Ridgeland, SC, October 26, 2023 — Congaree Foundation and the ARNOLD & WINNIE PALMER FOUNDATION announced today that Congaree Golf Club has been selected to host the 2025 ARNOLD PALMER CUP. The event marks the beginning of a new partnership between two of the leading philanthropic organizations in the golf industry and will advance their shared commitment to positively impact the lives of youth through character development, educational opportunities and growth of the game of golf at the amateur and collegiate levels.
The 29th Arnold Palmer Cup is scheduled to be hosted at Congaree Golf Club in Ridgeland, SC, June 5-7, 2025. The Ryder Cup-style tournament features the top men’s and women’s collegiate golfers, matching a U.S. team against a team of international players (12 men & 12 women per team); it is the only major tournament in which men and women play side-by-side as partners. Since its inception in 1997, it has been played at some of the world’s greatest courses, including The Old Course, Baltusrol, Royal Portrush and Cherry Hills. Over 125 tournament alumni have gone on to earn cards on the PGA, DP World, and LPGA Tours, claiming a combined 310 victories. Alumni include Major champions John Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, Lucas Glover and Lilia Vu. The U.S. leads the overall series 14-12-1.
The new partnership will extend beyond the tournament and bolster each organization’s goals to impact lives through the game of golf. The Palmer Foundation will support Congaree Foundation’s philanthropic efforts, including the Congaree Global Golf Initiative (CGGI), financially, programmatically and through industry partnerships. CGGI, Congaree Foundation’s signature program, provides underserved and well-deserving high school students in the U.S. and globally who aspire to play collegiate golf access to the highest level of athletic coaching and academic tools to help them thrive in high school and college. The program, which is offered at no cost to participants, has helped youth golfers from 31 countries earn millions of dollars in scholarship funding and compete collegiately at over 50 schools in the U.S. since its inception.
The Palmer Foundation will also serve as a Nominating Partner for CGGI to identify and recommend future participants and will attend CGGI sessions at Congaree Golf Club in Ridgeland, SC, and in the U.K. each summer to share the Palmer legacy. Additionally, the Palmer Foundation will endow a $100,000 scholarship for graduates of CGGI planning to enter a four-year university to play golf or study a golf-related field, such as agronomy or golf management, with plans to grow the endowment to $1 million by 2030. The partnership will also allow Congaree Foundation to provide a large and diverse pool of current and former CGGI students access to internship and employment opportunities with the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Bay Hill Club, Latrobe Country Club and the Palmer Foundation.
“We are thrilled to partner with the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation, which shares Congaree Foundation’s mission to promote youth character and academic development through the game of golf,” said Dan Friedkin, founder of Congaree and Chairman and CEO of The Friedkin Group.
“In addition to hosting one of the premier amateur golf events at Congaree, this partnership will allow us to use our collective resources and reach to impact even more students by providing them educational, mentorship and vocational opportunities that will enhance their opportunities for success in life.”
“My parents dedicated their lives to empowering youth,” said Amy Palmer Saunders. “The Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation is proud to partner with Congaree Foundation, which shares their values and mission to create opportunities for the next generation, leading to a better game and a better world for us all.”
Congaree, a Tom Fazio design, is located about 30 minutes north of Savannah, GA. The club, which ranks No. 42 in Golf Digest’s America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses, hosted the PGA TOUR’s THE CJ CUP in South Carolina in October of 2022, won by Rory McIlroy, as well as the Palmetto Championship at Congaree in June of 2021, won by Garrick Higgo.
