The United States won the men’s title at the Spirit International Amateur in Trinity, Texas, on Saturday. The team, which consisted of Andy Ogletree, the reigning U.S. Amateur champion, and Cole Hammer, the 2019 NCAA Freshman of the Year, shot a final-round, best-ball 9-under-par 63 at Whispering Pines Golf Club for a 54-hole total of 22-under 192. The duo finished two strokes ahead of Sweden (Adam Blommé and Vincent Norrman) and South Africa (Sam Simpson and Martin Vorster), the latter of which had held the 36-hole lead.
South Korea, represented by Jeong Hyun Lee and Ina Yoon, won the women’s title with a 22-under 194 total, while the mixed French foursome of Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, Candace Mahé, Julien Sale and Adrien Pendariès captured the combined title with a 37-under 395 total. The French squad made seven birdies in its final eight holes to edge South Korea and Norway by two strokes.
South Korea’s Lee, the youngest competitor in the 76-player field at just 12, won the women’s individual title by virtue of making 17 birdies in 54 holes, two more than Norway’s Renate Grimstad. Lee, who is still four days from becoming a teenager, became the tournament’s youngest women’s winner while tying the women’s individual scoring record set by Mexico’s MarÃa Fassi in 2015.
Australia’s Jack Trent won the men’s individual title with 18 birdies and an eagle, tying the all-time Spirit International record set by South Korea’s Bumgeun Chae in 2009.
The United States was prevented from extending its streak of five consecutive victories in the combined competition after its women’s team was disqualified after the first round.
On the par-3 third hole, the women’s team recorded a 2 for Emilia Migliaccio when Kaitlyn Papp had made the 2 on that hole. No other score was recorded for the women’s team on the third hole, and according to Rule 23.2b, which applies to four-ball stroke play, the score for a hole must be identified to the correct partner.
The error was reported by Team USA and its captain, LPGA standout Stacy Lewis.
The Spirit International, which began in 2001, brought together two male and two female amateurs from 19 countries on six continents.
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Staff and Wire Reports
