Amanda Sambach Selected for U.S. Palmer Cup Team
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Arnold Palmer Cup announced today (April 25) that Virginia sophomore Amanda Sambach (Pinehurst, N.C.) was selected for the 2023 United States Palmer Cup team. Sambach, the first UVA women’s player to compete in the Palmer Cup, was an at-large committee selection.
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.
Longtime Arnold Palmer partner Rolex is continuing its 50-plus year relationship through its support of the matches, which will be hosted by Laurel Valley Golf Club in Ligonier, Pa., June 8-10.
The winner of the 2023 ACC Championship individual title, Sambach is ranked No. 40 in the latest Golfstat standings (April 23). She shot an ACC and UVA record 16-under 202 at the ACCs.
Sambach currently leads the Cavaliers with a 71.57 stroke average. She has four top-10 finishes. In addition to claiming ACC medalist honors, she opened the season with a victory at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate.
Using Golfstat’s NCAA Player Ranking as a base, the 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 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.