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see also: David Ford, The Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship, Whispering Pines Golf Club
20 countries are teeing it up, with Asterisk Talley, Jasmine Koo, David Ford and Tommy Morrison representing the United States
It’s been three years since Whispering Pines Golf Club in Trinity, Tex., welcomed some of the best amateur golfers in the world for The Spirit International.
The Spirit is the brainchild of Corby Robertson, a Texas-based businessman who wanted to create an Olympics of amateur golf. It combines all the things he loves about amateur golf—it opens relationships among players worldwide and leaves a charitable mark, both locally and internationally. It’s a biennial two-player team competition; this year’s field features two men and two women from each of 20 countries spanning five continents.
The top three players or teams in each of the various competitions are awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals.
Whispering Pines opened in 2000 and has been named the Dallas Morning News’ top course in Texas 10 times. In 2017, it occupied the No. 55 spot on Golf Digest’s list of top 100 golf courses in America. There’s even a short course on the Whispering Pines property, the Needler, that reflects a trend in today’s game.
In past years, Whispering Pines has hosted events like the Big 12 Championship and the Texas Amateur, and Robertson wouldn’t be opposed to opening the doors to a USGA amateur championship, a Walker Cup, or perhaps even a Solheim Cup. He even spoke of the possibility of gathering the Spirit alumni for a reunion.
Related: What makes The Spirit a Unique Experience
The Format
Each nation sends two men and two women to compete. The Spirit has five competitions that happen concurrently into the week: men’s individual, women’s individual, men’s combined, women’s combined, and overall country
In the overall country, three of the four scores are counted in each round. In the men’s and women’s team events, both scores count in each round.
What Happened in 2021
Sam Bennett shot 6-under par and beat Hugo Townsend (Sweden) by two shots to earn gold. Johnny Travale (Canada) earned bronze at 3-under par.
Rose Zhang shot 69-68-69 (-10) to beat Isabella Fierro (Mexico) by three shots. Savannah Grewal (Canada) earned bronze.
Sweden’s Albin Bergstrom and Hugo Townsend won gold in the men’s combined competition. Sam Bennett and James Piot won silver and Canada’s Henry Lee and Johnny Travale took home bronze.
Rachel Heck and Rose Zhang won the women’s team combined. Switzerland’s Chiara Tamburlini and Caroline Sturdza were seven shots off the pace of the Stanford duo. Adela Cernousek and Justine Fournand of France won the bronze medal.
Team USA won the overall country title, running away from the field with a 28-under par total. Canada took second and Sweden came in third.
This Year’s Teams:
Argentina: Exequiel Rodriguez Barri, Leandro Mihaich, Malena Castro, Valentina Rossi
Australia: Josiah Gilbert, Kai Komulainen, Keeley Marx, Momo Sugiyama,
Canada: Ashton McCulloch, Justin Matthews, Lauren Kim, Vanessa Borovilos
Columbia: Carlos Jesus Ardila Conde, Mateo Fuenmayor, Silvia Garces, Maria Jose Marin Negrete
Denmark: Kristian Bressum, Oscar Holm Bredkjaer, Marie Madsen, Emma Bunch
England: Dominic Clemons, Matthew Dodd-Berry, Nellie Ong, Patience Rhodes,
France: Hugo Le Goff, Paul Beauvy, Adela Cernousek, Ines Archer
Ireland: Joshua Hill, Thomas Higgins, Aine Donegan, Beth Coulter
Italy: Michele Ferrero, Tommaso Zorzetto, Francesca Pompa, Matilde Angelini
Japan: Kaito Sato, Taishi Moto, Aia Nagasawa, Mamika Shinchi,
Mexico: Gerardo Gomez, Omar Morales, Alexa Saldana, Lauren Olivares
New Zealand: Joshua Bai, Zack Swanwick, Vivian Lu, Eunseo Choi,
Norway: Kristoffer Kuvaas, Michael Mjaaseth, Mia Sandtorv Lussand, Silje Torvund, Ohma
Rep. of Korea: Minsu Kim, Seonghyeon An, Min Seo Jung, Soomin Oh
Scotland: Cameron Adam, Gregor Graham, Lorna McClymont, Sheridan Clancy
Spain: Jaime Montojo Fernandez, Pablo Ereno Perez, Carla Bernat Escuder, Cayeyana Fernandez
South Africa: Christian Maas, Daniel Bennett, Caitlyn McNabb, Megan Streicher
Sweden: Algot Kleen, Jakob Melin, Meja Ortengren, Moa Svedenskiold
Switzerland: Max Schliesing, Mischa Candinas, Victoria Levy, Yana Beeli
USA: David Ford, Tommy Morrison, Asterisk Talley, Jasmine Koo
The Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship is world class golf event played every other year. It features the world’s best amateur men and amateur women golfers as they represent their respective country in team and individual competitions. T...
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