MALIBU, California – Pepperdine's Hira Naveed, the nation's sixth-ranked golfer according to Golfstat, has been awarded a spot in the 2019 Arnold Palmer Cup, a Ryder Cup-like competition featuring the best college golfers from the U.S. and internationally.
 
This year's event takes place at The Alotian Club, located in Roland, Arkansas, from June 7-9.
 
Naveed, a native of Perth, Australia, will play for the international squad. She will be the first Australian to play in the event.
 
She will also be the first Pepperdine women's golfer to play in the Arnold Palmer Cup, and the third Wave overall, as Michael Putnam (2005) and Sahith Theegala (2018) have represented the U.S. on the men's side.
 
"I am honored to be selected for the international team and to be able to play in such a prestigious event that honors the great Arnold Palmer," Naveed said.
 
Naveed is a three-time All-West Coast Conference first team selection and she's in the midst of an exceptional senior season. She became the first Pepperdine women's golfer ever to win two fall tournaments in the same year when she took first at the season-opening Dick McGuire Invitational in September and later followed that with co-medalist honors at the Stanford Intercollegiate in October. She ended the fall season 10th on the ANNIKA Award watch list for national player of the year.
 
With one spring tournament in the books, Naveed is currently averaging 71.47 strokes through 15 rounds. She has a career scoring average of 73.73, which ranks fifth all-time at Pepperdine.
 
"We are very proud of Hira being selected to the Palmer Cup," Pepperdine Coach Laurie Gibbs said. "The addition of women's college golfers, beginning last year, gives the top women's players the opportunity to participate in one of the premier amateur events in golf."
 
Pepperdine's spring season continues at San Francisco's Juli Inkster Invitational on March 18-19.