The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
No. 3 Men’s Golf’s Bennett named to 2026 Arnold Palmer Cup team
05.05.2026 | Men's Golf
Sophomore Daniel Bennett (Team International) will compete for the second-straight summer at Ryder Cup-style event on July 3-5 in Ireland.
AUSTIN, Texas — University of Texas Men's Golf sophomore Daniel Bennett has been selected to compete in the 2026 Arnold Palmer Cup, the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) announced Tuesday evening. Bennett is one of 12 men's players chosen for Team International in the Ryder Cup-style competition to be held July 3-5 at Tralee Golf Links in West Barrow, Ireland.
This marks the second-straight year that Bennett has been selected to participate in the Arnold Palmer Cup, as he competed for the winning Team International squad at the 2025 Arnold Palmer Cup last June at Congaree Golf Club in Ridgeland, S.C. In addition to Bennett, Texas Women's Golf standouts Lauren Kim (Team International) and Farah O'Keefe (Team USA) were both selected to compete in the 2026 Arnold Palmer Cup, and Texas Women's Golf head coach Laura Ianello will serve as the Co-Head Coach for Team USA.
The Arnold Palmer Cup was co-founded by Arnold Palmer and the GCAA and began at the Bay Hill Club & Lounge in Orlando in 1997. The event is a Ryder Cup-style tournament featuring the top men's and women's university/college golfers matching the United States against a team of international players.
Beginning with the 2018 matches at Evian Resort Golf Club, the Palmer Cup is the only major tournament which features men and women playing side-by-side as partners. Team USA holds a 15-13-1 all-time lead in the Palmer Cup series entering the 2026 event.
Bennett is No. 15 in the latest World Amateur Golf Ranking (April 29). He has played in 10 of UT's first 12 events this season and sports a 70.10 stroke average through 30 rounds while recording a pair of runner-up efforts and a total of four top-eight individual finishes. Twenty of his 30 rounds this year have been par or better, including 13 in the 60s. Bennett placed second at The Williams Cup (Oct. 19-21) with a 6-under 210 (68-71-71) and tied for second at the season-opening Sahalee Players Championship (Sept. 6-7) with a 2-under 214 (72-69-73). He also tied for seventh at the Desimone Invitational (March 9-10) with an 8-under 208 (70-69-69) and tied for eighth at the Arizona N.I.T. (Jan. 26-27) with an 8-under 208 (71-71-66).
Bennett earned the Arnold Palmer Cup exemption and competed in the 2026 Arnold Palmer Invitational (March 5-8), a PGA TOUR signature event at Bay Hill (Fla.). He made the 36-hole cut at the AP Invitational and finished in a tie for 47th with a 5-over 293 (71-71-77-74). Bennett also tied for eighth at the 2025 World Amateur Team Championships (Oct. 8-11) in Singapore with a four-round score of 7-under 281 (73-69-67-72). He paired with fellow Texas senior Christiaan Maas to help Team South Africa claim an eight-shot victory over runner-up Australia to mark the first team championship for South Africa in tournament history, as its previous best finish was a silver medal in 1980.
2026 Arnold Palmer Cup Team International Selections
Nguyen Anh Minh | Oregon State | Vietnam
Daniel Bennett | TEXAS | South Africa
Vanessa Borovilos | Texas A&M | Canada
Jack Buchanan | USC | South Africa
George Cannon | Stirling | Scotland
Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio | Texas A&M | Spain
Paula Francisco | Florida | Spain
Connor Graham | Texas Tech | Scotland
Veronika Kedronova | Kent State | Czech Republic
Lauren Kim | TEXAS | Canada
Marie Eline Madsen | NC State | Denmark
Rianne Malixi | Duke | Philippines
Maria Jose Marin | Arkansas | Colombia
Paula Martin Sampedro | Stanford | Spain
Caitlin Maurice | St. Andrews | New Zealand
Malan Potgieter | Louisiana | South Africa
Luke Poulter | Florida | England
Patience Rhodes | Arizona State | England
Niall Sheils Donegan | North Carolina | Scotland
Marta Silchenko | Oklahoma State | Latvia
Arni Sveinsson | LSU | Iceland
Zack Swanwick | Florida | New Zealand
Harry Takis | San Diego State | Australia
Tim Wiedemeyer | Texas Tech | Germany
