The Arnold Palmer Cup is deadlocked through Day 1.
The annual Ryder Cup-style team competition between the top amateurs in the U.S. and Europe could not be closer as Team USA and Europe are tied, 5-5, after a long Friday at Atlanta Athletic Club.
The Americans jumped out to the lead in morning foursomes, winning three matches and halving another to move ahead, 3.5-1.5. The morning winners included John Coultas and Jimmy Stanger (6 and 5 over Viktor Hovland and Kristoffer Ventura), Sean Crocker and Doug Ghim (4 and 2 over Fredrik Nilehn and Hannes Ronneblad) and Maverick McNealy and Collin Morikawa (2 and 1 over Richard Mansell and David Wicks).
Team USA’s Sam Burns and Chandler Phillips halved with Team Europe’s Rory Franssen and Stuart Grehan. The duo of Harry Ellis and Harry Hall (1 up over Nick Hardy and Norman Xiong) was the only European group to score a full point in the morning.
But the tide shifted in the afternoon.
As the format shifted to four-ball, the Europeans staged a comeback. The road team matched the Americans’ stellar morning by winning three of five matches and halving another to make up the two-point deficit and send the overall matches into a tie.
Europe won the first three finished matches of the afternoon. Mansell and Wicks took down Burns and Phillips, 3 and 1, in the lead match. Nilehn and Ronneblad then closed out a 3-and-2 win over Crocker and Morikawa in the fourth match out but the second to finish. The second match was completed next, with Hovland and Ventura outlasting Coultas and Stanger, 1 up.
Now 3-0 ahead in the afternoon play, Europe had the overall lead. The Americans managed to lessen their tough afternoon with a half and a match win to finish. Hardy and Xiong halved with Franssen and Grehan, and Ghim and McNealy closed out a 3-and-2 victory over Ellis and Hall in the anchor match.
Two more days remain in the competition in Johns Creek, Georgia. The U.S. leads the all-time Arnold Palmer Cup series 10-9-1.
Europe won 18.5-11.5 in the 2016 competition, but the team did so on home soil. Neither group has captured the Cup on the road since Team USA’s 13-11 win at Royal Portrush Golf Club in 2010.
Play in the 2017 Arnold Palmer Cup continues with Saturday singles. Below are tee times for Saturday’s action. (Note: All times Eastern)
• • •
  • 9 a.m.: Norman Xiong, USA vs. Richard Mansell, Europe
  • 9:10 a.m.: Doug Ghim, USA vs. Harry Hall, Europe
  • 9:20 a.m.: Jimmy Stanger, USA vs. Harry Ellis, Europe
  • 9:30 a.m.: Nick Hardy, USA vs. David Wicks, Europe
  • 9:40 a.m.: Sam Burns, USA vs. Stuart Grehan, Europe
  • 9:50 a.m.: Collin Morikawa, USA vs. Rory Franssen, Europe
  • 10 a.m.: Maverick McNealy, USA vs. Viktor Hovland, Europe
  • 10:10 a.m.: John Coultas, USA vs. Kristoffer Ventura, Europe
  • 10:20 a.m.: Sean Crocker, USA vs. Fredrik Nilehn, Europe
  • 10:30 a.m.: Chandler Phillips, USA vs. Hannes Ronneblad, Europe