Palmer Cup :: Coach, Two Players Named to U.S. Palmer Cup Team
Penley, Hurley and Nallen to represent Americans in 2004 Palmer Cup presented by Monster
NORMAN, Okla. ? Clemson Head Golf Coach Larry Penley, Billy Hurley of Navy and Arizona?s Chris Nallen have been named to represent the United States in the 2004 Palmer Cup presented by Monster announced the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA). This annual Ryder Cup-style competition will be played at Ballybunion Golf Club in County Kerry, Ireland, August 6-7.
The 2003 Eaton Golf Pride Dave Williams National Coach of the Year and a recent inductee into the GCAA Coaches Hall of Fame, Penley has spent the past 20 years as the head coach of the Clemson golf program. He led the Tigers to the 2003 NCAA Championship and his teams have finished in the top five seven times and in the top 20 on 17 occasions. Penley?s squads have also won seven ACC titles and six NCAA Regional crowns. He has coached 46 All-Americans - including 13 first-team selections - and 10 All-America Scholars. Penley has been named the ACC Coach of the year and District Coach of the Year five times each. In 2003, Penley?s Tigers became the first program in NCAA history to win its conference, regional and national championship in the same year. Clemson was the nation?s top-ranked team by the Precept Coaches poll the entire 2003 season and captured a school record six team titles.
A three-time All-Patriot League selection, Hurley has won three of the five tournaments in which he played - the Navy Fall Invitational, Mission Inn Collegiate Classic and Service Academy Classic. The senior from Leesburg, Va., won the Navy Fall Invitational by seven strokes after shattering the course record with his second-round 10-under par 61 and posted 10 birdies and eight pars during the round. Hurley claimed the Mission Inn Collegiate Classic in Florida by two strokes and earned his third win of the season at the Service Academy Classic, crushing the competition with a 13-stroke victory over the field. He shattered the tournament record by seven strokes (67-68-67=202) in the event. He will graduate with an undefeated record against archrival Army after leading the Mids to a 6.5-4.5 victory at the USNA Golf Course. Hurley owns a 68.18 stroke average and has produced top-10 finishes in all five fall meets. He not only qualified for the 2003 U.S. Amateur, but also grabbed the No. 2 seed after producing the second-best mark in stroke play in the opening two rounds of competition.
A participant in the 2003 Palmer Cup presented by Monster, Nallen earned first-team PING All-America honors and was named All-Pac 10 for the second consecutive season. The senior from Blairstown, N.J., owns a 71.41 career stroke average, the second lowest in Arizona history. Nallen had a streak of eight consecutive competitive rounds in the 60s earlier this season. He shot a school and tournament record 18-under to win the PING-Arizona Intercollegiate. Nallen also claimed medalist honors at the Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic in which he tied the tournament scoring record with a bogey-free 66-63-67=196 (-17). He also became the first golfer in the 29-year history of the All-America Golf Classic to win the Titleist Longest Drive Contest, the Ping Putting Contest and medalist honors. Nallen posted a 2-2 record in last year?s Palmer Cup. He also participated in the Walker Cup last summer.
The U.S. team leads the Palmer Cup Series, 4-2-1.[[--banner:--]]