SUGAR GROVE, Ill. (June 11, 2021) – The NCAA Division II golfers from the Lone Star Conference can play a little bit and they showed their mettle on Friday on the opening day of the Arnold Palmer Cup at muggy Rich Harvest Farms.

Paired together in a mixed four-ball match, the LSC's top male player, Oklahoma Christian's Trevor Norby, and best female player, Hanna Harrison of Dallas Baptist (Texas), earned Team USA's first point in the 25th edition of the prestigious event. A birdie run by Norby on the front nine put them ahead and they eventually closed out a 1-up win over Allan Hill of Ireland and Penny Brown of Scotland.

"Of all the things I've ever done in golf, this is the best day I've ever had on a golf course," Norby said.

The International team and U.S. teams were tied 6-6 after the opening day, which included two weather delays as thunderstorms passed over the course located on the edge of the western suburbs of Chicago. Before the storms hit, temperatures soared into the lower 90s with high humidity, much like conditions in Oklahoma or north Texas in August.

The Palmer Cup was co-founded by famed golfer Arnold Palmer and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) and began in 1997. The event is a Ryder Cup-style tournament featuring the top men's and women's university/college golfers and matches players from the United States against a team of International players – some attending U.S. schools, others attending universities in their home nations.

There has been a spot reserved on the U.S. Palmer Cup team in recent years for one male and one female NCAA Division II player and Norby, who's soon to be a three-time Division II All-American for OC, and Harrison, a rare five-time All-American at DBU, were this year's selections.

Norby and Harrison teed off second among the 12 matches. They were played using best-ball scoring format, in which one team's best individual score on a hole is compared against the other team's best score to determine which team won the hole. For three holes, Norby and Harrison's match was all square before Brown put the International team ahead with a birdie on the par-4 No. 4.

The International lead didn't last long. Both Norby and Harrison birdied the par-3 No. 5 while Hill and Brown both recorded pars. The U.S. team took the lead on the par-4 No. 6, as Norby drained a 12-foot birdie putt while everyone else either parred or bogeyed the hole.

On the par-5 No. 7, Norby took a risk on his second shot and went for the green. His shot easily cleared a water hazard in front of the hole and landed in a back bunker, from which he got up and down for birdie. But Hill hit into the water and Brown did well to save par after struggling to get on the green.

That put the U.S. team 2-up and they milked that lead though most of the rest of the round. Norby parred No. 10 to save a point and both he and Harrison birdied the par-5 No. 11, key because Hill also recorded a birdie, one of only two he had in the round. Harrison's par on the par-3 No. 13 matched the par of Brown, maintaining the U.S. lead.

Brown hit a terrific approach shot on the par-4 No. 15 and was preparing to putt when sirens went off, suspending play. Once it resumed nearly two hours later, she made the birdie putt to give the International team the hole win.

But all four players recorded pars on the par-3 No. 16 and bogeys on the par-4 No. 17. Hill birdied the par-5 No. 18 but so did Norby, clinching the match. Had the match been regular stroke play, Norby would have shot a 2-under 70 on the 7,325-yard course, while Harrison would have had a 73, Brown a 74 and Hill a 78.

Saturday, players will compete in foursomes in the morning starting at 7:30 and in mixed foursomes in the afternoon starting at 1:30. Players will tee off from both No. 1 and No. 10 to facilitate the playing of two rounds. Singles matches will be played on Sunday.