University of Notre Dame men’s golf junior Palmer Jackson (Murrysville, Pennsylvania) has earned a spot on the United States team for the 2022 Arnold Palmer Cup which will be hosted by Golf Club de Genève in Switzerland on July 1-3, 2022. The event, which began in 1997, is a Ryder Cup-style tournament in which the top collegiate golfers in the United States compete against their European counterparts.
Jackson was selected using Golfstat’s NCAA Player Ranking as a base and the Arnold Palmer Cup Ranking awards bonus points for wins and high finishes and a penalty for poor finishes. The ranking also contains a strength of schedule component. The ranking is utilized to identify the top six golfers who automatically qualify for the team. The rest of the 12-person roster will be selected by a committee before the competition begins.
“I am grateful and honored to be a member of the United States team for the Arnold Palmer Cup,” Jackson said when he learned of the selection.
“I was named after Mr. Palmer, and his legacy and character have given me guidance throughout my life. To be able to represent Notre Dame, the United States, and Mr. Palmer in Geneva is a dream come true.”
Jackson is on the 2022 Haskins and Ben Hogan Award watch lists as one of the top collegiate golfers in the nation this season and anchors the Notre Dame lineup that enters this weekend’s ACC Championship ranked 13th while on a run of nine consecutive top-five finishes. Before Notre Dame’s spring season began, Jackson won the prestigious Jones Cup in February of 2022 and in the fall, helped the Irish claim the 2021 Stephens Cup with a first-place finish.
“Being from the same area and his family sharing the same values – Palmer was named after the great Arnold Palmer – earning a spot in this prestigious event has been a high priority for Palmer all year,” Irish head coach John Handrigan said.
“To compete at an elite level like Palmer has all year while under the pressure of earning a spot in the Palmer Cup speaks volumes for Palmer’s ability and determination. Palmer thrives off pressure and uses the energy to his advantage.
“Not only will Palmer represent Mr. Palmer’s event with his exceptional golf game, but he will also represent with class and character like Mr. Palmer embodied his entire career.”
In 1997 Arnold Palmer was approached by the Golf Coaches Association of America regarding lending his name to an international collegiate event between the United States and Great Britain and Ireland. The event would use a Ryder Cup-style format and bring together the top eight collegiate players in the United States against their counterparts from GB&I. Palmer, a former collegiate player himself, has been called America’s greatest Ambassador for the game of golf. With his blessing and the support of the Arnold Palmer Golf Company, the inaugural event was played at his own Bay Hill Club in Florida in June 1997. “I had long thought that an international competition such as this would enrich the lives of young men through the universal bond of the great game of golf,” said Mr. Palmer.
2022 U.S. Men Arnold Palmer Cup Team Selections
Sam Bennett, Texas A&M
Michael Brennan, Wake Forest
Jake Doggett, Midwestern State
Nick Gabrelcik, North Florida
Palmer Jackson, Notre Dame
Johnny Keefer, Baylor
Walker Lee, Texas A&M
Dylan Menante, Pepperdine
Gordon Sargent, Vanderbilt
Cole Sherwood, Vanderbilt
Michael Thorbjornsen, Stanford
Travis Vick, Texas
Great venues have highlighted the competition since its inception in 1997. After Bay Hill, the Arnold Palmer Cup was next contested in Scotland in 1998 on the Old and New Courses at St. Andrews. In subsequent years the matches have been played at such historic venues as The Honors Course, Royal Liverpool, Baltusrol, Doonbeg, Cassique, Ballybunion, Whistling Straits-The Irish, Prestwick, Caves Valley, Glasgow Golf Club Gailes Links, Cherry Hills, Royal Portrush Golf Club, The Stanwich Club, Royal Country Down Golf Club, Wilmington Country Club, Walton Heath, Rich Harvest Farms, Formby Golf Club, Atlanta Athletic Club, Evian Resort Golf Club, and The Alotian Club. The Palmer Cup will be staged at Golf Club de Genève in 2022 and Lahinch Golf Club in 2024.
Upon conclusion of the 2002 event at Doonbeg in Ireland, a decision was made to alter the team composition by including European players with those from Great Britain and Ireland. In 2018, the Palmer Cup was expanded to include United States men’s and women’s college golfers against their International counterparts. Currently the United States leads the all-time series 13-11-1.
Many outstanding collegians that have participated in the Arnold Palmer Cup. A total of 68 former Arnold Palmer Cup players have claimed 284 victories on the PGA, European, or LPGA Tours including The Masters and US Open Champion Dustin Johnson, The Open and PGA Championship winner Collin Morikawa, U.S. Open Champions Bryson DeChambea, Graeme McDowell, Lucas Glover, Jon Rahm, and Webb Simpson, Open Champions Ben Curtis and Francesco Molinari, PGA Champion and Justin Thomas, and ANA Inspiration Champion Patty Tavatanakit, as well as tour winners Daniel Berger, Jonas Blixt, Sam Burns, Jonathan Byrd, Jonathan Caldwell, Jorge Campillo, Alejandro Cañizares, Patrick Cantlay, Kevin Chappell, Rhys Davies, Thomas Detry, Luke Donald, Paul Dunne, Nacho Elvira, Derek Ernst, Matt Every, Gonzalo Fdez.-Castaño, Grant Forffest, Rickie Fowler, Bill Haas, Chesson Hadley, Brian Harman, Russell Henley, J.J. Henry, Michael Hoey, J.B. Holmes, Billy Horschel, Viktor Hovland, Charles Howell III, Billy Hurley III, Scott Jamieson, Michael Kim, Chris Kirk, Matt Kuchar, Peter Lawrie, David Lingmerth, Joost Luiten, Hunter Mahan, Pablo Martin, Bryce Molder, Alex Norén, Ryan Moore, Chris Paisley, Andrea Pavan, Thomas Pieters, Richie Ramsay, Antoine Rozner, Rory Sabbatini, Brandt Snedeker, Joël Stalter, Chris Stroud, Michael Thompson, D.J. Trahan, Bo Van Pelt, Nick Watney, Oliver Wilson, and Matthew Wolff.
Arnold Palmer Cup alumni have also represented well in the Ryder, Presidents, and Solheim Cups. The 32 Palmer Cuppers that have represented their countries in these events include Howell, Johnson, Kirk, Kuchar, Jennifer Kupcho, Mahan, McDowell, Molinari, Morikawa, Moore, Norén, Jeff Overton, Pieters, Rahm, Sabbatini, Simpson, Snedeker, Thomas, Watney, and Wilson.