The United States side easily ran away with the team championship gold medal in the Spirit International on Saturday at Whispering Pines Golf Club in Trinity, Texas.
The unique event saw 20 countries competing against each other in five concurrent competitions. Nobody could come close to keeping pace with the Americans, who totaled 28-under-par 620 between the formidable team of Sam Bennett, James Piot, Rose Zhang and Rachel Heck. The next best team was Canada, led by Savannah Grewal and Johnny Travale, which finished 21 strokes behind the U.S.
The Americans won four of the five gold medals. Zhang, hot off of a three-victory opening semester at Stanford, won the women’s individual portion by three strokes. Bennett, the Texas A&M Aggie who won three times in the spring semester, showed out in his home state by winning the men’s gold in a two-stroke victory. Zhang and Heck also combined to win the women’s team portion.
The only other country to win a gold medal was Sweden, who won the men’s team competition by one stroke over the Americans.
LPGA Tour player Stacy Lewis served as the U.S. captain.
“I was proud of the way the kids rallied,” Lewis said. “I’m thankful that they came, and for their fight when it’s a time they could be taking time off. I really appreciated what they did this week.”
Having Lewis captain the team was a vital part of the experience for Zhang, the No. 1 amateur in the women’s game.
“Stacy is such an inspiration to young golfers like us out there,” Zhang said. “She’s been through so much, and I’ve learned so much from her. Having her with us this week was special.”
While most of the attention went to the U.S. blitzing the field, there were solid performances elsewhere.
Hugo Townsend of Sweden continued to show promise as he finished second in the men’s individual. Isabella Fierro, a Mexican international who plays at Oklahoma State, shot 7-under 209 to claim runner-up in the women’s portion. And Switzerland was a surprise runner-up in the women’s team competition, placing seven strokes behind the U.S. but six strokes ahead of third-place.
TEAM RESULTS: MEN | WOMEN | COMBINED
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS: MEN | WOMEN | COMBINED
Jensen Castle and Rose Zhang have already secured their places on next year’s Curtis Cup team as the Americans look for their third consecutive triumph against Great Britain and Ireland.
The Curtis Cup is being played in consecutive years due to circumstances around the pandemic. With that being the case, the USGA decided the reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur champion and McCormack Medal winner would earn spots.
Both Castle and Zhang were members of last August’s Curtis Cup. Zhang went 4-0-1 to lead the Americans.
“As part of the USGA’s selection process for its international competitions, the reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur champion and Mark H. McCormack Medal winner receive automatic selections to the Curtis Cup team,” said John Bodenhamer, senior managing director, championships. “We felt it was important to keep those selections intact, despite the unprecedented nature of the current match schedule. Both Jensen and Rose are fantastic competitors and people, and we are proud to once again have them represent the USGA and the United States.”
The 42nd edition of the match will be played June 10-12 at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania.
Sarah Ingram, a three-time U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion (1991, 1993 and 1994) and a member of three Curtis Cup Teams (1992, 1994 and 1996), will serve as captain after leading the U.S. to victory earlier this year.
Staff and Wire Reports