The Arnold Palmer Cup rankings were announced on Thursday, and a pair of Ducks are in the top six for the American team. Senior Wyndham Clark was listed No. 1, while freshman Norman Xiong was listed No. 6 despite only playing in two tournaments with the Ducks.

The top six Americans and the top six Europeans in the rankings automatically qualify for the annual Arnold Palmer Cup match in June. Rankings are determined using Golfstat’s NCAA Player Ranking as a base, and bonus points are awarded for wins and high finishes in matches.

It is the second recognition in two days for Clark, who was named to the Ben Hogan Award Watch List on Wednesday. Clark and Xiong each had their best performance in the Arizona Intercollegiate to open the 2017 schedule, with Clark taking the individual win and Xiong finishing third. The Ducks started the 2017 season with a first-place team finish.

The Pac-12 had six of the 25 Americans and three of the 25 Europeans in the rankings. Four of the Pac-12 American selections came within the top six, with Maverick McNealy of Stanford listed third and Sean Crocker of USC listed fifth. Jeremy Paul is the highest-ranked Pac-12 European golfer at No. 12.

This is the first of three rankings announcements, with the second announcement coming Feb. 23 and the third March 9. After the top six is established, to round out the 10-person teams, the four remaining American spots will be made by three committee picks and one coach’s pick. The four remaining European spots will go to two committee picks, a coach’s pick and the winner of the R&A Foundation Scholars Tournament, which will take place in April.

The Ducks will compete in their third tournament, the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate, Feb. 17-19 in Palm Springs, California.

Follow Zak Laster on Twitter: @zlast3445

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