Top college golfers compete at Laurel Valley as Palmer Cup comes home

The 27th Arnold Palmer Cup came home this year, and it might be back again.

The Ryder Cup-style competition that features some of the top men’s and women’s collegiate golfers from the United States versus an international team is being played at one of the late Arnold Palmer’s favorite courses: Laurel Valley Golf Club in Ligonier.

The three-day event ends Saturday. The U.S. team leads 23.5-12.5 with 24 singles match remaining. The U.S. trailed after Day 1 but outscored the international squad during Day 2, 18-6, including 10.5-1.5 in mixed foursomes.

This is the first time the Palmer Cup has been held at Laurel Valley, arguably one of the best courses in the state.

Golf Digest ranked it No. 5 behind Oakmont Country Club and three Philadelphia area courses: Merion East Country Club, Aronimink Golf Club and the Philadelphia Cricket Club. Fox Chapel is ranked sixth.

Laurel Valley president Lou Cestello said the way things have turned out this year, he wouldn’t mind seeing the tournament return.

“I don’t think I’d change a thing,” Cestello said when asked about the event not being open to the public. “This is event is for the players, but what we’re hearing from the participants is that they love the venue, they love the campus and they love the ability to stay here together and build the teamwork, friendship and camaraderie. Yes, we’d certainly be interested in hosting the event again.”

The tournament is open only to members of the club and guests and family members of the players. It’s not a for-profit event.

The club opened Oct. 1, 1959, and by 1965, it hosted the PGA Championship. Since then, the club has hosted the 1975 Ryder Cup, the 1989 U.S. Senior Open, the 2001 PGA Marconi Pennsylvania Classic, the 2005 Senior PGA Championship and the Family House Invitational.

“The course has been tweaked over the past number of years to make it great for the members, in particular,” Cestello said. “And really as the game and equipment has changed and players are longer, we’ve modified it to make sure it’s fit for today’s game.

“We are not looking to having a big tournament here. We’re a members club. Hosting this tournament, in particular with the ties to Mr. Palmer and the ties to the Palmer family and foundation, it made sense for Laurel Valley to hold it.”

Ken Boehner, CEO of the Arnold and Winnie Palmer Foundation, added: “Laurel Valley has been an incredible host for this event. Being able to have this competition at a place that really mattered to Mr. Palmer is incredibly special for us at the foundation. Having it just down the road from his home is also incredibly special and meaningful.

“Obviously, it’s up to the club if it wants to host again. From the foundation’s point of view and the legacy of Mr. Palmer’s point of view, this is an incredibly special place, and we’d love to have it here on a consistent basis in order to celebrate that in a way it couldn’t happen anywhere else.”

Most of the changes to the course, said Laurel Valley head professional Chris McKnight, were to help dry the course better.

It originally was designed by famous architect Dick Wilson, who also designed Bay Hill in Orlando, Fla.

“We’ve done things to the greens and used a new process to take water away from the playing surfaces on the fairways,” McKnight said. “We have a few more holes to complete, but the best thing we’ve done is getting the water off the playing areas and allowing our superintendent to manually control how much water it gets. That’s the biggest change that we’ve done.”

McKnight said they also worked on the bunkers. They redesigned and repositioned some bunkers to current standards. There also has been some tree removal.

“Mostly agronomics reasons, and we opened up views and getting air and sunlight into the course,” McKnight said. “The course came together very quickly in 1958. Anything we did to the course since I began in 1987, we consulted Mr. Palmer. He was very much involved. We changed every hole except No 7. We’re hoping to do that soon. When Mr. Palmer spoke, we listened. Arnold loved this place.”

McKnight said the fairways have been firmed up, and one of the competitors said the course was the best conditioned course she has played.

“The players are having a ball,” Boehner said. “There has been unbelievably positive feedback, uniformly from both men and women.

“It’s not always easy to have a balance on how the golf course can be set up when men and women are competing together, which is very unique in the Arnold Palmer Cup. It doesn’t occur in other collegiate events. This course has been really good for creating a fair but challenging test of golf for the men and the women. It’s fantastic.”

The teams, 24 on each squad, were selected based on performance during the collegiate season. Some are selected by the coaches.

“They want to pull players out and compete because they are representative of Mr. Palmer’s values and what’s good for the game,” Boehner said.