UPDATE (April 7, 2020): In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Arnold Palmer Cup originally scheduled for July 3-5, at Lahinch Golf Club will be postponed, and the 2020 playing of this event rescheduled to take place at Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Club & Lodge on December 21-23, 2020. The matches will return to Bay Hill Club, host of the inaugural playing of the Arnold Palmer Cup in 1997. Lahinch Golf Club will now host in 2024.
NORMAN, Okla. – San Diego State men's golfer Puwit Anupansuebsai (Nakhon Phanom, Thailand) will represent the international team at the Arnold Palmer Cup in July, the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) announced Friday. Anupansuebsai is the third Aztec to be named to an Arnold Palmer Cup team, joining Aaron Goldberg and Nahum Mendoza III, who represented the United States in 2008 and 2016, respectively.
The Arnold Palmer Cup, which was co-founded by Arnold Palmer and the GCAA, is a Ryder Cup-style tournament featuring the top men's and women's collegiate golfers pitting the United States against a team of international players. The Arnold Palmer Cup is slated for July 3-5 at Lahinch Golf Club in County Clare, Ireland, but could be postponed or canceled at a later date due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
A 2019 All-Mountain West honoree, Anupansuebsai led SDSU with a 69.59 scoring average for the 2019-20 season across 17 rounds. The junior also ranked second on the team in rounds in the 60s (6) and rounds below par (14). Anupansuebsai was one of three San Diego State golfers to win an event last season and one of two to be named a Mountain West Golfer of the Week.
In the spring, Anupansuebsai logged a pair of top-10 finishes before the season was cut short, finishing with a 70.33 stroke average. He opened the spring by tying for 10th at The Prestige at 4-under 209 before tying for fifth as SDSU's top golfer at the Lamkin Grips San Diego Classic at 3-under 213.
At the Bill Cullum Invitational in October, Anupansuebsai captured his first collegiate victory after firing a career-best 18-under 198 at Wood Ranch Golf Club in Simi Valley, where he led San Diego State to its first event title since 2016. Additionally, the Aztec junior set a program record for lowest score in relation to par for a 54-hole event, while his card of 198 also established a new tournament standard which is also tied for second in school history, along with former SDSU All-Americans Todd Baek and J.J. Spaun. He finished the fall campaign with a team-low 69.18 scoring average.
The Arnold Palmer Cup was established in 1997 and originally featured the top eight collegiate golfers from the United States against Great Britain and Ireland. Following the 2002 tournament, the American opponent was enlarged to include all European players, while roster size for both sides was increased to 10 competitors in 2013. In 2018, the Arnold Palmer Cup was expanded once again to include United States men's and women's teams against collegiate golfers from around the world.
More than 60 former Arnold Palmer Cup players have claimed 200 victories on the PGA or European Tours, including U.S. Open Champions Dustin Johnson, Graeme McDowell, Lucas Glover and Webb Simpson, Open Champion Ben Curtis and PGA Champion Justin Thomas, among others.