Tag: Whispering Pines Golf Course

Can Spain end the Americans’ run at the Spirit International? Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio thinks so

When the Spaniard came to play at Texas A&M, she was the second-ranked women’s amateur in the world.

TRINITY,Texas — The immense pressure, according to Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio, has been slowly slipping away. She’s not sure if it’s because she’s easing up on herself a little or if the game is just slowing down after two full seasons of SEC golf.

When the Spaniard came to play at Texas A&M in the fall of 2023, she was the second-ranked women’s amateur in the world. The pressure to win was intense, and the winner of the 2022 World Junior Girls Championship and Junior Golf World Cup expected the victories to keep piling up.

She got into two events on the Ladies European Tour and shined in each, tying for third in her debut at the Madrid Ladies Open, and then she led after 36 holes at the tour’s season finale – the Spanish Women’s Open – before eventually placing T-5.

But it took a bit to acclimate to college golf after her sister Bianca left College Station. Fernandez Garcia-Poggio played well, but not at the insanely high standard she’d previously set.

Cayetana Fernández García-Poggio tees off during a practice round at the 2024 Spirit International (Photo: Hugh Hargrave/Spirit Golf)

Whether others were applying pressure or not, she now admits the struggle was internal.

“When I got here, I put all expectations on me,” she said on an 80-degree Tuesday at Whispering Pines Golf Course. “I was like I need to play good. I need to prove that I’m good. And that didn’t help me at all.”

To be fair, Fernandez Garcia-Poggio had a banner freshman year, finishing as a second-team All-SEC selection and contributing the second-lowest stroke average for a freshman in Aggie history.

But the hard work finally paid off at the end of October when the 19-year-old shot a 4 under through three rounds to capture the Charles Schwab Women’s Collegiate at Ridglea Country Club in Fort Worth, her first collegiate title. She finally got back into a winner’s circle and has set the wheels in motion for what could be a big spring campaign.

More: Texas golf course ravaged by flooding ready to host another Spirit International amateur event

Before she returns to SEC action, Fernandez Garcia-Poggio is feeling truly at home at the Spirit International, a biennial event that brings teams of two male and two female players together from multiple countries. So while she’s enjoying the sunny surroundings of her adopted home of Texas, she’s playing for Spain with friends Carla Bernat Escuder (Kansas State), Pablo Ereno Perez (UCLA) and fellow Aggie Jaime Montojo Fernandez.

“I love Texas,” she said. “I’ve played here before at this course and I love it. It’s so peaceful. And I’m enjoying college a lot. I love being here. But I do miss home sometimes and to be able to play with my friends, talk Spanish and represent Spain, this is nice.”

Opening ceremonies for the Spirit were held Tuesday night and competition for the 2024 event starts Thursday and runs through Saturday.

The team to beat for years has been the American squad, as the hosts have won five of the last six tournaments with only a slight hiccup in 2019 when France proved victorious. The U.S. side is stacked again with North Carolina senior David Ford,  Tommy Morrison of Texas, USC star Jasmine Koo and high school phenom Asterisk Talley. Other countries represented include Argentina, Australia, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, England, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Scotland, South Africa, Sweden and Switzerland.

Jaime Montojo Fernandez, Pablo Ereno Perez, captain Sofia Marcos De Prat, Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio and Carla Bernat Escuder of Team Spain at the Spirit International. (Photo: Hugh Hargrave/Spirit Golf)

But Fernandez Garcia-Poggio thinks her team has what it takes to stop the run.

“I have to say, I think we have a really good team and we have a lot of odds to win, but you never know because it’s golf, right? But (Wednesday), we played amazing, all four of us. So I think we could win and hopefully take America.”

The Spirit has hosted numerous stars before, players like Lorena Ochoa, Lexi Thompson, Brooke Henderson, Charley Hull and Rose Zhang.

Fernandez Garcia-Poggio thinks a big week at the Spirit could help propel her into a similar space.

“I think I’m ready to push this season, the spring season, and hopefully starting this tournament,” she said. “I love competing and I love to have those nerves whenever you are about to win or you can win. So even though I put pressure on myself, I think I’m working on it and I’m getting better.”

Texas golf course ravaged by flooding ready to host another Spirit International amateur event

Just over six months ago, a 100-year flood rushed through the area, causing major damage.

TRINITY, Texas — Shea Morenz is not prone to hyperbole. A former University of Texas football quarterback and first-round pick of the New York Yankees, Morenz has seen his share of major sports stages and is largely unflappable on a golf course, where his smooth swing puts his athleticism clearly on display.

But during a recent round at Whispering Pines Golf Club, the top-rated private golf course in Texas and the host of the biennial Spirit International, even Morenz had to shake his head in awe.

A little more than six months ago, a 100-year flood rushed through the area, causing major damage to the Chet Williams-designed golf course and making this year’s edition of the Spirit International a long shot. The tournament, originally concocted by course founder Corby Robertson — Morenz’s father-in-law — welcomes two men and two women to represent their countries in a team event like no other.

Morenz, who witnessed the devastation first-hand, was amazed at how the pristine course shaped up after the onslaught of wet weather.

“It’s really incredible what has happened here,” Morenz said while playing the front nine of the course that takes up just a small segment of the 400-acre property about 90 minutes from Houston. “There was silt covering huge portions of this golf course. To see it in such amazing condition now is really incredible.”

Whispering Pines Golf Course in Texas suffered massive flooding in April 2024. (Photo courtesy Whispering Pines)

Originally, the course was born from a camp hosted on the property. and a game that Robertson called “olf, which is golf without the greens.” As part of the weekly routine, eager campers would hit shots off a tee to a wide-open “green” that was simply a pushed-up piece of turf with a washtub in the middle. The kids loved it.

Over time, Robertson and others realized this would be a prime piece of property for a golf course. By then, he’d become an energy magnate, first in oil, then in coal, and had the financial means to create the course. In the 1990s, when beetles started eating away some of the camp’s trees, he decided to make a go of it, starting with a series of three legit holes, then adding irrigation systems and creating the course that now tops Golfweek’s Best Private Courses in Texas list: Whispering Pines.

Soon after, in 2001, the Spirit International Amateur Golf Tournament was born, a biennial event with from each of 20 countries that span six continents.

The opening ceremonies were held Tuesday night and competition for the 2024 event starts Thursday and runs through Saturday. The American squad will look to extend a streak of five victories in the last six tournaments. With North Carolina senior David Ford, tall Texas star Tommy Morrison, talented USC freshman Jasmine Koo and high school phenom Asterisk Talley, the U.S. side is a solid bet once again.

The other countries represented include Argentina, Australia, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, England, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

The Americans are led by former Spirit player Nathan Smith, who is serving as captain after Stacy Lewis passed the reins. Smith won the individual men’s event back in 2011 as well as the team title.

And while Robertson is eager to see the matches play out, he’s most thrilled that the course is back in playable shape. The neighboring short course called The Needler didn’t fare as well, and won’t be ready for play until deep into 2025, and the main course’s signature 15th hole, which jutted into a river, will need to be rebuilt. But the course is ready for 80 international players, which is something of a wonder.

“It’s very hurtful to watch something that you’ve invested your time, interest and financing in and to just watch Mother Nature take it apart. And it wasn’t as bad on the big course. On hole number 15, we’re gonna have to rebuild the greens. I’m sorry, we got a temporary and it’ll be better someday,” Robertson said. “We’re looking for ways to build this back so that it’s more fortified. But it’s ready and that’s what matters.”

Corby Robertson speaks at the Spirit International Media Day at Whispering Pines Golf Course. (Tim Schmitt/Golfweek)

Robertson, who was an All-American defensive lineman at the University of Texas, is not only eager to see the way the Spirit plays out, but he’s also looking forward to seeing how far his beloved Longhorns, ranked third in the country, can go in the College Football Playoff. He’s been impressed with coach Steve Sarkisian, who is now in his third season at the helm.

“Sark has got a really talented group of young people who are pulling the rope in the same direction. It’ll be interesting to see how far they go,” he said. “I think they could go all the way.”