Palmer Cup intern Michael Carter died in an automobile accident at the young age of 19. While Carter tragically left this world too soon, his infectiously fun-loving spirit will forever live in this competition. 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.
The 2024 recipients were Preston Summerhays and Santiago de la Fuente
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, and Cherry Hills. 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; 44 have represented Europe or the USA in the Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup, or Solheim Cup and more than 90 have claimed over 425 victories on the PGA, DP World, or LPGA Tours, including 2023 major champions Jon Rahm (Masters Tournament), Lilia Vu (The Chevron Championship & AIG Women’s Open), Wyndham Clark (U.S. Open), Allisen Corpuz (U.S. Women’s Open), and Brian Harman (The Open), as well as 2023 FedEx Cup champion Viktor Hovland. 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.