USA Vs. Europe This Week in Kane County: Meet the Players
When the Palmer Cup play starts this week at Rich Harvest Farms in Kane County, IL, not only will the legendary Arnold Palmer be there to hit the opening tee shot, but you’ll have a chance to see best college golfers from the United States face off against the best college players from Europe — a preview of Ryder Cup rivalries for years to come.
This event is perfect for anyone with a deep and abiding interest in golf — but it’s also ideal for those who are starting to get interested in the game or anyone interested in sports spectacle, because it’s nearby and it’s free. No charge for admission; no charge for parking.
Opening ceremonies are at 6 p.m. Thursday at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove. Play starts at 7:30 a.m. Friday, with foursome matches in the morning and four ball in the afternoon. On Saturday and Sunday, singles matches start at 8:30 a.m.
But whether you’re a natural or a novice, you might not know the players without a scorecard, so to preview the event, we’ve put together the following roster (below) as well as a little about each player.
The hard part for me (I-L-L …) is that Thomas Detry ( … I-N-I!) of the University of Illinois is from Belgium and will be playing for the accursed European team, which won the Palmer Cup last year. But there are a lot of intriguing juxtapositions, personalities and match ups, all of which will be part of the fun at Rich Harvest Farms.
The way it works, six players are selected for each team by Palmer Cup Rankings, using Golfstat’s NCAA Player Ranking as a base. Then there are two committee selections and one selection by each coach. The U.S. picks a player from a non-Division I team, and Europe gets the winner of the R&A Foundation Scholars Tournament.
Some of that’s probably a little arcane for most non-fanatics, but I’m sure it’s of vital importance to those folks who know the definition of mashie and niblick.
Former Palmer Cup players include Luke Donald, Rory Sabbatini, Russell Henley, Charles Howell, III, Jonas Blixt, Jonathan Byrd, Ben Curtis, 2009 U.S. Open Champion Lucas Glover, Bryce Molder, 2010 U.S. Open Champion Graeme McDowell, Bill Haas, Hunter Mahan, Ryan Moore, D.J. Trahan, Alejandro Canazares, Gonzalo Castano, J.B. Holmes, 2006 USGA Amateur Champion Richard Ramsey, Open de Portugal winner Pablo Martin, Dustin Johnson, and Luke List.
For more information visit palmercup.org.
Team USA
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Lee McCoy
- Junior at Georgia State
- Hometown: Clarkesville, Georgia
- #4 on the World Golf Amateur Ranking List
- Qualified for the 2015 US Open
- 2015 PING All-American First Team
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Maverick McNealy
- Sophomore at Stanford
- Hometown: Portola Valley, California
- #2 on the World Golf Amateur Ranking List
- Qualified for the 2015 US Open
- Jack Nicklaus Award Winner
- Ben Hogan Award Finalist
- 2015 PING All-American First Team
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Hunter Stewart
- Senior at Vanderbilt
- Hometown: Lexington, Kentucky
- #8 on the World Golf Amateur Ranking List
- SEC Player of the Year
- Ben Hogan Award Finalist
- 2015 PING All-American First Team
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Robby Shelton
- Sophomore at Alabama
- Hometown: Wilmer, Alabama
- #23 on the World Golf Amateur Ranking List
- 2015 PING All-American First Team
- Ben Hogan Award Finalist
- 2014 Palmer Cup Participant
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Jack Maguire
- Sophomore at Florida State
- Hometown: St. Petersburg, Florida
- #37 on the World Golf Amateur Ranking List
- Qualified for the 2015 US Open
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Beau Hossler
- Sophomore at Texas
- Hometown: Mission Viejo, California
- #6 on the World Golf Amateur Ranking List
- Defending 2014 Western Amateur Champion
- 2015 PING All-American First Team
- Qualified for the 2015 US Open
- Big 12 Player of the Year
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Kyle Jones
- Senior at Baylor
- Hometown: Snowflake, Arizona
- #20 on the World Golf Amateur Ranking List
- Qualified for the 2015 US Open
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Ollie Schniederjans
- Senior at Georgia Tech
- Hometown: Powder Springs, Georgia
- #10 on the World Golf Amateur Ranking List
- Qualified for the 2015 US Open
- 2-Time ACC Player of the Year
- 2014 & 2015 PING All-American First Team
-
Carr Vernon
- Junior at CSU Monterey Bay
- Hometown: Poplar Bluff, Missouri
- #386 on the World Golf Amateur Ranking List
- 2015 Palmer Cup Non-Division I Pick
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Anders Albertson
- Senior at Georgia Tech
- Hometown: Woodstock, Georgia
- #80 on the World Golf Amateur Ranking List
- 2015 Byron Nelson Award Recipient
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Head Coach – Bruce Heppler
- Head Coach at Georgia Tech
- 2013 Inductee of the Golf Coaches Association of America’s Hall of Fame
- Has lead Georgia Tech Golf to 11 ACC titles
- 2014 ACC Coach of the Year – 8th time overall
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Assistant Coach – Chris Hill
- Head Coach at Pacific – Will start officially on July 1
- 2014 Jan Strickland Award Winner (Awarded to the nation’s top assistant coach – Houston)
Team Europe
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Jon Rahm
- Junior at Arizona State
- Hometown: Barrika, Spain
- #1 on the World Golf Amateur Ranking List
- 2015 Ben Hogan Award Recipient
- 2015 PING All-American First Team
- Won the 2015 NCAA San Diego Regional
- 2014 World Amateur Champion
-
Max Rottluff
- Freshman at Arizona State
- Hometown: Dusseldorf, Germany
- #32 on the World Golf Amateur Ranking List
- 2015 PING All-American First Team
- Member of the German National Team
-
Rowin Caron
- Junior at Florida State
- Hometown: Terheijden, Netherlands
- #52 on the World Golf Amateur Ranking List
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Adrian Meronk
- Junior at ETSU
- Hometown: Wroclaw, Poland
- #60 on the World Golf Amateur Ranking List
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Clement Sordet
- Senior at Texas Tech
- Hometown: Charbonnières, France
- #27 on the World Golf Amateur Ranking List
- Candidate for the 2015 Ben Hogan Award
- Tied for third at the Big 12 Championships
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Thomas Detry
- Junior at University of Illinois
- Hometown: Brussels, Belgium
- #19 on the World Golf Amateur Ranking List
- Played in 2014 Palmer Cup
- 2014 Belgium World Amateur Team Member
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Gary Hurley
- Junior at Maynooth University
- Hometown: Aglish, Co. Waterford, Ireland
- #45 on the World Golf Amateur Ranking List
- Second Palmer Cup Appearance
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Matthias Schwab
- Sophomore at Vanderbilt
- Hometown: Rohrmoos, Austria
- #314 on the World Golf Amateur Ranking List
- 2015 All-SEC First Team
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Mathias Eggenberger
- Senior at Stirling University (Scotland)
- Hometown: Liechtenstein
- #132 on the World Golf Amateur Ranking List
- Won the 2015 R&A Foundation Scholars Tournament to earn his Palmer Cup spot
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Pep Angles
- Senior at Central Arkansas
- Hometown: Barcelona, Spain
- #34 on the World Golf Amateur Ranking List
- SLC Men’s Golfer of the Year – 3rd Consecutive Time
- 2014 Palmer Cup Participant
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Head Coach – Jean Van de Velde
- France
- 1986 French Amateur Champion
- First French player to ever qualify for the Ryder Cup
- Runner-up at 1999 Open Championship
- Will also coach the 2016 Palmer Cup Team at Formby Golf Club
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Assistant Coach – Janice Moodie
- Scotland
- Three-time LPGA Solheim Cup Participant
- Member of the 2009 Solheim Cup Team at Rich Harvest Farms
- 2004 Inductee into WGCA Hall of Fame
- Will act as Assistant Coach at 2016 event at Formby Golf Club
SOURCE: Rich Harvest Farms
Read More
- Arnie Will Be in Kane County — And You Can See Him
- Teams Set for 2015 Palmer Cup Coming to Kane County in June
