NORMAN, Okla. – The UIndy women's golf team received some welcomed news this week, as three of its members were among the short list of finalists for the 2019 Arnold Palmer Cup teams. Senior
Kennedy Holtsclaw is one of just five Division II finalists for the United States team, while senior
Katharina Keilich (Germany) and junior
Pilar Echeverria (Guatemala) are among the select few DII athletes in the running for the International squad.
"Not many programs can say they have even one player being considered for the Palmer Cup," said Head Coach Brent Nicoson, "so it's an honor for our program to have three being named finalists for this prestigious event."
ABOUT THE PALMER CUP
The Palmer Cup was co-founded by legendary golfer Arnold Palmer and The Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) in 1997. The annual event is a Ryder Cup-style tournament featuring the top male (starting in 1997) and female (starting in 2018) university/college golfers matching the United States against a team of International golfers. Starting in 2018, the prestigious event became the only major tournament that features men and women playing side-by-side as partners.
Both the U.S. and International teams shall consist of 12 men's and 12 women's golfers, with the first six from each side being selected using the Arnold Palmer Cup Ranking. The remaining six players for the U.S. shall be selected by using five committee picks and one coach's pick, with one of the committee selections mandated as a non-Division I golfer. The remaining six International players shall be divided into four committee selections, a coach's pick and The R&A Scholars Tournament champions (men's and women's).
The United States leads the all-time series 10-9-1.
MORE NICOSON COMMENTS
On Echeverria...
"Pilar has been so solid in her career at UIndy and was considered last year for the Palmer Cup international team, she would undoubtedly be an asset for the team."
On Keilich...
"Katie is a team and individual national champion, I'm sure they would love to have a player with those credentials as part of the team. She has high level international experience as well."
On Holtsclaw...
"Kennedy is proof of what hard work and having patience can lead to. She won her first two college events this fall and is simply a great player and even better teammate at UIndy so I'm sure she would be the same on the Palmer Cup team as well."
