Making History on the World Stage
It’s not often you get to be the first to do something.
To be a pioneer.
To go down in the history books.
But University of Miami golf head coach Janice Olivencia has that opportunity on Thursday.
When she steps onto the course at Congaree Golf Club, Olivencia will become the first Puerto Rican (male or female) to participate in the Arnold Palmer Cup, in her case as an assistant coach for Team International.
History.
“I am very proud of where I come from,” Olivencia said. “Representing my country and being a member of the Arnold Palmer Cup International Team is one of the greatest honors.”
The opportunity initially presented itself to Olivencia via a phone call from the CEO of the Golf Coaches Association of America, Dustin Roberts.
“I couldn’t believe what I was hearing and, of course, was fully ecstatic once I realized what was happening,” Olivencia said. “The Arnold Palmer Cup is such a cool experience. We are competing as part of something bigger than all of us and I get to coach some of the best golfers in the world.”
The Arnold Palmer Cup annually pits the top 48 amateur golfers in the world against each other in a Ryder Cup-style format, Team USA vs. Team International. Over the course of three days, the golfers will compete in matches of various format including mixed four-ball, mixed foursomes and match play.
Each team consists of 12 male golfers and 12 female golfers and the team with the most points at the conclusion of four rounds of play wins.
Team International includes several familiar ACC faces for Olivencia in Carolina Chacarra (Wake Forest), Meja Örtengren (Stanford), Andrea Revuelta (Stanford), Mirabel Ting (Florida State) and Lottie Woad (Florida State). Woad and Ting currently rank first and second, respectively, in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
“These athletes are prepared to compete on the biggest stage when the stakes are the highest,” Olivencia said. “We as coaches are there to remind them to seize the moment and that representing your country on Team International is an honor.”
Olivencia is no stranger to representing her country on the international stage having competed for the Puerto Rican National Golf Team from 1998-2004. She twice represented Puerto Rico at the World Amateur Championships and is a three-time Caribbean Women’s Amateur Champion.
Olivencia is just the third Hurricane to participate in the Arnold Palmer Cup (first coach), joining Dewi Weber (2018) and Sara Byrne (2024), who both played for Team International.
While the United States currently leads the all-time series, 15-12-1, Olivencia and Team International are looking to get back in the win column for the first time since 2022 when it defeated Team USA, 33-27, in Vandœuvres, Switzerland.
But at the end of the day, the Arnold Palmer Cup is about enriching the lives of young golfers, promoting youth character development and growing the game of golf. And it’s the off-the-course moments that Olivencia is looking forward to most.
“What a significant honor to be part of such a historic event shared with the best of the best in collegiate athletics,” Olivencia said. “I’m looking forward to not only seeing a group of special individuals come together and relish the big moments throughout the week, but also to the competitiveness, sportsmanship, camaraderie and love for the game that will be displayed by the best golfers in the world. ”
