NORMAN, Okla. - Kortnie Maxoutopoulis Barrett of San Jose State and Matt Clark of North Carolina will serve as the United States assistant coaches while the International assistant coaches will be Minnesota’s Rhyll Brinsmead of Australia and Tennessee’s Brennan Webb of Canada for the 2023 Arnold Palmer Cup at Laurel Valley Golf Club. Longtime Arnold Palmer partner Rolex is continuing its more than 50-year relationship through its support of the matches, which will be played June 8-10 in Ligonier, Pa.
Barrett joined San Jose State in January 2021 as an assistant coach. She was instrumental in their success in 2021-22, as the Spartans won the 2022 Mountain West championship and finished the season ranked No. 3 on Golfstat. San Jose State was the only school outside of the Power 5 to advance to the NCAA Championships, where they finished seventh in stroke play and advanced to match play for the first time in program history. Barrett coached two WGCA All-Americans in Natasha Andrea Oon and Kajsa Arwefjäll, a member of Team International’s 2022 Palmer Cup victory. As a team, SJSU won five tournaments in the spring, including the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional for their first-ever regional win. Prior to San José State, Barrett spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Mississippi State, where she helped the Bulldogs get back to the NCAA Tournament in 2019 for the first time in four seasons. Before her time in Starkville, she was on the staff at Long Beach State for one season, helping lead them to a Big West Conference Championship and their first NCAA Regional bid in almost 10 years. Barrett received her master’s degree in public & non-profit administration from Georgia Southern in 2017, where she spent two years as the graduate assistant coach for their inaugural women’s golf program. As the former Kortnie Maxoutopoulis, the Pleasanton, Ca., native played at TCU for three seasons after one year at Rutgers. While at TCU, she competed in 24 events and earned three top-10 finishes, including third at the 2015 Big 12 Championship. Barrett was a 2011-12 BIG EAST All-Academic honoree and had seven top-10 finishes at Rutgers, including three wins.
Clark, the 2022 Jan Strickland Outstanding Assistant Coach Award presented by TaylorMade Golf Company recipient, is in his sixth season in Chapel Hill and first as associate head coach. North Carolina won three tournaments, including its first two tournaments of the season for the first time since 1996, and advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the second-straight season in 2021-22. Not only did they post back-to-back top-five finishes in the NCAA Championship for the first time, two Tar Heels placed in the top five in the same NCAA Championship for the first time in program history. During Clark’s tenure, North Carolina has posted four top-20 finishes at the NCAA Championships, along with a No. 13 final ranking in the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season, won 10 tournaments, and excelled in the classroom. The Prattville, Al., native has coached 10 PING All-Americans, six Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar, and two ACC Freshman of the Year honorees while at North Carolina. After a playing career at South Florida (1993-94) and Alabama (1995-97), Clark began his coaching career as an assistant for six seasons in Tuscaloosa, where he worked for Palmer Cup alumni and GCAA Hall of Famers Dick Spybey and Jay Seawell. A four-time conference coach of the year (twice at UNC-Wilmington and twice at Georgia State), Clark led the Seahawks and Panthers to a combined 16 team titles, including five conference championships, and a total of nine NCAA regional appearances.
Brinsmead took the helm as the head women's golf coach at Minnesota in January 2021. In her first two seasons, she led the Gophers to two top-five and eight top-10 finishes while four individuals picked up their own top-10 finishes. This fall, Minnesota captured second place at the Evie Odom Invitational after rallying in the third round with a record-breaking 17-under par performance in which all five players shot par or better for the first time in program history. Prior to leading the Gophers, Brinsmead took Kennesaw State to historic heights during her 13-year tenure as head coach. The Owls won their first four ASUN Conference titles, including in 2012 that led to the program’s first NCAA postseason berth. The five-time ASUN Conference Coach of the Year coached six conference Women’s Golfer of the Year winners, 16 WGCA All-American Scholars, four conference Freshman of the Year honorees, and 55 top-five finishes. Her coaching career began as an assistant coach at Texas State, where she was a two-time captain and led the Bobcats to the 2002 Southland Conference Championship as a player, and then Iowa State, where she received a master’s degree in educational leadership and policy studies. The Melbourne, Australia, native, was also a P.J. Boatright intern through the USGA with the Central Texas Junior Golf Association, launching the region’s LPGA-USGA Junior Girls Golf Club and leading the ‘Hook a Kid on Golf’ junior camp.
In four and a half seasons at Tennessee, Webb has led the Volunteers to seven tournament victories, including the 2022 SEC Match Play Championship, their first NCAA Championships berth in eight years in 2021, and three PING All-America honorees. Tennessee gathered six top-five finishes in 10 tournaments last season and earned their highest final ranking since 2009 (No. 20). Webb coached the Volunteers to a program-record three wins in 2018-19, his first season in Knoxville. Prior to Tennessee, he guided Middle Tennessee to the first Conference USA Championship victory in school history, four tournament titles, and back-to-back NCAA Regional appearances in three seasons as their head coach. The 2018 conference Coach of the Year also coached conference Freshman of the Year recipients in back-to-back seasons while at Middle Tennessee State. Prior to that stint, Webb spent three seasons at Georgia Tech as their assistant and associate head coach, helping lead the Yellow Jackets to two ACC Championship titles and multiple appearances in match play at the NCAA Championships. His coaching career began at USF as an assistant coach in 2011-12, when the Bulls grabbed seven top-10 and three top-five finishes. A Bracebridge, Ontario, native, Webb played collegiately at East Tennessee State, winning three Southern Conference championships and helping the Bucs finish third at the 1996 NCAA Championship. He then competed professionally in 11 different countries and as a fully-exempt member on the Web.com Tour.
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 which features men and women playing side-by-side as partners.
Since its inception, over 125 former Arnold Palmer Cup alumni have gone on to earn cards on the PGA, DP World, or LPGA Tours; 34 have represented Europe or the USA in the Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup, or Solheim Cup and more than 75 have claimed over 310 victories on the PGA, DP World, or LPGA Tours, including 2022 major champions Jennifer Kupcho (The Chevron Championship) and Justin Thomas (PGA Championship). The United States leads the Palmer Cup series 13-12-1.
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 own 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.