The University of North Carolina’s Maxwell Ford and David Ford provided one and a half points in Sunday’s singles matches as Team USA defeated an international squad to win the 2024 Arnold Palmer Cup at Lahinch Golf Club in Ireland.
The Ryder Cup-style event features a dozen men’s and women’s amateurs from both the United States and internationals in a three-day tournament. The matches were tied at 18 heading into Sunday’s singles, which the U.S. won, 14 ½ to 9 ½.
The final margin was 32 ½ to 27 ½ for Team USA. This is the second year in a row the U.S. has won the Palmer Cup. The U.S. leads the series which began in 1997, 15-12-1.
Maxwell Ford defeated Ireland’s Ryan Griffin 1 up to finish his 2024 Palmer Cup, 2-1-1. Griffin won the ninth hole to go 1 up before Ford evened the match on 15 and made a birdie 2 on the 16th hole to take the lead. Both players made matching pars on the final two holes as Ford won the match by a hole.
David Ford tied South Africa’s Ben van Wyk, a graduate student at Georgia. Ford made six birdies in the round, including four on the first nine holes to take a 3 up lead. Van Wyk battled back with five birdies in an eight-hole stretch to pull even with one hole to play. Both players made birdies on the final hole to end the match in a draw to earn a half-point apiece.
It was Ford’s third draw in this year’s Palmer Cup (he also was a member of the 2023 U.S. team that won the Cup).
The Fords are rising seniors at UNC. The Peachtree Corners, Ga., natives became the first set of twins to compete in a Palmer Cup. Both earned All-ACC and third-team All-America honors for the Tar Heels in 2023-24.
The Ryder Cup-style event features a dozen men’s and women’s amateurs from both the United States and internationals in a three-day tournament. The matches were tied at 18 heading into Sunday’s singles, which the U.S. won, 14 ½ to 9 ½.
The final margin was 32 ½ to 27 ½ for Team USA. This is the second year in a row the U.S. has won the Palmer Cup. The U.S. leads the series which began in 1997, 15-12-1.
Maxwell Ford defeated Ireland’s Ryan Griffin 1 up to finish his 2024 Palmer Cup, 2-1-1. Griffin won the ninth hole to go 1 up before Ford evened the match on 15 and made a birdie 2 on the 16th hole to take the lead. Both players made matching pars on the final two holes as Ford won the match by a hole.
David Ford tied South Africa’s Ben van Wyk, a graduate student at Georgia. Ford made six birdies in the round, including four on the first nine holes to take a 3 up lead. Van Wyk battled back with five birdies in an eight-hole stretch to pull even with one hole to play. Both players made birdies on the final hole to end the match in a draw to earn a half-point apiece.
It was Ford’s third draw in this year’s Palmer Cup (he also was a member of the 2023 U.S. team that won the Cup).
The Fords are rising seniors at UNC. The Peachtree Corners, Ga., natives became the first set of twins to compete in a Palmer Cup. Both earned All-ACC and third-team All-America honors for the Tar Heels in 2023-24.