John Holmes of Kentucky, Ryan Blaum of Duke, Georgia Tech?s Roberto Castro and Matthew Rosenfeld of Texas have been named the final four players to represent the United States in the 2005 Palmer Cup presented by Monster.
The annual Ryder Cup-style competition between American collegiate golfers and their counterparts from Europe will be played June 8-9 on the 7,201 yard, par 72 Whistling Straits Irish Course. The foursome joins Florida?s Matt Every, Spencer Levin of New Mexico, Indiana?s Jeff Overton and Michael Putnam of Pepperdine on Team USA, which leads the series, 4-3-1.
?To play in the Palmer Cup is a tremendous honor for John to be named one of the top eight collegiate golfers in the United States,? said head coach Brian Craig. ?John is certainly well-deserving of this honor and not just for this year, but for what he?s accomplished during his entire amateur career at UK. I know he?s excited and I have no doubt that he?ll represent us all well against Team Europe.?
A 2004 first-team PING All-America selection, Holmes will be representing his country for the second time after leading the United States to victory in last summer?s USA vs. Japan Collegiate Golf Championship. The Campbellsville, Ky., native claimed the Inverness Intercollegiate to open the season and has tallied four other top-10 finishes. A senior, Holmes has earned All-America and All-SEC honors three times each and won both the Kentucky Open and Kentucky State Amateur last summer.
Blaum, a junior hailing from Coral Gables, Fla., won the Landfall Tradition this past fall and has two runner-up finishes as well as fourth, sixth and seventh-place showings this season. He won last summer?s Eastern Amateur, placed second at the Cardinal Amateur and tallied top-10 placings at the Porter Cup and Southern Amateur. An honorable mention PING All-America selection last season, Blaum has earned All-ACC honors twice.
A sophomore from Alpharetta, Ga., Castro has five top-10 finishes this season, including three in the top four. Castro was named honorable mention PING All-America, All-ACC and ACC Rookie of the Year last season as a freshman. He currently ranks 13th nationally in adjusted stroke average.
A junior for Plano, Texas, Rosenfeld tied for first at the Western Refining All-America Classic. Additionally, he has posted two runner-up finishes this season as well as a third and sixth-place showing. Rosenfeld earned honorable mention PING All-America honors as well as second team All-Big 12 accolades as a sophomore. Last year, Rosenfeld represented the United States in The Spirit, helping lead Team USA to an overall first-place finish. A former U.S. Junior Amateur Champion, Rosenfeld is a semifinalist for The Ben Hogan Award.
Team Europe for the 2005 Palmer Cup will be named Tuesday, April 19.
Holmes and the Wildcats return to action this weekend, Apr. 15-17, at the Southeastern Conference championships in Sea Island, Ga.
