Hinson-Tolchard takes hot streak to Arnold Palmer Cup

WATER WITHOUT POWER Oklahoma State Women’s Golfer Maddison Hinson-Tolchard will compete this weekend in the 2023 Arnold Palmer Cup, playing on the international team at Laurel Valley Golf Club, located outside of Ligonier, Pa.

The Arnold Palmer Cup hosts 48 of the game’s best female and male players from around the world. Both the US and international teams consist of 24 players, each with a dozen men and a dozen women.

Beginning in 1996, the Arnold Palmer Cup was founded by Arnold Palmer and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA). The event is a Ryder Cup-style tournament where the United States faces a team of international players in a match. Unique to this event, men’s and women’s golfers play alongside each other in certain formats throughout the weekend.

Since the event’s inception, more than 125 Arnold Palmer Cup alumni have earned cards on the PGA, DP World or LPGA tours, and more than 75 players have racked up more than 310 wins, including 2022 champion Jennifer Kupcho. In addition, 34 alumni of the tournament have represented either Europe or the USA in the Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup or Solheim Cup.

Hailing from Perth, Australia, Hinson-Tolchard secured her spot on the international team by finishing in the top six in the final Palmer Cup rankings announced in late April. She is the third Cowgirl to ever play in the event, joining Isabella Fierro and Maja Stark, who were teammates on the international team in 2021.

Hinson-Tolchard, recently named 12 back-to-back Player of the Year and WGCA First Team All-American, has been playing some of the best golf of her career over the past couple of months.

In April, Hinson-Tolchard was the individual champion at the Big 12 Championships, edging out the field by one stroke. At the NCAA Championships, he posted the program’s best national finish in 13 years with a fourth-place finish. Her opening round of 66 in the tournament is the best round a Cowgirl has ever shot at nationals.

Just ten days ago, Hinson-Tolchard was an individual medalist in the Carrollton, Texas qualifying venue, and she won her spot in the 78th US Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links in July.

In her junior campaign at Oklahoma State, Hinson-Tolchard finished in the top 10 seven times in just 11 tournaments played and finished the season with the third-best stroke average in program history at 71.12. She posted 22 rounds of par or better on the season, bringing her program-leading career total to 54.

The Arnold Palmer Cup begins on Thursday morning with four-ball matches in mixed doubles. On Friday, the teams will play two more rounds of doubles, and the afternoon session will again be played in mixed doubles before the singles round is played on Saturday. The team that has won the most matches by the end of the weekend is crowned champion.

Arnold Palmer Cup schedule

Thursday, June 8
– Mixed four-ball matches – from 7:30 to 10:15 (No. 1 tee)

Friday, June 9
– Fours at 7.30-8.20 (shared shirts)
– Mix Foursomes at 13:30-14:20 (shared shirts)

on Saturday June 10
– Singles at 7.30-9.20 (shared shirts)