TRALEE, Ireland (December 10) – In an announcement by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA), Northwestern women’s golf coaches Emily Fletcher and Beth Miller will both serve as co-assistant coaches for Team USA in the upcoming 2026 Arnold Palmer Cup in Tralee, Ireland.
Fletcher and Miller join an already strong list of Wildcat coaches and competitors at this prestigious event over the years. Northwestern men’s head golf coach David Inglis made his debut for Great Britain & Ireland in 2001, competing once again in 2003 before serving as an assistant coach in 2011 and 2012. Inglis made history in 2017 at the 20th anniversary Arnold Palmer Cup, becoming the first person to have played and also serve as head coach at the event.
Other Wildcats to compete in the Arnold Palmer Cup include Lauryn Nguyen (USA) in 2025, Irene Kim (USA) in 2021, Stephanie Lau (USA) and David Nyfjäll (International) in 2019 and Luke Donald (International) in 1998 and 1999.
The tandem of Fletcher and Miller have coached side by side for 17 years, consistently ranking as one of the top programs in the nation throughout their tenure in Evanston. Under their watch, the Wildcats have qualified for 16 straight NCAA Championships (2010-25), earned 10 NCAA Championship Final berths (2013-19, 2023-25), and captured three Big Ten Conference crowns (2013, 2015, 2016), along with the program’s first national championship this past season.
Over their coaching career, Fletcher and Miller’s Wildcats have earned 21 All-America honors, 54 All-Big Ten awards, seven Big Ten Freshman of the Year Awards, four Big Ten Player of the Year Awards, two Mary Fossum Awards, 47 WGCA All-American Scholar honors, and 98 Academic All-Big Ten honors.
Fletcher has been named Big Ten Coach of the Year six times (2024, 2023, 2016, 2015, 2013, 2011) and was recognized as Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) Central Region Coach of the Year in 2016, 2017, 2023 and 2025, as well as the WGCA National Coach of the Year in 2025.
Miller was recognized as the 2015 Golf Pride Grips WGCA Assistant Coach of the Year, receiving the award once again in 2025 alongside Fletcher to mark the first time in the award’s history that both the National Coach and Assistant Coach of the Year came from the same program.
Contested each year since 1997, the Arnold Palmer Cup features a Ryder Cup-style tournament format between the top men’s and women’s golfers, with the United States squaring off against a team of International players. It is the only major tournament that features men and women playing side by side as playing partners.
This year’s Arnold Palmer Cup will be contested from July 3-5 at Tralee Golf Links, with the United States leading the all-time series 15-13-1. For more information, visit www.arnoldpalmercup.com.
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