November 4-6, 2021 • Whispering Pines Golf Club • Trinity, Texas
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Trinity, Texas (November 3, 2021) – The 2021 Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship presented by The Will Erwin Headache Research Foundation (The Spirit), starts tomorrow (Nov. 4) at Whispering Pines Golf Club in Trinity, Texas. An Opening Ceremony was held Tuesday (Nov. 2) evening where all 80 golfers and captains were recognized and introduced. Below is more information about the Championship.
About The Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship presented by The Will Erwin Headache Research Foundation
This biennial event, staged for the 10th time in 2021, is a premier amateur competition featuring the world’s best men and women amateurs representing their respective countries in team and individual play.
The Spirit Livestream & Prime Time Highlight Show – TheSpiritGolf.com or GolfChannel.com
The championship will be available via livestream during competition (Nov. 4-6) on GolfChannel.com, the NBC Sports app and on TheSpiritGolf.com. GOLF Channel will present the highlight show in primetime, from 7-9 pm ET on Dec. 9, followed by an encore presentation on Dec. 11 from 4-6 pm ET. Commentators for the event are Will Haskett, Philip Arnold Blackmar, Paige Mackenzie, Steve Burkowski, Will Doctor, Mark Steinbauer
The Spirit founder Corby Robertson Jr. speaks to the 80-player international field at the opening ceremony of the 2021 Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship presented by The Will Erwin Headache Research Foundation. SGA/HughHargrave
Competition Format
Eighty competitors from 20 countries compete for gold medals in the 54-hole stroke play competition. Each country is represented by two women and two men amateur golfers. Below is the competition format:
Team Competition – 54-hole stroke play
- Each country’s four-player team consists of two men and two women
- Best three scores count each day
Women’s Team Competition – 54-hole stroke play
- Both player’s scores are combined each day
Men’s Team Competition – 54-hole stroke play
- Both player’s scores are combined each day
Women’s Individual Competition – 54-hole stroke play
- Total score over three rounds
Men’s Individual Competition – 54-hole stroke play
- Total score over three rounds
Players in the WAGR – Nov. 3, 2021
The following Spirit golfers are ranked in the Top 100 in the latest World Amateur Golf Rankings:
Men’s Players
- Sam Bennett, USA
- Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira, Argentina
- Hugo Townsend, Sweden
- James Piot, USA
- Albin Bergstrom, Sweden
- Baard Skogen, Norway
- Alvaro Mueller, Spain
- Mats Ege, Norway
- Johnny Travale, Canada
Women’s Players
- Rose Zhang, USA
- Rachel Heck, USA
- Carolina Lopez-Chacarra, Spain
- Alessia Nobilio, Italy
- Annabell Fuller, England
- Isabella “Isa” Fierro, Mexico
- Caroline Sturdza, Switzerland
- Valery Plata, Colombia
- Caitlyn Macnab, South Africa
- Kajsa Arwefjall, Sweden
- Maria Bohorquez, Colombia
- Amelia Williamson, England
20 Countries Competing in the Spirit
Top amateur golfers from the following countries are competing in The 2021 Spirit: Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Norway, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United States
Notable Spirit Alumni:
Previous Spirit International competitors who now are professionals on the LPGA and PGA TOUR include Lorena Ochoa, Brooke Henderson, Scottie Scheffler, Bernd Wiesberger, Jordan Spieth, Francesco Molinari, Lexi Thompson, Brandt Snedeker, Paula Creamer, Jason Day, Bronte Law, Martin Kaymer, Maria Fassi, Austin Ernst, Ally Ewing, Jessica Korda, Will Zalatoris and Viktor Hovland, to name a few. Spirit alumni have gone on to win more than 650 professional titles, 25 major championships and 56 Olympic appearances, including 16 PGA Tour winners, 27 European Tour winners, 24 LPGA winners and 23 Ladies European Tour winners.
About the Spirit Golf Association (SGA):
The Spirit Golf Association, 501(c)(3), serves as the host for The Spirit. The SGA was formed in 1999 by Houston philanthropist Corby Robertson, Jr. With a passionate vision, Robertson turned the SGA into reality by establishing a unique charitable organization that benefits health-related causes while promoting the global goodwill of amateur golf. In addition, SGA also hosts the Spirit Charity Challenge featuring Spirit alumni and Spirit Hall of Fame Game, which features local sports Hall of Famers and celebrities. Charlie Epps, PGA, serves as president and has been associated with the SGA since it was created in 1999 and was captain of Team USA in the 2001 inaugural Spirit Championship. Mark Steinbauer, PGA, and Jeff Strong, PGA are vice-presidents.
About The Will Erwin Headache Research Foundation:
The Will Erwin Headache Research Foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization founded in 2014. The Foundation was created with the goal of finding a cure for debilitating headaches including migraine and cluster headaches. The Erwin Headache Research Center is dedicated to leading the way in research to find a cure for these neurological disorders and to bring an end to the pain experienced by so many. The Foundation was created to honor the memory of Will Erwin, whose story as well as additional information about the Foundation, may be found at www.cureheadaches.org.
About Whispering Pines Golf Club:
Located just 80 miles north of Houston along the shores of Lake Livingston, Whispering Pines Golf Club is one of the best private golf clubs in the country. Whispering Pines is ranked #1 in Texas and was recently ranked #19 in the top 200 modern courses in the country by Golfweek. Chris Rowe, PGA, is the head golf professional and Tim Timlin is the General Manager at Whispering Pines.
Media Contacts:
Will Doctor | Spirit Golf Association, wdoctor@spiritgolf.org, o: 713-751-7532
Tammy Boclair | Alday Public Relations, tammy@aldaypr.com, c: 615-500-2930
2021 – The Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship presented by The Will Erwin Headache Research Foundation November 4-6, 2021 • Whispering Pines Golf Club • Trinity, Texas
Updated November 3, 2021
Note: Women’s players are listed first; *Denotes player who competed in The 2019 Spirit; **competed in The 2015 Spirit
ARGENTINA
Captain: Maximo Portais
Ela Anacona*, Valentina Rossi, Segundo Oliva Pinto, Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira*
BELGIUM
Captain: Leslie Cloots
Rebecca Becht, Elsie Verhoeven, Matthis Besard, Louis Theys
CANADA
Captain: Salimah Mussani
Savannah Grewal, Noemie Pare’, Henry Lee, Johnny Travale
CHINESE TAIPEI
Captain: Yu Chih Sung
Yi-Han Chang, You-Chuan Sung, Yi-Hsuan Wu, Yu-Yang (Eddie) Lai
COLOMBIA
Captain: Camilo Sanchez
Maria Bohorquez*, Valery Plata*, Daniel Faccini*, Juan Camilo Vesga
DENMARK
Captain: Cecilie Finne-Ispen (player/captain)
Cecilie Finne-Ipsen, Natacha Host Husted*, Alexander Frances**, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen
ENGLAND
Captain: Richard Martin
Annabell Fuller, Amelia Williamson, Conor Gough, Joseph Pagdin
FINLAND
Captain: Veeti Mahonen (player/captain)
Daniella Barrett, Krista Junkkari, Elias Haavisto, Veeti Mahonen
FRANCE
Captain: Patricia Meunier LeBouc
Adela Cernousek, Justine Fournand, Bastien Amat, Tom Gueant
ICELAND
Captain: Tomas Adalsteinsson
Hulda Clara Gestsdottir, Ragnhildur Kristinsdottir, Hlynur Bergsson, Dagbjartur Sigurbrandsson
IRELAND
Captain: Aine Donegan (player/captain)
Sara Byrne, Aine Donegan*, Paul Conroy, Sam Murphy
ITALY
Captain: Anna Zanusso (player/captain)
Alessia Nobilio, Anna Zanusso, Filippo Celli, Lucas Fallotico
MEXICO
Captain: Ricardo Carrillo
Isabella (Isa) Fierro, Cory Lopez*, Luis Carrera, Alejandro (Alex) Fierro,
NORWAY
Captains: Hans Aberg & Geoff Dixon
Julie Boysen Hillestad, Emilie Overas, Mats Ege, Baard Skogen
SCOTLAND
Captain: Eric McIntosh (player/captain)
Carmen Griffiths, Katie Graham, Eric McIntosh, John Paterson
SOUTH AFRICA
Captain: Sarah Braude
Caitlyn Macnab, Kaylah Williams, Christo Lamprecht, Kieron Van Wyk
SPAIN
Captain: Ricardo Relinque
Carolina Lopez-Chacarra, Maria Teresa Tosano Borrero (Teresa Toscano), Albert Boneta, Alvaro Müller
SWEDEN
Captains: Katarina Vangdal & Jonnie Eriksson
Kajsa Arwefjall, Andrea Lignell, Albin Bergstrom, Hugo Townsend
SWITZERLAND
Captain: Richard Adby
Caroline Sturdza, Chiara Tamburlini, Loic Ettlin*, Ronan Kleu
USA
Captain: Stacy Lewis, Assistant Captain: Alli Jarrett
Rachel Heck, Rose Zhang, Sam Bennett, James Piot
