Victoria Tanco
TRINITY, TEXAS—Regardless of whether
second round leader Team Canada wins The
Spirit International gold medal, it deserves
an award for being the gutsiest team in the
field.
The Canadians showed resiliency in the first
round when the men’s team rebounded from
a bogey-bogey start to birdie the next three
holes and post a tournament-best 10-under
par.
Well, that was nothing.
After Wednesday’s first round, Canadian
Garrett Rank spent the next several hours in
the Huntsville Memorial Hospital. With fever
that spiked to 102 degrees, Rank was
treated for a stomach virus and dehydration.
He complained of intense pains in his thighs,
hips and stomach. Doctors ran multiple tests,
gave him IV fluids and ordered bed rest.
A 24-year-old senior at the University of
Waterloo in Ontario, Rank was released late
Wednesday evening and finally returned to
Camp Olympia at Whispering Pines Golf Club
just before midnight.
“I started feeling sick when we got here on
Monday,” Rank said. “I had stomach pains
and a lack of energy. I was just very weak
overall.”
Feeling better but still not close to 100
percent, Rank stayed in bed Thursday until
8:45 a.m. His tee time with teammate
Mackenzie Hughes was scheduled for 9:30
a.m.
“I thought I was going to have to play
alone,” said Hughes, 21, the 2011Canadian
Men’s Amateur champion. “It was going to
be a lonely walk.”
Turns out Hughes had company after all.
Rank got to the course in time to roll a
couple practice putts before teeing off at the
team’s scheduled time. A four-year hockey
player at Waterloo, Rank said sitting out was
never an option.
“I’ve played hockey games with a couple
concussions when I probably shouldn’t have,”
he said with a smile. “I played once with a
broken thumb. It’s about sucking it up and
fighting through the pain.”
Rank battled through his illness Thursday—
along with chilly, 60-degree weather and
gusts of winds up to 30 mph—to help Canada
post 2-under-par 142. Through 36 holes of
the 54-hole best-ball stroke play event, the
Canadians lead the 20-team international
field at 14-under par. The U.S. Team rallied
late to post an even-par round of 144 and
trail Canada by three shots. Korea had the
low round of the day at 4-under 138 and sits
in third place overall at 8-under.
The blustery winds and colder temperatures
made playing conditions at Whispering Pines
infinitely more difficult Thursday compared to
the first round. Another cold front was
expected to push through late Thursday
night, prompting Tournament Director Eric
Fredricksen to push back the first tee time
for Friday’s third round by one hour. The
Spirit will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Friday. (Tee
times and live scoring are available at
www.golfstat.com.)
Inspired by his Canadian teammate’s
presence, Hughes made birdies on the third
and fifth holes and eagled on the par-5 12th.
Rank contributed with a birdie on the par-5
17th and added a gritty par-save on the 15th
hole. After the round, Rank said he felt the
best he had all week and expected his health
to improve by Friday. Along with much of the
field, the Canadian women struggled in the
biting winds and finished at 2-over par.
Rank and Hughes’ performance was to push
Canada to 12-under par in the Men’s Team
division. They lead South Africa and Japan by
two shots and the U.S. by three.
“This is a team competition, and Garrett
gutted it out,” Hughes said of his teammate.
“I really appreciated the help.”
While Rank showcased the most courage
Thursday, Argentina’s Victoria Tanco turned
in the second round’s most impressive
performance. The two-time American Junior
Golf Association’s player of the year scorched
Whispering Pines for eight birdies to vault the
Argentines from ninth to fifth place in the
overall International Team competition.
“I felt really comfortable today,” said Tanco,
a 17-year-old who has played in the past
four Women’s U.S. Opens as an amateur
and will turn professional after The Spirit.
“My putting was working. I love these
greens. They’re like U.S. Open greens—
really fast with a lot of slope in them.”
Tanco birdied four holes on both the front
and back nine. She made just two bogeys
and shot a combined best ball 68 with
teammate Manuela Carbajo Re.
“If you play good, you can birdie any hole,”
said Tanco, who won the 2011 Women’s
Western Amateur by a mind-boggling 13-
and-12 score. “This course is hard, though,
so you have to play good. But it can be
done.”
Tanco leads the Women’s Individual
competition with 10 total birdies through two
rounds. Her round today pushed Argentina
into the lead in the Women’s Team division
at 7-under. Korea sits in second place at 6-
under, and the U.S. Women are in third
place at 4-under.
About The Spirit
The 2011 Spirit International features 80
participants from 20 countries representing
six continents. Country teams are comprised
of national amateur champions and top-
ranked players. The format of play for the
competition is Four-Ball Stroke Play. The
men’s and women’s Four-Ball score is
combined for the International Team
competition. There is also a separate men’s
and women’s team and individual
competitions.
ABOUT THE
The Spirit International Amateur
The Spirit International Amateur Golf
Championship is world class golf event
played every other year. It features the
world’s best amateur men and amateur
women golfers as they represent their
respective country in team and individual
competitions. The 96 participants enjoy an
Olympic-like experience from the
Opening/Closing Ceremonies, international
village and competing for gold medals.
The World Health & Golf Association and
Texas Golf Association invite 24 countries
from six continents to participate. Established
in 2001, The Spirit is a biennial event that
alternates tournament years with the World
Amateur Team Championships.
Part of the uniqueness of the Spirit International are
the five simultaneous competitions:
Combined International Championship, Men’s Team
Championship, Women’s Team
Championship, Men’s Individual and Women’s
Individual.
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