The Spirit Golf Association (SGA) is set to host The Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship presented by The Will Erwin Headache Research Foundation from Nov. 4-6 along the shores of Lake Livingston at the award-winning Whispering Pines Golf Club. The biennial event, staged for the 10th time in 2021, is a premier amateur competition featuring the world’s best men and women amateur golfers representing their respective countries in team and individual play.
The Will Erwin Headache Research Foundation joins as the title sponsor of The 2021 Spirit, as well as the beneficiary of SGA’s ongoing fundraising campaign featuring golf events nationwide.
“The Spirit International Golf Championship is the signature event of the Spirit Golf Association and one of the top destinations for amateur players around the world,” said Charlie Epps, President of the Spirit Golf Association. “We are thrilled to host the 2021 event for these young men and women, raise money for the Will Erwin Headache Research Foundation and stage our first-ever individual stroke play competition.”
The Spirit features 80 competitors from 20 countries. It’s a 54-hole competition with five concurrent competition categories: International Team, Men’s Team and Women’s Team, and Men’s and Women’s Individual stroke play competitions. Until this year, the individual competition was a tally of each player's total holes under par. Beginning with the 2021 event, the individual competition will be traditional stroke play. Gold, Silver and Bronze commemorative medals are awarded to the top three golfers in each competition.
The Spirit has been a proving ground for international players over the years with many going on to find success on professional tours. Notable alumni include Jordan Spieth, Lorena Ochoa, Jason Day, Lexi Thompson, Francesco Molinari, Paula Creamer and many others. There are 23 women and 16 men participating in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with ties to the Spirit, raising the total to 56 championship alumni who have competed in the Olympic Games.
France will return to The Spirit this year to defend its International Team championship from 2019. The United States team of Cole Hammer and Andy Ogletree claimed the 2019 Men’s Team event, while the Republic of South Korea won the Women’s Team title. In Individual play, Australian Jack Trent earned the victory with a total of 20 birdies and one eagle. The Women’s Individual champion was Jeonghyun Lee of the Republic of Korea with 17 birdies.
The Spirit’s host course, Whispering Pines Golf Club, is widely recognized as the best 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 will be the first one 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.
Additional sponsors, whose contributions support The Spirit, include Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Chevron, Insperity, John Deere/Brookside Equipment Sales, Inc., TaylorMade, EZGO and Munich Re Trading LLC.
Competition begins at The Spirit on Thursday, Nov. 4. Live scoring, live streaming and television information will be announced closer to the event. For more information, click here.