Worldwide Field Announced for 2019 Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship

World’s top amateur golfers coming to Whispering Pines Golf Club for prestigious biennial event

 The stage is set for the 2019 Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship that will bring the best amateur golfers from 19 countries and six continents together at Whispering Pines Golf Club November 7-9 (Thursday-Saturday). The Spirit International will pair two female and two male amateurs from each country to compete for a chance at gold. The event is back for the first time since 2015, as the 2017 Spirit was cancelled due to Hurricane Harvey.

“We’re very excited to return this year with such an impressive field of international players,” said Corby Robertson, Jr., the founder and owner of Whispering Pines Golf Club. “We’re looking forward to welcoming a new group of world-class golfers to Texas, where they will experience one of amateur golf’s most prestigious events while making lasting memories on and off the course.”

The competition is a celebration of international goodwill through the game of golf. There is an opening and closing ceremony in addition to festive dinner parties throughout tournament week. Camp Olympia, one of the premier summer camps in the country, provides international village accommodations for the golfers, allowing them to mix and socialize after play.

The 2019 Spirit International features 76 competitors from 19 countries, representing six continents. It is a 54-hole four-ball stroke play competition, with three concurrent competition categories: international team, men’s team and women’s team. Gold, silver and bronze commemorative medals are awarded to the top finishers in each competition.

The 2019 Spirit International field includes:

• Players ranging in age from 12 to 27
• Nine players who have won their country’s national amateur or junior championship
• Five golfers who are or have been the top ranked amateur in their country
• 17 players ranked among the top 100 in the world
• 51 golfers who have competed or will compete collegiately in the United States or abroad

Individual standouts among the men’s field include the current No. 2 player and Houston native Cole Hammer, 2019 U.S. Amateur Champion Andy Ogletree and Scotland’s Sandy Scott, the No. 30 amateur in the world and a 2019 Walker Cup participant. Standout women in the field include France’s Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, the No. 7 amateur in the world and a four-time winner in 2019, along with No. 14-ranked Emilia Migliaccio and No. 19 ranked Kaitlyn Papp of the United States, all collegiate standouts with a wealth of international experience.

WHAT: 2019 Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship

WHO: Countries competing at the 2019 Spirit International Golf Championship include: Argentina, Australia, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Republic of Korea, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States.

                       List of teams, captains and participants below

WHEN:        November 7-9, 2019 (Thursday-Saturday)

WHERE: Whispering Pines Golf Club | 1532 Whispering Pines Dr. | Trinity, TX 75862

About The Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship:

76 competitors from 19 countries compete for gold medals in the 54-hole four-ball stroke play competition in The Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship. 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 Jordan Spieth, Francesco Molinari, Brandt Snedeker, Jason Day, Martin Kaymer, Viktor Hovland, Lexi Thompson, Bronte Law, Lorena Ochoa, Paula Creamer, Brooke Henderson and Maria Fassi. Spirit alumni have gone on to win more than 650 professional events, including 23 major championships. The Spirit Golf Association, a 501 (c) (3) charity that is dedicated to the promotion of amateur golf for the benefit of health-related causes, organizes and oversees the tournament along with the Texas Golf Association.

The Spirit Golf Association has contributed more than $12 million to its charitable activities: The Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship and healthcare service providers such as Baylor College of Medicine Teen Health Clinics, Medical Bridges and The Immunization Partnership. In 2017, The Spirit Golf Association responded to the Hurricane Harvey relief efforts by directing funds to Harvey victims through the United Way, Houston Food Bank, KIPP, Yellowstone Academy and the Baylor College of Medicine Teen Health Clinics.

For more information about The Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship visit TheSpiritGolf.com.

About Whispering Pines Golf Club:

Just 80 miles north of Houston along the shores of Lake Livingston sits Whispering Pines Golf Club, one of the best private golf clubs in the country. The club was founded not only to offer its discerning members a superior golf experience on an exceptional course, but it also was created to promote amateur golf and to benefit charitable causes on a local, national and international level. Whispering Pines is ranked #1 in Texas and #54 in the country by Golf Digest.

For more information about Whispering Pines Golf Club or The Spirit Golf Association, visit either WhisperingPinesGolfClub.com or TheSpiritGolf.com, respectively.

• Country Rosters Follow •

2019 Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship

November 7-9, 2019 • Whispering Pines Golf Club • Trinity, Texas

• ROSTER •

Note: Women’s players are listed first

ARGENTINA

Captain: Francisco Aleman

Ela Anacona, Macarena Aguilera, Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira, Jesus Montenegro

AUSTRALIA

Captain: Adrian Wickstein

Emily Mahar, Cassie Porter, Lachlan Barker, Jack Trent

CHINESE TAIPEI

Captain: Ariel Chang

Hui Wen Chiu, Fei Chien Yang, Mako Shapiyate, Wen-Yang Wang

COLOMBIA

Captain: Camilo Sanchez Collins

Valery Plata, Maria Jose Bohorquez, Ivan Camilo Ramirez, Daniel Faccini

DENMARK

Captain: Sixten Stemann Jensen

Natacha Høst Husted, Louise Markvardsen, Frederik Kjettrup, Anders Emil Ejlersen

FRANCE

Captain: Patricia Meunier LeBouc

Pauline Roussin Bouchard, Candice Mahe, Adrien Pendaries, Julien Sale

IRELAND

Captain: Anne Ferguson

Aine Donegan, Anna Foster, Hugh Foley, Eanna Griffin

ITALY

Captain: Caterina Don

Caterina Don, Virginia Bossi, Pietro Bovari, Giovanni Manzoni

JAPAN

Captain: Craig Bishop/Sally Iwamoto

Tsubasa Kajitani, Sora Kamiya, Ryo Hisatsune, Yuta Sugiura

MEXICO

Captains: Santiago Casado Marcela Coghlan

Ana Isabel Gonzalez, Cory Lopez, Emilio Gonzalez, Aaron Terrazas

NEW ZEALAND

Captain: Gregg Thorpe

Momoka Kobori, Wenyung Keh, Matt McLean, Jared Edwards

NORWAY

Captain: Hans Aberg

Dorthea Forbrigd, Renate Grimstad, William Buhl, Carl Meen Fosaas 

SCOTLAND

Captain: Ian Rae

Chloe Goadby, Shannon McWilliam, Sandy Scott, Jamie Stewart

SOUTH AFRICA

Captain: Naadir Agherdien

Symone Henriques, Zethu Myeki, Samuel Simpson, Martin Vorster

SPAIN

Captain: Ricardo Relinque

Marta Perez Sanmartin, Elena Hualde Zuniga, Alejandro Aguilera Martin, Gonzalo Leal Montero

SWEDEN

Captain: Katarina Vangdal

Maja Stark, Beatrice Wallin, Adam Blomme’, Vincent Norrman

SWITZERLAND

Captain: Richard Adby

Vanessa Knecht, Elena Moosmann, Loic Ettlin, Robert Foley

USA

Captain: Stacy Lewis/Alli Jarrett

Emilia Migliaccio, Kaitlyn Papp, Cole Hammer, Andy Ogletree

REPUBLIC OF KOREA

Captain: SangWon Ko

Jeonghyun Lee, Yoon Ina, Baekjun Kim, Hyeonguk Park

Media Contacts:

Tammy Boclair, Alday Communications, tammy@aldaycommunications.com, 615-500-2930
Kara Marsom, Alday Communications, kara@aldaycommunications.com, 615-791-1535, x29