Aagaard Selected as an Assistant Coach for 2020 Arnold Palmer Cup
9/12/2019 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Sofie Aagaard, who has just begun her fifth season as head coach of the Cal Poly women's golf team, has been selected as an assistant coach for the International squad in the 2020 Arnold Palmer Cup.
Co-founded in 1997 by Arnold Palmer and The Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA), the Arnold Palmer Cup is a Ryder Cup-style tournament that pits the top university/college golfers from the United States against an International team.
Co-ed since 2018, it is one of the amateur game's premiere events and the only major amateur tournament that features men and women playing side-by-side as partners.
"I'm truly honored to be selected as one of the coaches for the Palmer Cup," said Aagaard, a native of Sweden. "This is a great event for the participants, a one-of-its-kind co-ed team event. To have the opportunity to be a part of Mr. Palmers great legacy in the world of golf is beyond imagination.
"To get the chance to coach the International team at the biggest stage in amateur college golf is a dream come true," Aagaard added. "We will work with players from all over the world, some of the absolute very best. It will be an exciting event getting to be on so-called home soil for the International team in Ireland. I'm looking forward to coaching the team alongside the head coach, my friend Ria Scott, and to defend the cup."
Scott is head coach of the Virginia women's golf team.
Named head coach at Cal Poly in July 2015, Aagaard guided the squad to a second-place finish in the 2016 Big West Conference Championship in her first season and was named Big West Coach of the Year by her peers.
Steady improvement the next season produced four tournament wins, including Cal Poly's first Big West team championship in women's golf and an appearance in the NCAA Albuquerque Regional. Aagaard was honored as conference coach of the year for the second straight season. Aagaard also was an assistant coach at California for three seasons prior to becoming head coach at Cal Poly.
Barry Fennally of the National University of Ireland at Maynooth also will serve as an assistant coach for the International team at the 2020 Arnold Palmer Cup, scheduled for July 3-5 at Lahinch Golf Club in Lahinch, Ireland.
Kate Golden of Texas and Arizona State's Armen Kirakossian will serve as the United States assistant coaches.
Since its inception, over 125 former Arnold Palmer Cup alumni have gone on to earn cards on either the PGA Tour, European Tour or LPGA, 28 have represented Europe or the USA in the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup, and more than 60 have claimed over 230 victories on the PGA or European Tours. The United States leads the series 12-10-1.
The Arnold Palmer Cup is supported by the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation, with the tournament providing a platform for perpetuating Arnold Palmer's commitment to youth development and to the growth of amateur/collegiate golf. For more information, visit ArnoldPalmerCup.com.
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