Wake Forest Athletics
Photo by: Kaitlyn Stocum / Wake Forest Athletics
Kovelesky and Pate Selected for 2026 Arnold Palmer Cup
5/5/2026 8:00:00 PM | Women's Golf
Pate returns for her second year at the tournament, while Kovelesky makes her debut.
ORLANDO, Fla. - Sophomore Chloe Kovelesky and junior Macy Pate have been selected as members of Team USA for the 2026 Arnold Palmer Cup on July 3-5, held this year at Tralee Golf Links in West Barrow, Ireland.
Wake Forest has had at least one women's golfer selected every year since the Palmer Cup expanded to include International and women's competitors in 2018. Pate's first selection was in 2025, competing against fellow Deac and Team International member Carolina Chacarra ('25).
A two-time ANWA invitee, Pate captured her first collegiate win at the 2025 Jackson T. Stephens Cup with a career-low 54-hole score (202) at eight-under to secure the win. She placed in the top-25 throughout all spring competitions, including back-to-back top-10 finishes at Moon Golf Invitational and Darius Rucker Intercollegiate.
Additionally, the 2024 ACC Freshman of the Year maintained the lowest scoring average of the Demon Deacons post-ACC Championship, as well as the highest ranked Deac on Scoreboard (No. 19).
Kovelesky marks her first selection to the tournament, building off a strong freshman semester that she continued into her sophomore year. The 2025 Honorable Mention All-American opened the year with first place co-medalist honors at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate, followed by a career low 54-hole round of 206 (-4) to take second behind Pate at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup. At both tournaments, Kovelesky matched career-low rounds of 67.
The 2025 All-ACC Selection kicked off the postseason with a nine-under performance at the 2026 ACC Championship to earn third place medalist honors.
About the Arnold Palmer Cup
The Arnold Palmer Cup was co-founded by Arnold Palmer and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) and began at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Orlando, Fla., 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. The Palmer Cup has been played at some of the world's greatest courses, including The Old Course at St. Andrews, The Royal County Down, Royal Portrush, Baltusrol, The Honors Course, Cherry Hills, and Lahinch. Beginning with the 2018 matches at Evian Resort Golf Club, the Palmer Cup is the only major tournament that features men and women playing side-by-side as partners.
Since its inception, over 250 former Arnold Palmer Cup alumni have gone on to earn cards on the PGA, DP World, or LPGA Tours; 46 have represented Europe/International or the USA in the Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup, or Solheim Cup and more than 100 have claimed over 450 victories on the PGA, DP World, LPGA, or Ladies European Tours. The United States leads the Palmer Cup series 15-13-1.
More than a showcase of golf skill, the Palmer Cup acknowledges and rewards character as well, in line with the principles of its founder and the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation. Arnold and Winnie Palmer championed causes that were not just about golf, but possible because of golf. They devoted their time away from the game to philanthropy — focused especially on young people — and created a model for other modern athletes to use their influence in service to others. The Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation continues the Palmer tradition of impactful philanthropy by uniting the generosity of golfers and fans everywhere to make a difference.
The Arnold Palmer Cup is part of the foundation's missions to promote youth character development and foster the growth of amateur/collegiate golf.
Wake Forest has had at least one women's golfer selected every year since the Palmer Cup expanded to include International and women's competitors in 2018. Pate's first selection was in 2025, competing against fellow Deac and Team International member Carolina Chacarra ('25).
A two-time ANWA invitee, Pate captured her first collegiate win at the 2025 Jackson T. Stephens Cup with a career-low 54-hole score (202) at eight-under to secure the win. She placed in the top-25 throughout all spring competitions, including back-to-back top-10 finishes at Moon Golf Invitational and Darius Rucker Intercollegiate.
Additionally, the 2024 ACC Freshman of the Year maintained the lowest scoring average of the Demon Deacons post-ACC Championship, as well as the highest ranked Deac on Scoreboard (No. 19).
Kovelesky marks her first selection to the tournament, building off a strong freshman semester that she continued into her sophomore year. The 2025 Honorable Mention All-American opened the year with first place co-medalist honors at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate, followed by a career low 54-hole round of 206 (-4) to take second behind Pate at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup. At both tournaments, Kovelesky matched career-low rounds of 67.
The 2025 All-ACC Selection kicked off the postseason with a nine-under performance at the 2026 ACC Championship to earn third place medalist honors.
About the Arnold Palmer Cup
The Arnold Palmer Cup was co-founded by Arnold Palmer and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) and began at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Orlando, Fla., 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. The Palmer Cup has been played at some of the world's greatest courses, including The Old Course at St. Andrews, The Royal County Down, Royal Portrush, Baltusrol, The Honors Course, Cherry Hills, and Lahinch. Beginning with the 2018 matches at Evian Resort Golf Club, the Palmer Cup is the only major tournament that features men and women playing side-by-side as partners.
Since its inception, over 250 former Arnold Palmer Cup alumni have gone on to earn cards on the PGA, DP World, or LPGA Tours; 46 have represented Europe/International or the USA in the Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup, or Solheim Cup and more than 100 have claimed over 450 victories on the PGA, DP World, LPGA, or Ladies European Tours. The United States leads the Palmer Cup series 15-13-1.
More than a showcase of golf skill, the Palmer Cup acknowledges and rewards character as well, in line with the principles of its founder and the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation. Arnold and Winnie Palmer championed causes that were not just about golf, but possible because of golf. They devoted their time away from the game to philanthropy — focused especially on young people — and created a model for other modern athletes to use their influence in service to others. The Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation continues the Palmer tradition of impactful philanthropy by uniting the generosity of golfers and fans everywhere to make a difference.
The Arnold Palmer Cup is part of the foundation's missions to promote youth character development and foster the growth of amateur/collegiate golf.
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