HOUSTON | South Alabama women's golfer Mercedes Aldana has been selected to compete for her home country of Argentina next month at the Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship. The tournament will be held at renowned Whispering Pines Golf Club in Trinity, Texas, Nov. 11-14, bringing together 80 of the world's top amateur golfers, representing 20 countries and six continents in an Olympic-style team event.

The Spirit brings together teams of two men and two women representing 20 countries: including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, England, France, Ireland, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand and the United States. One more country is still slated to be added to the field.

Teams will compete over 54 holes of four-ball stroke play in three concurrent competitions: international team, men's team and women's team. Gold, silver and bronze medals will be awarded to the top three finishers in each competition. 

The 2026 Spirit field features an impressive collection of international amateur talent with 23 players currently ranked in the Top 50, including the reigning U.S. Amateur and Women's Amateur champions, the world's No. 3-ranked male amateur, multiple top-50 World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) players, and numerous Walker Cup and Curtis Cup competitors. 

The 2026 championship marks another chapter in The Spirit's tradition of showcasing the world's top amateur golfers at Whispering Pines, with many past participants going on to successful professional careers.

This fall, Aldana is averaging 71.56 strokes per round, and has recorded a pair of Top 10 finishes, including a fifth-place finish at the 29th Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship hosted by Tennessee at the Cherokee Country Club in Knoxville, Tenn., where she fired a career-low three-round, five-under par 208 (68-71-69) and was named Sun Belt Conference Golfer of the Week.

At the Sixth Annual Evie Odom Invitational hosted by Old Dominion at the Princess Anne Country Club, Aldana fired a program record 65 in the final round and helped South Alabama set a new 54-hole program mark with a three-round 839 to finish third. 

The Buenos Aires, Argentina, native has fired five rounds under par, including four sub-70 rounds. Her 32 birdies led the club.

Over the summer, Aldana won the sixth edition of the Abierto Ciudad de Rio Cuarto with rounds of 72,72,71 for a three-round 215 at the Río Cuarto Golf Club, and then followed that with a fourth-place finish at the Amador de Golfe do Brasil with rounds of 68, 72, 73, 77 for a four-round 290.

The Course – Whispering Pines
Whispering Pines Golf Club is one of the best private golf clubs in the country. The club was founded not only to offer its discerning contributors a superior golf experience on an exceptional course, but also to promote amateur golf and to benefit charitable causes on a local, national and international level. Whispering Pines is currently ranked No. 1 in Texas and No. 66 on Golf Digest's America's 100 Greatest Courses list, and Golf Digest also ranks it No. 10 among the 50 greatest courses built since 2000. The Dallas Morning News also ranks Whispering Pines No. 1 in Texas, while Golfweek's 2026 Top 200 Modern Courses ranking lists it tied for No. 37. 

The Host – The Spirit Golf Association
The Spirit Golf Association, 501(c)(3), serves as the host for The Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship. The Spirit Golf Association (SGA–formerly the World Health & Golf Association) was formed in 1999, by Houston philanthropist Corbin (Corby) J. Robertson, Jr. With a passionate vision, Corby turned the SGA into reality by establishing a unique charitable organization that benefits health-related causes while promoting the global goodwill of amateur golf. With the encouragement of close friends and family, Corby established the SGA with a mission for philanthropic minded people to support charitable causes, membership privileges at a world class golf property, and to conduct The Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship.

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