<p>World Amateur No 1 Gordon Sargent in action in practice at Lahinch Golf Club</p>
Golf fans don't have to wait until the Irish Open to see some of the best players in the world as eight of the top 10 men and five of the top 10 amateur women tee it up in the Arnold Palmer Cup at Lahinch over the next three days.
The world's top college golfers are in Co Clare for an event that has showcased a who's who of future stars from Europeans Ludvig Åberg, Viktor Hovland, Jon Rahm and Graeme McDowell to American stalwarts Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler and Patrick Cantlay.
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Since 2018, the three-day event has expanded to include the world's best female college stars as the USA takes on an International side comprising the best from the rest of the world.
Major winners Jennifer Kupcho, Andrea Lee, Lilia Vu, Rose Zhang, Linn Grant and Maja Stark are all past participants and this year's clash of college talent, postponed from 2020 due to COVID-19, will give Irish fans a chance to see the future superstars of the game in action, free of charge.
"These truly are the best young golfers in the world," John Gleeson, chairperson of Lahinch Golf Club, said of the teams boasting 12 men and 12 women each.
"There's no question about that. The talent on display will be unbelievable."
The action gets underway from 8:30 am on Friday with the mixed fourballs, followed on Saturday by the foursomes (from 8:30 am) and the mixed foursomes (from 1:30 pm) before the men and women face off separately in 24 singles matches from 8:00 am on Sunday.
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The US side features six of the top eight men in the world, led by world number one Gordon Sargent (21), who has already secured his PGA Tour card but opted to wait until he graduates next year, and number two Jackson Koivun (19), who made the cut in the Memorial Tournament last month.
"This is the only mixed event of this stature in the world and will be really interesting from a spectator point of view," added Gleeson, one of the driving forces behind Lahinch's successful hosting of the 2019 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open.
"Gordon Sargent played a practice round with Rory McIlroy at the Masters (last year) and he hit the ball 25 yards past Rory on virtually every occasion. Gordon Sargent, along with four others, also played in the US Open recently, but sadly, not won by Rory.
"But Gordon Sargent, in the stats at the US Open, was the longest player in the field. So he is a unique talent, as is Jackson Koivun."
The men on the European team are no slouches, with recently crowned Amateur Championship winner Jacob Skov Olesen of Denmark and Scotland's Calum Scott both set to play in The Open at Royal Troon.
There are also two Irishmen on the International team in Maynooth's Ryan Griffin and Louisville graduate Max Kennedy, who only missed out on a spot in Troon when he was beaten in a playoff for the European Amateur Championship last weekend.
There is also huge talent among the women on both sides, with American Melanie Green heading straight to Lahinch from Portmarnock, where she won the Women's Amateur Championship last weekend, to join top-10 players Zoe Campos, Catherine Park, and Rachel Kuehn.
Douglas star and University of Miami graduate Sara Byrne and Maynooth's Kate Lanigan also feature among the women in the International side, which boasts four of the world's top 15: Spain's Julia Lopez and Paula Martín, French star Adela Cernousek and Colombia's Maria José Marin.
"There is something for everybody interested in the game," Gleeson added, "particularly for young players.
"This is an unbelievable opportunity for boys and girls who are interested in the game, who want to improve or who want to be stars themselves, to see up close and personal some really amazing talent.”
Arnold Palmer Cup, Lahinch
Friday:
From 8:30 am Mixed Four-Ball Pairings
8:30 Jack Lundin/Latanna Stone (USA) vs. Hannah Darling/Ben van Wyk (International)
8:45 Maisie Filler/Ian Gilligan (USA) vs. Caitlyn Macnab/Jacob Skov Olesen (International)
9:00 Ben James/Amanda Sambach (USA) vs. Wenyi Ding/Louise Rydqvist (International)
9:15 Jackson Koivun/Kiara Romero (USA) vs. Bastien Amat/Adela Cernousek (International)
9:30 Anna Davis/Brendan Valdes (USA) vs. Maria José Marin/Omar Morales (International)
9:45 Anna Morgan/Gordon Sargent (USA) vs. Emma Bunch/Filip Jakubcik (International)
10:00 Jackson Klutznick/Farah O’Keefe (USA) vs. Sara Byrne/Max Kennedy (International)
10:15 Catherine Park/Preston Summerhays (USA) vs. Paula Martín Sampedro/Calum Scott (International)
10:30 Mary Kelly Mulcahy/Jackson Van Paris (USA) vs. Josele Ballester/Carla Bernat (International)
10:45 Maxwell Ford/Rachel Kuehn (USA) vs. Santiago de la Fuente/Julia Lopez Ramirez (International)
11:00 Melanie Green/Michael La Sasso (USA) vs. Phichaksn Maichon/Mirabel Ting (International)
11:15 Zoe Campos/David Ford (USA) vs. Ryan Griffin/Kate Lanigan (International)
Saturday:
From 8:30 am, Foursomes (12 Groups #1 & #10 tees);
From 1:30 pm, Mixed Foursomes (12 Groups #1 & #10 tees)
Sunday:
From 8:00 am, Singles (24 groups alternate men/women #1 & #10 tees)
USA team
Zoe Campos (UCLA), Maxwell Ford (North Carolina State), Maisie Filler (Florida), David Ford (North Carolina), Anna Davis (Auburn) Ian Gilligan (Florida), Melanie Green (USF), Ben James (Virginia), Jackson Koivun (Auburn), Rachel Kuehn (Wake Forest), Michael La Sasso (Ole Miss), Jack Lundin (Missouri), Anna Morgan (Furman), Farah O'Keefe (Texas), Catherine Park (Southern California), Kiara Romero (Oregon), Amanda Sambach (Virginia), Gordon Sargent (Vanderbilt), Preston Summerhays (Arizona State), Brendan Valdes (Auburn), Mary Kelly Mulcahy (Findlay), Jackson Klutznick (Emory), Jackson Van Paris (Vanderbilt), Latanna Stone (LSU).
International team
Wenyi Ding (Arizona State; China), Josele Ballester (Arizona State; Spain), Santiago de la Fuente (Houston; Mexico), Omar Morales (UCLA, Mexico), Calum Scott (Texas Tech; Scotland), Phichaksn Maichon (Texas A&M; Thailand), Bastien Amat (New Mexico; France), Jacob Skov Olesen (Arkansas; Denmark), Ben van Wyk (Georgia; South Africa), Max Kennedy (Louisville; Ire), Filip Jakubcik (Arizona; Czech Republic), Ryan Griffin (Maynooth; Ire), Julia Lopez Ramirez (Mississippi State; Spain), Adela Cernousek (Texas A&M; France), Paula Martín Sampedro (Stanford; Spain), Maria José Marin (Arkansas; Colombia), Mirabel Ting (Florida State; Malaysia), Louise Rydqvist (South Carolina; Sweden), Carla Bernat (Kansas State; Spain), Hannah Darling (South Carolina; Scotland), Caitlyn Macnab (Ole Miss; South Africa), Sara Byrne (Miami; Ire), Emma Bunch (New Mexico State; Denmark), Kate Lanigan (Maynooth; Ire).