NORMAN, Okla. -- San Diego State men's golfer Puwit Anupansuebsai (Nakhon Phanom, Thailand) will represent the international team at the Arnold Palmer Cup in June, the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) announced Tuesday. Anupansuebsai is on the international team for the second straight year.
At the 2020 Palmer Cup, which was moved from July in County Clare, Ireland, to December in Orlando, Fla., because of the COVID pandemic, Anupansuebsai led the Internationals to a dominating 21-point win over the United States. He went 3-0 for the week as the Internationals retained the cup in a 40.5-19.5 victory. For his efforts, Anupansuebsai was the co-recipient of the Michael Carter Award, which is presented to the Arnold Palmer Cup participant that best represents the qualities and ideals of sportsmanship, integrity and upholding of the game. Anupansuebsai shared the award with John Pak.
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 25th annual Arnold Palmer Cup is slated for June 11-13 at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill.
Anupansuebsai is coming off a victory at the Mountain West Championship last weekend (April 30-May 1), when he fired a 6-under-par 66 in the final round to join a four-man playoff at 7-under 209. He then birdied the second playoff hole to capture SDSU's first MW Championship in 20 years (since John Lepak in 2001).
Over the last three tournaments of the season, Anupansuebsai has finished tied for second (Wyoming Cowboy Classic), tied for first (lost in playoff at Western Intercollegiate) and first (won playoff at MW Championship). He leads San Diego State with a 71.05 scoring average, and rounds in the 60s (7) and rounds below par (10). Anupansuebsai is also tied for first on the squad in even-par rounds (5).
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.