Being a countryman of some of the most formidable Ryder Cup players in history — Seve Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal and Sergio Garcia — Spaniard Jorge Campillo no doubt knows a little about U.S. vs. Europe golf matches.
And while the college version of the Ryder Cup certainly has its moments, Campillo doesn’t see the Palmer Cup ever becoming near as pressure-packed as the biennial competition between the best pros from the U.S. and Europe.
Arnold Palmer holds court with members of the Palmer Cup teams
on Wednesday at Cherry Hills.
“There’s not the whole world watching, and it’s not the most important event in golf,” Campillo said Wednesday on the eve of competing in this year’s Palmer Cup, which will be played Thursday and Friday (June 4-5) at Cherry Hills Country Club. “It’ll never be the same.”
In other words, don’t look this week for anything approaching the 1991 Ryder Cup “War by the Shore” that took place at Kiawah Island. But, conversely, that certainly doesn’t mean the Palmer Cup at Cherry Hills is going to be hit-and-giggle golf. Playing for country (or continent) is no small matter to some competitors.
“I think it’s going to be very intense,” U.S. coach Matt Thurmond said earlier this week. “No one wants to lose. The teams were hanging out together for a few days (last week), but once we arrived on site there was a little more edginess. There was a lot different feel (Monday) than a few days before.”
The Palmer Cup matches have been held every year since 1997, with the U.S. hosting the event in odd years and Europe in even years. The U.S. leads the all-time series 6-5-1, but since the Great Britain & Ireland team expanded to all of Europe in 2003, Europe has won four of the six matches.
“It was much more intense at (last week’s) NCAAs,” said Broomfield’s Steve Ziegler, who is competing for the U.S. team. “This is a lot of fun, but there’s also a lot of pride when you’re playing for your country.”
Campillo, who just finished his career at Indiana University and plans to turn pro shortly, will be playing in the Palmer Cup for the third time. Only eight other players in history have competed more than twice.
Before the matches start, “we’re relaxed,” said the two-time first-team All-American. “Then (you start competing) and it’s so intense. But it depends on the guys involved. Sometimes you might have two guys from the same college team, and one is playing for the U.S. and the other for Europe, and it’s pretty relaxed. But other times, it’s different.” The venue often plays into which team prevails in the Palmer Cup. Only once has a European-based team won on U.S. soil (2003, ironically at Kiawah Island in South Carolina).
Whatever the situation, some of the best college players — and amateurs — in the world will be displaying their talent at Cherry Hills. For instance, four players just named first-team All-Americans will be competing — Campillo (Europe), Morgan Hoffmann from Oklahoma State (U.S.), Cameron Tringale from Georgia Tech (U.S.) and Mike Van Sickle from Marquette (U.S.).
Campillo, winner of three college tournaments as a senior, was one of three finalists for the Ben Hogan Award, given to the top men’s college player in the nation.
“All 16 players here are real, real good,” Thurmond said.
PALMER CUP MATCHUPS AND NOTES: The first of Thursday’s Four-ball matches (best ball) will begin at 7:30 a.m., while the Singles matches will start at 1 p.m. All the matches Thursday and Friday are free and open to the public.
Here are the matchups for Thursday’s Four-ball: 7:30 a.m.: Jorge Campillo-Tim Sluiter (Europe) vs. Bud Cauley-Trent Leon (U.S.); 7:44 a.m.: Henrik Norlander-Robin Wingardh (Europe) vs. Erik Flores-Adam Mitchell (U.S.); 7:58 a.m.: Leonardo Motta-Andrea Pavan (Europe) vs. Mike Van Sickle-Steve Ziegler (U.S.); 8:12 a.m.: Stephan Gross-Chris Paisley (Europe) vs. Morgan Hoffmann-Cameron Tringale (U.S.) “¦
Five Colorado Junior Golf Association regulars are caddying for Palmer Cup competitors this week. Brendan Connolly of Castle Rock is carrying for Chris Paisley (Europe), Michael Lee of Greeley is looping for Mike Van Sickle (U.S.), Austin Raap is working for Steve Ziegler (U.S.), Michael Reitz of Denver is caddying for Jorge Campillo (Europe), and Sam Rock of Superior is carrying for Cameron Tringale (U.S.). “¦
Wednesday’s College-Am tournament raised between $60,000 and $65,000 for the Palmer Scholarship Fund, which funds educational opportunities for employees and caddies at Cherry Hills. “¦
Mark Crabtree, a four-time winner of the CGA Match Play Championship, is the president of the Golf Coaches Association of America, which hosts the Palmer Cup. Crabtree is the head coach at the University of Louisville.
