Women's Golf . April 23, 2024

Darling, Rydqvist Selected for Arnold Palmer Cup

South Carolina Athletics/ANWA Images

Duo will make their debut in the prestigious amateur event in Ireland July 5-7

NORMAN, Okla. – Junior All-Americans Hannah Darling and Louise Rydqvist have been selected to compete for Team International in the 2024 Arnold Palmer Cup. This year’s event will take place July 5-7 at Lahinch Golf Club in Lahinch, Ireland.

Darling and Rydqvist will be making their debuts in the prestigious event. They will join All-Americans Pauline Roussin-Bouchard (2020, 2021), Lois Kaye Go (2019) and Ainhoa Olarra (2018) as Gamecocks to play in the Palmer Cup.

Both players have helped the Gamecocks to four wins this season and a No. 2 national ranking. The team will likely earn another No. 1 seed when Carolina here’s its named called Wednesday afternoon on the NCAA Women’s Golf Selection Show, which will be aired live at 2 p.m. (ET) on Golf Channel.

Rhyll Brinsmead (Minnesota) and Barry Fennelly (Maynooth University) are the head coaches for Team International this summer.

Rydqvist, the SEC runner-up medalist, is currently ranked 10^th in the Clippd Player Rankings and is having the best season of her career. Her 70.78 scoring average and four top-five finishes lead the team. In 23 rounds played this season, she’s shot par or better 17 times. Rydqvist is also 7-0-1 in match play this season. She made the cut in her debut at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in early April.

Darling, a two-time WGCA First Team All-American, is currently ranked 19^th in the Clippd Player Rankings. She’s 15^th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (Rydqvist is 44^th) and been a staple in the top-20 the past four years. Darling, who finished T-6^th at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, has a 71.21 scoring average with six top-20 finishes (four top-10s) in eight stroke play starts. The Midlothian, Scotland, native has been consistent throughout her time in Garnet & Black with 17 top-10 finishes in 29 career stroke play starts the past three seasons.

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 Arnold 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, European, or LPGA Tours; 32 have represented Europe or the USA in the Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup, or Solheim Cup and more than 65 have claimed over 285 victories on the PGA, European, or LPGA Tours, including three major champions in both 2020 and 2021. The United States leads the Palmer Cup series 14-12-1.

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.

2024 Arnold Palmer Cup International Team Selections

Bastien Amat (New Mexico; France)

Josele Ballester (Arizona State; Spain)

Carla Bernat (Kansas State; Spain)

Emma Bunch (New Mexico State; Denmark)

Adela Cernousek (Texas A&M; France)

Hannah Darling (South Carolina; Scotland)

Santiago de la Fuente (Houston; Mexico)

Wenyi Ding (Arizona State; China)

Maria José Marin (Arkansas; Colombia)

Max Kennedy (Louisville; Ireland)

Julia Lopez Ramirez (Mississippi State; Spain)