Published: November 07, 2009 11:58 pm      

Golden week for Americans

Americans hold off Korea’s final-round charge at Spirit

The United States held off a hard charge by Korea on Saturday in the final round of The Spirit International Amateur Golf Tournament.

When the day was done, the U.S. claimed gold medals in the International Team competition, the women’s team competition and the individual women’s competiton. Young Lexi Thompson was the tournament’s top female player.

Starting the final round Saturday at the Whispering Pines Golf Club near Trinity, the U.S. had an 11-stroke lead over England and 12 over Korea. The Americans ended up winning by four shots over Korea, with Denmark a distant third, 12 strokes back.

The three top finishes by U.S. players were the first gold medals won by the host country since 2003, when the Americans won the three team events and Paula Creamer, this year’s non-playing captain, was the low female.

“It was a little close in the end, but the team got the job done,” said Creamer. “The flag, the anthem mean so much. I always cry. To represent your country ... there’s nothing better.”

The women’s team of Jennifer Johnson and Thompson went into the final round leading by seven strokes over Columbia and 10 over Korea. In the end the American women were still seven strokes ahead, but it was the Koreans who took the silver medal.

Thompson, the 14-year-old phenom from Florida who as an amateur has already had some respectable finishes in top women’s professional events, started the day at 14-under, two strokes ahead of three other ladies, one of whom was Korea’s Hyo-Joo Kim.

Thompson had a frustrating day with the putter on the super-fast Whispering Pines greens, but still managed three birdies to finish two shots ahead of Kim and the Philippines’ Chihiro Ikeda.

Johnson added two birdies of her own, including a clutch effort on the ninth hole when Thompson had already picked up and was out of the hole because of a lost ball.

“It was definitely a rough day,” Thompson said. “It was fun overall just to play for my country, and I always enjoy that.”

The big surprise of the tournament was the play of the men’s team from Italy. They won the gold in that division, finishing three strokes ahead of Korea and four ahead of Chinese Taipei.

The U.S. men’s team of Ben Martin and Jordan Spieth tied for sixth, but took home gold medals for the combined score nevertheless.

“It’s hard after a day like today to be happy,” said Spieth, an 11th-grader from Dallas. “I’m really frustrated about the way I played. I’m going to stay frustrated until it sinks in that it’s a team event.”

Martin and Spieth lost their unofficial competition with their USA women’s teammates by three shots, and Johnson and Thompson said after the round they were still not sure what they would make the guys do. Their latest idea was to make them jump into the Camp Olympia pool with their clothes on at the tournament’s closing party.

Overall, the 2009 Spirit International had to be rated as one of the most successful since the tournament was started in 2001. The tournament, dubbed the Olympics of golf, is played every other year.

The Indian Summer weather was about as close to perfect as it can get in this part of Texas this time of the year. Fall foliage that had already begun to turn stepped up its display and was markedly more brilliant by week’s end.

An estimated 300 volunteers, some 200 of whom were from Huntsville, were praised for their hard work and the tournament’s smooth operation by Whispering Pines founder Corby Robertson at the event’s closing ceremonies.

The two team wins and Thompson’s individual performance all marked a return to respectability, if not dominance, although as Creamer said after it was over, “it got me a little nervous down the stretch.”