Arnold Palmer Cup a jewel for Arkansas
In the world of golf, there are few treasures for amateurs as coveted as the Arnold Palmer Cup.
A couple of others — the Western Amateur and Southern Amateur Championship — have taken place in central Arkansas in the past several years, and from June 7-9 this year the Arnold Palmer Cup will take place at The Alotian Club in Roland.
This event attracts 24 of the best college-aged male and female golfers to face off in Ryder Cup-style play, country vs. country.
This is literally Arnold Palmer’s signature event that began in 1997. Since then, more than 100 former participants have gone on to earn PGA, European or LPGA cards.
The tournament did not come to Arkansas by accident, but that’s a story for a different time.
The event will need volunteers and high school-aged caddies, and all of the information will be out in early February.
The golfers who have competed in the Arnold Palmer Cup is a who’s who of golf, including the Natural State’s own Bryce Molder.
If that isn’t persuasive enough, The Golf Channel will be here.
The Alotian Club is a private club developed by Warren Stephens, who graciously accepted the invitation to host the Arnold Palmer Cup.
Stay tuned. This is going to be a great event for Arkansas and Arkansans.
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Much has been said and written this week about the NFC and AFC championship games, especially the young guns vs. old guns at quarterback. It certainly makes for great entertainment.
New England travels to Kansas City, where the game will be played in New England-type weather. Of course, Tom Brady has been quarterbacking the Patriots since Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes was in kindergarten.
Brady is 41 and has a resume that includes five Super Bowl championships, 15 divisional titles and three league MVPs. He is a blue blood who played at Michigan, where he led the Wolverines to a 45-31 win over the University of Arkansas in the 1999 Citrus Bowl — back in the days when the Razorbacks went to bowl games.
Mahomes, 23, hails from Tyler, Texas, famous for roses and Earl Campbell. He played three years at Texas Tech and left a year early for the NFL. The Chiefs drafted him with the 10th pick of the first round. As a rookie he backed up Alex Smith, but enough was seen of Mahomes that Smith was traded and Mahomes became the starter this season.
Mahomes threw 50 touchdown passes, the Chiefs were 12-4 and he’s likely the league MVP. He may be the Michael Jordan of the NFL with all his athleticism, tools and talent.
New Orleans has 40-yearold Drew Brees in his 18th season, where he is a 12-time Pro Bowler and MVP of Super Bowl XLIV. He’s thrown for more than 400 yards in a game 16 times, an NFL record.
He was the reason Nick Saban left the Miami Dolphins and went to Alabama. Team doctors for the Dolphins wouldn’t clear the team to sign Brees 13 years ago. He landed in New Orleans, where he is as revered as Mardi Gras.
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff is 24 years old, was lightly recruited out of high school, then set 26 records at California-Berkley. He declared for the NFL Draft after his redshirt junior season and was the first player selected in 2016.
He led the Rams to a 13-3 record, which was tied with the Saints for best regular-season record. One of their three losses was at New Orleans, 45-35. Despite being in Los Angeles, Goff doesn’t get the same recognition as the other three quarterbacks, but he passed for 4,688 yards and 32 touchdowns.
Both games should be highly entertaining in many ways.