Lahinch, Ireland- The Americans are bringing home the cup. For the first time in six years, the U.S. has won an away Arnold Palmer Cup.

Team USA defeated Team International 32.5-27.5 on Sunday, July 7 to win the 2024 Arnold Palmer Cup at Lahinch Golf Club and retain the Cup for the second straight year. 

Junior Mary Kelly Mulcahy was selected to represent Team USA at the 28th playing of the Arnold Palmer Cup which took place July 5-7 at Lahinch Golf Club in Lahinch, Ireland. Selection for the Palmer Cup is typically reserved for the top Division I players in the country, but a single spot is up for grabs by a non-division I male and female each year. That coveted spot is voted on by a committee and is reserved for a player who has shown he/she possesses the elite skill necessary to contribute to Team USA's effort to secure victory.

Mulcahy spent much of the year ranked as the top player in NCAA Division II, leading the country with a scoring average of 71.71. This season she picked up seven wins, the most individual tournament victories of any player in the NCAA regardless of division. In eleven events, the Lima, Ohio native finished outside the top-six once.

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 Palmer Cup is the only major tournament that features men and women playing side-by-side as partners.
 

Since its inception, over 245 former Arnold Palmer Cup alumni have gone on to earn cards on the PGA, DP World, or LPGA Tours; 44 have represented Europe or the USA in the Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup, or Solheim Cup and more than 90 have claimed over 415 victories on the PGA, DP World, or LPGA Tours, including 2023 major champions Jon Rahm (Masters Tournament), Lilia Vu (The Chevron Championship & AIG Women's Open), Wyndham Clark (U.S. Open), Allisen Corpuz (U.S. Women's Open), and Brian Harman (The Open), as well as 2023 FedEx Cup champion Viktor Hovland. 

Following the Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Arnold Palmer Cup, the stage was set for another historic showdown between Team USA and Team International.

Day one featured a mixed four-ball competition with 12 two-person teams. In this format, each member of the two-person team plays their own ball. Four balls are in play per hole with each of the four players recording a score on the hole. The team whose player posts the best score on that hole wins the hole. Should players from each team tie for the best score, that hole is halved.

In Match #9, Mulcahy was partnered with Vanderbilt's Jackson Van Paris. The pair took on the International Team of Arizona State's Josele Ballester and Kansas State's Carla Bernat. Mulcahy and Van Paris used six birdies to win one-up and earn a point for Team USA. 

"Jackson Van Paris is easily the best golfer I've ever played with," said Mulcahy. "He was so supportive and we had a really good time. We were giving each other fist bumps and high fives all week which was really cool."

Despite Mulcahy and Van Paris earning a point for Team USA, Team International led after day one 6.5-5.5.

Day two consisted of back-to-back foursome matches. "Foursome" play is a match in which the golfers compete on a team against two other golfers and each side plays one ball. The golfers play alternate shots (player A hits tee shot, player B hits second shot, etc.) until the hole is played out. Team members alternate on the playing of tee shots, with one golfer hitting the tee shot on odd-numbered holes, and the other hitting tee shots from the even-numbered holes. The team with the better score wins the hole. Should the two teams tie for best score, the hole is halved.

Mulcahy partnered with University of Texas' Farah O'Keefe in Match #13 to take on Team International's Caitlyn Macnab (Ole Miss) and Louise Rydqvist (South Carolina). In the first match out, Mulcahy and O'Keefe secured a two-and-one victory over Team International, using three birdies and an eagle. After the morning session, Team USA jumped to a 13-11 lead through 24 matches.

"Farah hits it really far, so I thought that, if I could chip in on some short game, we would work well together," said Mulcahy. "Mary Kelly is a great partner," added O'Keefe. "Our attitude was fantastic, laughing and smiling down the fairway all morning, and we agreed to 'no sorrys' before we even teed it up. We had five shots out of the bunker and got every single one up and down."

In the afternoon, Match #33, Mulcahy and Van Paris teamed up once again to take on Team International's Ryan Griffin (National University of Ireland) and Katie Lanigan (National University of Ireland). The duo got off to a hot start, as they were five-up through ten holes. However, Team International recorded three consecutive birdies and a par to bring the match within one. It wouldn't be enough as Mulcahy and Van Paris birdied the 18th to secure a two-up victory and secure another point for Team USA.  

"It was a great match," Van Paris said. "You don't think the match is over when you're up five through 10, but you feel pretty good about yourself. Then they rattled off three birdies in a row and really played a great back nine." "I'm super proud of Mary Kelly," continued Van Paris. "That chip she hit on 18 was so cool. We met each other on the first tee yesterday and it's been a blast. She's the most humble golfer ever, saying how lucky she is to be here and then starts making every putt. We were talking today about how we need to find some professional mixed-gender team events that we can play in. She's great and we've had a ton of fun."  

After Team USA's morning momentum, Team International got six key victories and two halves in round three to knot the 2024 Arnold Palmer Cup at 18 apiece heading into Sunday's final-round singles matches. 

The Cup concluded with 24 single matches. "Singles" is a match in which one player plays against another player. A player wins the match when the player is up by more holes than there are holes remaining to play.

Described as a crowd favorite, Mulcahy faced Team International's Kate Lanigan (National University of Ireland) in Match #42. Mulcahy and Lanigan were tied heading into the 18th hole but a birdie by Mulcahy gave her the one-up lead and another point for Team USA. 

"I got down a couple early but stayed mentally confident," said Mulcahy. "I think that I was the strongest mentally today of the entire week. I've been working towards getting here for months and believed that I prepared the right way," she continued. "Knowing that, I was able to come here with confidence and just enjoy the experience." 

Team USA would go on to defeat Team International 32.5-27.5 on Sunday afternoon to win the 2024 Arnold Palmer Cup at Lahinch Golf Club and retain the Cup for the second straight year. Mary Kelly Mulcahy, the only Division-II player on the U.S. team, led the way for the visiting side, capping a perfect 4-0 week. Mulcahy was the only player on either side to win every match and is the first non-Division I selection in Palmer Cup history to go undefeated.

Findlay's Head Coach Dominic Guarnieri made the trip with Mulcahy said "What impressed me most about her was how she handled herself in pressure situations. Nothing phases her and that is why she was there. She got down in multiple matches this week but she did what we always talk about… stayed patient and committed. She gave herself the best chance to succeed."

"It was such an honor to be able to represent my country and represent it doing something I love," said Mary Kelly Mulcahy.