Show includes competition highlights and pageantry of incredible week at Whispering Pines Golf Club
TRINITY, Texas (December 7, 2021) – The The Spirit Golf Association (SGA) has partnered with GOLF Channel to air a two-hour highlight show of The 2021 Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship presented by The Will Erwin Headache Research Foundation. 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 and Mark Steinbauer.
“The Spirit Golf Association is thrilled that our signature event is being shown all over the world,” said Charlie Epps, SGA President and captain of Team USA in the 2001 inaugural Spirit event. “Golf Channel did a tremendous job in sharing the pageantry, camaraderie and competition from a great week at The Spirit earlier this fall. You don’t want to miss this show!”
The 2021 Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship presented by The Will Erwin Headache Research Foundation, held Nov. 5-7, featured 21 players ranked in the Top 100 of the World Amateur Golf Rankings, including women’s world No. 1 Rose Zhang and 2021 U.S. Men’s Amateur Champion James Piot. Team USA was rounded out by the world’s No. 2 ranked women’s amateur, Rachel Heck, and the men’s No. 6 player, Sam Bennett.
The Spirit featured 80 competitors from 20 countries. Across three days of competition, elite amateur players from Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, France, Mexico and many others challenged the United States in an event dominated by the host country over the years. Five concurrent competitions are covered on the show: international team, men’s team and women’s team, and men’s and women’s individual stroke play. Gold, Silver and Bronze commemorative medals are awarded to the top three in each competition.
The closing ceremonies of the 2021 Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship presented by The Will Erwin Headache Research Foundation.
Photo: SGA/Hugh Hargrave
The highlight show will air in 38 countries, including 14 whose athletes were represented in the competition:
• United States • Canada • England • Scotland • Ireland
• Argentina • Colombia • Mexico • France • Switzerland
• Norway • Sweden • Denmark • Finland
The Spirit is held biennially at Whispering Pines Golf Club, widely recognized as the No. 1 golf course in the state of Texas. The beautiful, 18-hole Championship Golf Course is carved through piney woods, creeks, lakes and natural dunes. It was originally designed in 1998 by Texas golf course architect Chet Williams with the Nicklaus Design Group. In December 2019, Williams returned for the course’s construction during the end-of-season closure. The 2021 Spirit was the first played on the updated layout.
The Will Erwin Headache Research Foundation, founded in 2014, raises funds to support research aimed at understanding the causes and finding a cure for debilitating headaches, including migraines and cluster headaches. 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 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. Eighty competitors from 20 countries compete for gold medals in the 54-hole four-ball stroke play competition. Each country is represented by two women and two men amateur golfers. 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. The Spirit Golf Association is dedicated to the promotion of amateur golf for the benefit of health-related causes. It organizes and oversees the event along with the Texas Golf Association.
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:
Tammy Boclair | Alday Public Relations, tammy@aldaypr.com, c: 615-500-2930
Will Doctor | Spirit Golf Association, wdoctor@spiritgolf.org, o: 713-751-7532
