Arnold Palmer Cup alumni highlight deep foundaton roots at 2026 API

Most of the world's best players this week will tee it up at Arnie's Place, Bay Hill Club & Lodge, for the 2026 Arnold Palmer Invitational. It's going to be far from the first time a handful of those in the field have competed in an event with a heavy presence from The King.

The API is one of the PGA Tour's most notable events, with notorious winners like Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler in recent years. Yet as the years go on and history is added to the event, more and more players are teeing it up at Bay Hill with another notable touch to Palmer.

Nearly two dozen players will have the Arnold Palmer Cup team umbrellas on their caddie bibs, signifying they are alumni of one of the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation's largest initiatives in the amateur game. The Arnold Palmer Cup is a competition every summer featuring the top American collegiate players taking on their counterparts from around the world.

And each year, one male player is awarded an exemption to compete in the following edition of the API. This year, Texas sophomore Daniel Bennett is set to play with the world's best players at Bay Hill. Last year, No. 1 amateur Jackson Koivun made the cut at the API.

However, the foundation's involvement with junior and amateur golf begins with players as young as 6 during the U.S. Kids Palmer Foundation Kids Invitational, held in the summer at Arnold Palmer’s home course, Latrobe Country Club. Golfers ages 6-12 come from around the world to compete on the course built by Deacon and Palmer and learn about the Palmer legacy.

The American Junior Golf Association’s Arnold Palmer Invitational Junior is played at Bay Hill every July. The tournament features some of the best junior golfers ages 12 to 19. The top young competitors graduate from the AJGA tournament to the Arnold Palmer Cup, which features the world’s best collegiate golfers.

And this week is the ultimate culmination, with alumni from past Palmer Foundation events competing in one of the greatest golf tournaments in the world.

The foundation's youth golf initiatives don't stop there. Its mission is to instill character in young people and teach the life lessons of integrity, honesty and sportsmanship Palmer learned through the game. The foundation is building a training at Latrobe Country Club to teach golf and values to young people. During the API, the foundation will also announce a new character education and leadership program being developed with Arnold Palmer’s alma mater Wake Forest. The program will be integrated with youth golf programs around the world.

“Golfers keep their own scores. They call penalties on themselves. Character is an essential part of the game,” said Jason Peevy, the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation president. “It’s an ideal opportunity to teach life lessons. Our goal is to prepare young people for success in life, whether they continue to play competitive golf or not.”

Bennett, the recipient of this year's exemption from the Palmer Cup, couldn't believe he was chosen by his peers to tee it up this week.

“When I heard my name being called, I was in complete shock,” Bennett said. “Didn’t really know what to say in the moment and definitely took me some time to realize that I’m playing my first PGA Tour event at such an iconic venue. It’s definitely been lingering and I’ve been preparing myself for the moment. It’s where I want to be one day, and I would love to go compete at the highest level.”

Perhaps Bennett can continue a strong run of play from recent Palmer Cup exemption recipients. Past players who competed in the Arnold Palmer Invitational include Koivun, Ludvig Aberg, David Ford and more.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: How the Palmer Foundation builds pathway to the Arnold Palmer Cup