Australia Leads the Men’s Team Competition; Spain and Denmark Lead the Women’s Team Competition
Media Contacts:
Will Doctor, Spirit Golf Association | wdoctor@spiritgolf.org | 713.471.8603
Tammy Boclair, Alday Public Relations | tammy@aldaypr.com | 615.500.2930
Mike Alday, Alday Public Relations | mike@aldaypr.com | 615.714.4954
Trinity, Texas (Nov. 14, 2024) – A little more than six months after a 100-year flood event wreaked havoc on Texas’s top-rated Whispering Pines Golf Club, some of the leading amateur golfers in the world rained birdies on the pristine course during the first day of The Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship (The Spirit). The men and women on Team Australia combined for a score of 15-under to stake a one stroke lead over Team England and Team South Africa. Team USA is tied for sixth, four strokes back at 11-under.
“Our team combined to play extremely well today when one player had a poor shot, the other player seemed to make a birdie,” said Matt Ballard, captain of Team Australia. “It’s not always going to be like that, there will be times when they find it tough, but today they seemed to gel when they needed to. The boys played exceptional. They made a lot of birdies out there. We still have two more days to go, but we’re happy with how we played today.”
In the men’s best ball competition, Team Australia has a three-stroke lead over Team USA, Team Mexico and Team England. Australia’s two-man team of Josiah Gilbert, a sophomore at Auburn University, and Kai Komulainen, a freshman at the University of Tennessee, each had seven birdies enroute to their leading score of 12-under.
On the women’s side, Texas A&M sophomore Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio and Kansas State junior Carla Bernat Escuder teamed up to shoot 7-under for Team Spain. They are tied with Team Denmark, led by New Mexico State junior Emma Bunch and North Carolina State freshman Marie Madsen. Team USA is tied for 13th in the 20-team field at 2-under.
Tommy Morrison, a junior at The University of Texas, was a bright spot for Team USA with six birdies and a slam-dunk eagle on the par 4 sixth hole. Team USA is coached by three-time Spirit gold medalist and renowned amateur golfer Nathan Smith. He is encouraged by his team’s position after round one. Besides Morrison, Team USA also includes University of North Carolina senior David Ford, University of Southern California freshman Jasmine Koo and 15-year-old phenom Asterisk Talley.
“Tommy played incredible and was a lot of fun to watch,” said Smith. “I think that our team did a great job, we’re right there. Some of these teams are off to a fast start and you just want to hang around and stay within striking distance. Honestly, it was a great first day.”
In addition to the Combined Team Competition, Men’s Team Competition and Women’s Competition, there is an individual competition for men and women based solely on birdies and eagles with one and two points awarded for each respectively. Morrison leads the men’s division with 9 points while Texas A&M senior Adela Cernousek from France, 16-year-old Soomin Oh from Korea and Stanford University freshman Meja Oretensen are tied for the women’s lead with six points each.
Mexico’s Lauren Olivares, a North Carolina State University senior, had the day’s highlight with an ace on No. 15.
A full leaderboard for all competitions can be found at www.thespiritgolf.com.
The 11th edition of The Spirit has brought together 20 countries consisting of teams of two males and two females. The teams play a 54-hole four-ball stroke play competition with Gold, Silver and Bronze medals presented to the top three finishers in each competition. The event was founded in 2011 by Corby Robertson Jr., owner of Whispering Pines, as a celebration of goodwill through the game of golf.
The Spirit Alumni
Previous Spirit International competitors who are now or have previously been professionals on the LPGA and PGA TOUR include Lorena Ochoa, Brooke Henderson, Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler, Francesco Molinari, Lexi Thompson, Brandt Snedeker, Paula Creamer, Jason Day, Bronte Law, Martin Kaymer, Maria Fassi, Viktor Hovland, Rose Zhang and more. Spirit alumni have gone on to win more than 27 major championships, 675 professional titles won on the PGA TOUR, Korn Ferry Tour, DP World Tour, Challenger Tour, LPGA TOUR, Ladies DP World Tour; 17 Olympic appearances, 22 PGA Tour winners, 25 European Tour winners, 35 LPGA winners and 21 Ladies European Tour winners.
The Course – Whispering Pines
Whispering Pines Golf Club is one of the best private golf clubs in the country. The club was founded not only to offer its discerning contributors a superior golf experience on an exceptional course, but also to promote amateur golf and to benefit charitable causes on a local, national and international level. Whispering Pines is ranked #1 in Texas, ranks #31 in the top 200 modern courses in the country by Golfweek, and is #11 in America’s Top 50 Greatest Golf Retreats by Golf Digest.
The Host – The Spirit Golf Association
The Spirit Golf Association, 501(c)(3), serves as the host for The Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship. The Spirit Golf Association (SGA–formerly the World Health & Golf Association) was formed in 1999, by Houston philanthropist Corbin (Corby) J. Robertson, Jr. With a passionate vision, Corby turned the SGA into reality by establishing a unique charitable organization that benefits health-related causes while promoting the global goodwill of amateur golf. With the encouragement of close friends and family, Corby established the SGA with a mission for philanthropic-minded people to support charitable causes, membership privileges at a world-class golf property, and to conduct The Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship.