The official competition of The Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship will be conducted from Wednesday, November 4, 2009 - Saturday, November 7, 2009 at Whispering Pines Golf Club, located outside of Houston, Texas. All participating teams will play 72 holes of competition. The field of countries will be limited to a maximum of 20 teams, using the following invitation criteria:

• Invitations are extended to the low 20 teams based on the final results from the 2008 World Amateur Team Championship in Cape Town, South Africa.
  
• The 20 invited teams will be determined by the combined final results of the women's competition (Espirito Santo Trophy, October 8-11, 2008) and the men's competition (Eisenhower Trophy, October 16-19, 2008). Final results at the 2008 WATC women's and men's competition will be added together for a country ranking.
  
• Only countries fielding a team in both the women's and men's competitions will be considered for invitation to The 2009 Spirit.
  
• The World Health & Golf Association will extend the 20 invitations to The 2009 Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship by December 1, 2008.
  
• The top 20 country teams must accept the invitation to participate by returning an invitation acceptance entry form to the WHGA headquarters by March 1, 2009.
  
• Country teams that placed 21st- 41st in the 2008 WATC combined results will be placed on an alternate list (in order of finish). In the event a top 20 country team declines their invitation to The Spirit, an invitation will be extended to the highest ranked country on the alternate list. 
  
• Former Spirit International Team Champions (England (2007, 2005), USA (2003) and Mexico (2001) will receive automatic invitations if they do not qualify in the top 20 at the WATC.
  

Team Member/Captain Information

The qualifying national golf association/federation that is the official member of the International Golf Federation at the 2008 WATC will be responsible for determining the four player team to represent their country at The 2009 Spirit.

• Each participating country team must be comprised of two amateur women players and two amateur men players. Each player must be an official citizen of their respective country.
  
• The WHGA strongly encourages player selection be based on National Championship results (National Champions and Finalists are preferred), year round rankings and/or international playing experience. The WHGA is committed to showcasing the best amateur golfers in the world at The 2009 Spirit.
  
• The WHGA will be responsible for air travel, lodging, meals and ground transportation for the four player team representing each participating country. The only cost to each player is a $300 caddie fee for five days of caddie services. The caddie fee can be paid by the player or by the sponsoring golf federation/association.
  
• All participating countries at The 2009 Spirit must have a designated team captain to represent their team. All tournament amenities (lodging/food) except airfare expense will be provided by the WHGA for each team captain.
  
• For additional information or clarification, please contact Tournament Director, Eric Fredricksen, at (281) 298-2664 or efredricksen@whga.org.