GENEVA – Oklahoma assistant men’s golf coach Bill Allcorn is set to help lead Team USA at the 2022 Arnold Palmer Cup, which tees off July 1 at Golf Club de Genève in Vandœuvres, Switzerland.
Allcorn earned the spot on the coaching staff after being named the Jan Strickland Most Outstanding Assistant last season, and the Palmer Cup appearance is the first of his career as a coach or player. The Palmer Cup is an annual team golf competition that pits the top men’s and women’s collegiate golfers from the United States vs. their counterparts from around the world.
“Being able to put on the red, white and blue every day and represent your country is hard to describe,” Allcorn said. “I’m unbelievably proud and honored. I’m really looking forward to being around the best players in college golf at the premier international team event, the Arnold Palmer Cup. Golf Club de Genève is an unreal venue that will allow for a lot of fireworks. We’ve done the prep and we’re ready to roll. USA! USA! USA!”
The five-year Sooner assistant becomes the sixth member of the Oklahoma golf program to be involved with the prestigious event, following Brad Dalke, Quade Cummins, Garett Reband, Jonathan Brightwell and OU head coach Ryan Hybl. In the 2020 Cup, the Sooners became the second program in the event’s history to have three players compete in the same season when Cummins, Reband and Brightwell helped guide Team USA to a dominant win at Seminole Golf Club. Dalke helped lead the United States to a 38.5-21.5 victory over the International squad in France in the 2018 Cup – the same year Hybl served as the head coach for the Stars and Stripes.
“Anytime you get to represent the United States of America in competition, it truly is an elite experience,” Hybl said. “We’re proud that Bill will get to have this opportunity at the Palmer Cup and know he’ll represent us well.”
Teams will compete on Friday in mixed fourball matches, followed by mixed foursome matches on Saturday morning and more foursome matches that afternoon. Sunday’s final day of competition will feature head-to-head matches to determine who will hoist the trophy. Teams receive one point for each match won.
Founded in 1922, Golf Club de Genève features a course designed in 1973 by Robert Trent Jones, Sr. and fully renovated by his son Robert Trent Jones, Jr. in 2018. A par 72 that plays to 6,821 yards, the course offers views of the city, Lake Geneva, the iconic Mont Blanc and the surrounding Alps. Since 1989 this inspiring setting has hosted the Challenge Tour’s Rolex Trophy, a prize won by three Palmer Cup alumni: Alex Norén, Nacho Elvira, and Pedro Oriol. The Club also hosted the 1975 European Junior Championship, the 1982 Espirito Santo Trophy, and several Swiss International matches.
The Palmer Cup was co-founded by Arnold Palmer and The Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) and began in 1997 at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, Fla. The event is a Ryder Cup-style tournament featuring the top men’s and women’s university/college golfers, with a team from the United States matching up against a group of international players. The Palmer Cup has been played at some of the world’s most outstanding courses, including The Old Course; Royal County Down; Royal Portrush; Baltusrol; The Honors Course; and Cherry Hills. In addition, the 2018 event at Evian Resort Golf Club became the first major amateur American tournament to feature men and women playing side-by-side as partners.
Live scoring of the Palmer Cup will be available on Golfstat and Golf Channel will carry live coverage of the final round Sunday from 11:30-1:30 p.m. CT.
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