Clinton swings by golf tournament
23RD ARNOLD PALMER CUP INTERNATIONAL 33.5, UNITED STATES 26.5
Former President Bill Clinton waves to the crowd Sunday as he attends the final day of the Arnold Palmer Cup golf tournament at the Alotian Club in Roland. Clinton served as guest speaker at the closing ceremonies, telling stories of his golfing experiences and praising the Alotian course as “a great gift to the state.” More photos are available at arkansasonline.com/610palmercup/.
There wasn’t much anybody could say to ease Cole Hammer’s disappointment after his singles match with Thailand’s Peng Pichaikool, the 90th-ranked amateur in the world, ended in a tie Sunday afternoon at the Alotian Club in Roland.
Hammer, a University of Texas freshman who is the No. 4 amateur in the world, three-putted from 25 feet on a slick 18th green to lose the hole. Any chance the United States had of mounting a memorable comeback disappeared in that moment.
Alotian founder Warren Stephens, tournament host and hands-on fan, congratulated a downcast Hammer.
“Well played,” Stephens said to Hammer, who graciously accepted his words.
Hammer’s half point added to the U.S. team’s total, but it needed much more against an International team that hoisted the Palmer Cup with a 33.5-26.5 victory.
The International team won by dominating Saturday’s foursome (alternate shot) competitions and more than holding its own in the 24 men’s and women’s singles matches Sunday to complete a 29.5-18.5 comeback after trailing 8-4 after the first day.
Hammer, playing in the second men’s match, said he knew it was his job to score a point and get his team headed in the right direction.
“Obviously, I felt like I needed to put up a point, and I had a pretty good start,” said Hammer, who led by two holes after 10, fell behind on No. 14, but regained a onehole advantage heading into 18. “Played some dumb golf, not characteristic of the way I play match play, and it cost
me. And I ended up halving the match.”
Hammer said there is a pressure when you are one of the team’s highest-ranked players and are placed at the front of the line.
“You want to win for your country, but it’s not any excuse to hit it 12 feet by from 25 feet,” Hammer said of his final work on the greens. “I knew it was going to be fast — it was the fastest putt I’ve had all week. I just hit it too hard.”
Hammer’s half point contributed to a respectable showing by the U.S. men, who went 7-2 in Sunday’s singles match with 3 ties.
But the U.S. women could not match the men’s success, going 2-9 with 1 tie.
The one tie came in one of the day’s most competitive matches between Wake Forest’s Emilia Migliaccio, the 11th-ranked women’s amateur, and Germany’s Leonie Harm, ranked No. 12.
Harm trailed by 1 when teeing off on 18, then drilled a 6-iron to within 5 feet of the flag on the 405yard hole. She won the hole and the tie after Migliaccio missed her birdie putt from 25 feet.
“That was emblematic of who we were as a team,” International Coach Mark Immelman said. “We were never going to lie down. Every point, every half point, was crucial. We made a little video for them before the tournament … of International players wishing them luck. Ian Poulter said to them: Straight match play, this is the purest form of the game. It’s all about your points. You play with respect, you play with determination, you play until the end of the game. And Annika Sorenstam said the same thing to them. “They got on board with that.” Harm, who plays at Houston, said it’s easy to shoot for the pin when a player has to win a hole, which was the situation she faced at No. 18.
“It’s always a nice way to play it, right,” said Harm, who posted one of four birdies on the 18th, a hole played by 28 players.
Harm also added some insight into how the International team brushed aside its 8-4 deficit with a 16.5-7.5 ambush in the foursomes, a concept that seems foreign to U.S. players.
“I feel like the format of best ball is very popular in the United States,” Harm said of Friday’s format. “The U.S. players play it a lot. They shoot a lot of birdies.
“You got to stay patient and make sure you know the next format is less a birdie fireworks and more just trying to hold it together. Which is really what it ended up being.”
Harm was overheard talking about playing alternate-shot tournaments in Europe, and a group of U.S. men turned their heads to listen.
“In Europe, it’s a fixed thing,” she said. “I want to say 10-15 rounds a year.”
It was suggested that maybe explains the European dominance in that format.
“It doesn’t explain it,” one of the U.S. men said. “It helps … makes us feel a little better.”
U.S. Coach Mic Potter did not shy away from the foursomes issue.
“Foursomes is something we’ve got to do more, in preparation,” said Potter, the women’s golf coach at the University of Alabama. “We started doing some on our college team. It’s good for your golf game, I think. We got to get better at it. … But hey, the bottom line, the International team… really good.”
“They hit a lot of great shots when they had to, and they putted better than we did.”