LIGONIER, Penn. – Winning seven of the round’s 12 matches, Team USA leads Team International 13-11 after 24 matches of the 2023 Arnold Palmer Cup at Laurel Valley Golf Club.
Team International’s Christiaan Maas and Tyran Snyders’s 3&2 win over Team USA’s David Ford and Preston Summerhays was the first match in. The South African pair recorded an eagle on the par-five 3rd hole and never bogeyed.
“The front nine was a bit slow, but the back nine was a lot of fun,” said Snyders. “It’d be great for me if I could get my putter as hot as Christiaan had his putter going.”
“We got off to a weird start, but it gave us the faith we needed that carried with us throughout the round,” Maas said. “Playing as good as we played today against unbelievable golfers like David (Ford) and Preston (Summerhays) gives us a lot of confidence heading into the afternoon.”
Ashley Menne/Megan Schofill (4&3) and Nick Gabrecik/Gordon Sargent (2&1) gave Team USA their first two points of the morning. Gabrelcik and Sargent used five birdies, including in three of the final seven holes, to grab the victory over Team International’s Ryan Griffin and Max Kennedy.
“We stayed patient throughout the day and, after telling each other to trust what we were doing, eventually knew our good golf would be good enough,” said Gabrelick. “We made putts that we needed to make, so we need to take that into the afternoon matches and try to boost our partners as much as possible.”
Team International’s Sampson Zheng’s hole-in-one on the par-3 fifth hole, their 14th of the round, sparked his and Josele Ballester’s 5&3 win over Team USA’s Tommy Kuhl and Derek Hitchner.
“What a time and place to do it,” Zheng said of his second-ever 1 in tournament play. “We were going 3Up into the hole and I knew that I needed to hit one close coming down the stretch. The strike was good, so I knew it was going to get there. Hit it 12 short and it just rolled right in. I saw it disappear, and Josele and I started playing rugby in celebration."
Team USA’s Cole Anderson and Austin Greaser went into the turn 4Up with four birdies and never looked back against Team International’s Santiago de la Fuente and Mateo Fernández de Oliveira, winning 6&5 in 13 holes.
“We ham and egged it really well,” said Greaser. “It builds a lot of confidence to see some shots that you hit exactly how you envisioned.”
The round’s final match to come in brought all watching around to witness. Team International’s Maddison Hinson-Tolchard and Chiara Tamburlini went 5Up through seven holes and 3Up making the turn, but Team USA’s Zoe Campos and Amanda Sambach used four birdies on the back nine, including one on the match’s final hole, to claim the 2Up victory and maintain Team USA’s lead they gained in Amari Avery/Antonia Malate’s 2&1 win over Team International’s Carla Bernat and Julia Lopez Ramirez.
“We didn’t play our best in the first nine, but we were never out of it,” Sambach said. “We were talking all day about how we like to be from behind, so we kept it together and got some putts to drop.”
“As soon as we won our first hole, I knew that we could come back from it,” Campos said.
Round 3 began at 1:30 pm EST, and see below for those tee times.
Round 3 ~ Mixed Foursomes Pairings
1:30 pm (#1)
Tyran Snyders/Chiara Tamburlini (International) vs. Ashley Menne/Preston Summerhays (USA)
1:30 pm (#10)
Madison Hinson-Tolchard/Christiaan Maas (International) vs. Nick Gabrelcik/Jennie Park (USA)
1:40 pm (#1)
Mats Ege/Caitlyn Macnab (International) vs. Megan Schofill/Caleb Surratt (USA)
1:40 pm (#10)
Christo Lamprecht/Caley McGinty (International) vs. Olivia Mitchell/Alex Price (USA)
1:50 pm (#1)
Ryan Griffin/Lorna McClymont (International) vs. Amari Avery/Gordon Sargent (USA)
1:50 pm (#10)
Herman Sekne/Lottie Woad (International) vs. Tommy Kuhl/Crystal Wang (USA)
2:00 pm (#1)
Charlotte Heath/Frederik Kjettrup (International) vs. Ben James/Ashleigh Park (USA)
2:00 pm (#10)
Karisa Chul-Ak-Sorn/Santiago de la Fuente (International) vs. Austin Greaser/Antonia Malate (USA)
2:10 pm (#1)
Mateo Fernández de Oliveira/Julia Lopez Ramirez (International) vs. Cole Anderson/Rachel Kuehn (USA)
2:10 pm (#10)
Mirabel Ting/Sampson Zheng (International) vs. Zoe Campos/Maxwell Moldovan (USA)
2:20 pm (#1)
Josele Ballester/Carla Bernat (International) vs. Derek Hitchner/Emilia Migliaccio (USA)
2:20 pm (#10)
Max Kennedy/Lauren Walsh (International) vs. David Ford/Amanda Sambach (USA)
For more information 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 315 victories on the PGA, DP World, or LPGA Tours, including 2023 major champions Jon Rahm (Masters Tournament) and Lilia Vu (Chevron 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.