Amanda Sambach Named to 2024 U.S. Palmer Cup Team
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Arnold Palmer Cup announced today (April 23) that Virginia junior Amanda Sambach (Pinehurst, N.C.) was selected for the 2024 United States Palmer Cup team. Last year Sambach became the first UVA women’s player to be named to a Palmer Cup roster.
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 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. Women began competing at the event in 2018.
This year’s matches will be held at Lahinch Golf Club located on the west coast of Ireland from July 5-7. Lahinch Golf Club, founded in 1892, was originally slated to host the Palmer Cup in 2020 but the event was canceled due to the pandemic.
Last year Sambach and UVA men’s golfer Ben James helped the U.S. Team to a 32-28 victory at Laurel Valley Golf Club in Ligonier, Pa. James has also been named to the U.S. Team’s roster for this year’s competition.
Sambach is coming off a runner-up finish at the 2024 ACC Championships. She won the tournament in 2023 and was third as a freshman in 2022. She currently leads UVA with a 71.15 stroke average. She has placed in the top-10 in six of nine tournaments this season. Earlier this month she competed at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur for the fourth time in her amateur career.
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 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.