Tralee Golf Cup seizing the moment after successful Palmer Cup staging

Action from the final day's play at the Arnold Palmer Cup at Tralee Golf Links. Pic: Ian Cronin, thesocialhacker.ie

A Palmer Cup on Irish soil was missing one key ingredient as Tralee Golf Links was showcased to a global television audience, but some inspirational words from Paul McGinley for the victorious Internationals made some amends for the absence of homegrown players.

Collegiate golf’s equivalent of the Ryder Cup celebrated its 30th anniversary at the Kerry links designed by the competition’s founder Arnold Palmer and saw the United States edged out in thrilling fashion over the weekend by the Internationals in the three-day matchplay team event featuring 12 male and 12 females per side.

Streamed live by the Golf Channel on its YouTube channel, viewers not only saw the links at its finest over the July 4 weekend but also witnessed a nail-biting 30.5-29.5 victory as the Americans failed to recoup a one-point overnight deficit over Sunday’s 24 singles matches.

International co-captain Janice Olivencia acknowledged the impact of 2014 European Ryder Cup-winning captain McGinley’s speeches to her team while Tralee GC general manager Maurice O’Meara told the Irish Examiner how McGinley had set the tone for the weekend with a speech to both teams at Thursday’s opening ceremony.

“He made an inspirational speech,” O’Meara said. “He based it on Dublin and Kerry GAA and it was about inclusivity, team performance and belonging to your parish, and the players really bought into that.

“Then he did a private session with the Internationals. I don’t know what was said at that but he touched on the Ryder Cup and the plan (Europe) had and how they brought that team success, which is why Europe are doing so well at the moment, so it was definitely inspirational. He was good.” 

Action from the final day's play in the Arnold Palmer Cup at Tralee Golf Links. Pic: Ian Cronin, thesocialhacker.ie

Olivencia said: “I took a little bit of a tip from Paul McGinley when he came out and gave us a speech that it’s about you today because it’s Singles and you don’t have a teammate at that moment to lean on like Foursomes and Four-Ball.

“We go out there because we’re playing for our team-mates, for the badge that we have on our chest, for the country that we represent, and for the family that believes in us. It takes everything; Heart, unity, and belief in each other, and that’s exactly what this team had… It’s a group effort and takes a village to win something this big, so I’m just so proud.” 

For hosts Tralee, O’Meara explained what went into his club’s successful staging of the Palmer Cup. He had overseen the staging of two Irish Opens as GM at Killarney G&FC in 2010 and 11 and he paid special tribute to Tralee’s members for their contributions.

“We had a really tight organising committee and they brought with them a couple of different life experiences and logistics experiences. So we worked really well together.

“It's been a collective effort. We’re incredibly proud of all our members for the way they bought into this and their desire to showcase their club to the world, and for their work as volunteers throughout the week, we couldn’t have done it without them.” 

Describing the Palmer Cup as one of the most significant events Tralee has hosted, O’Meara added: “We've just completed a five-year strategic plan, which we're now in the implementation stage and one of the objectives of that is to host big events, so this is us starting that.

“And that might take us somewhere eventually, in terms of, we don't know where it's going to bring us but one of our strategic objectives is to host major golf events.

“Who knows (what event)? I mean, in the next 18 months, Palmer Cup, Walker Cup, Irish Open in Doonbeg, Ryder Cup, all within 100 miles of each other, maybe? I mean, it's phenomenal for the South West. And, you know, if we look at it in its whole, sales, marketing-wise, we won't have as much coverage of the area ever again, probably.

Action from the final day's play in the Arnold Palmer Cup at Tralee Golf Links. Pic: Ian Cronin, thesocialhacker.ie

“So seize the moment. We're very busy. Business is fantastic at the moment, and long may it stay that way. So this is really about our profile. There was extensive TV coverage as well so the legacy will be those images, the players, the superstars of the future, what the event stands for in terms of camaraderie, and what Arnold’s vision for that was way back in the early 90s.

“And that fits very well with our Tralee Golf Club feel of welcoming, inclusivity, and a more relaxed approach to things.

“The club and the members performed really well, there were no glitches and we were really happy about it and the feedback we received online and from through the industry was amazing, particularly from the States and internationally.

“It certainly has whet the appetite. We’ll assess the week professionally and find things we can do better but then we’ll see what’s potentially ahead of us. But I’m going to draw breath now, and I might even go for a pint.”