Four of South Africa's top amateur golfers tee off in the Spirit International, a 72-hole strokeplay competition played, at Whispering Pines Golf Club, outside Trinity, north of Houston, Texas, on Wednesday.

Four of South Africa's top amateur golfers tee off in the Spirit International, a 72-hole strokeplay competition played, at Whispering Pines Golf Club, outside Trinity, north of Houston, Texas, on Wednesday.

Oliver Bekker, 22, of Boland; Prinavin Nelson, 20, of KwaZulu-Natal; Nicole Bekker, 20, of North West; and Kim Williams, 21, of Gauteng North, are representing South Africa, having been awarded senior Protea colours. The competition has attracted entries from 24 countries from six continents.

"The Spirit International is one of the world's premier amateur competitions," said Neale Kunhardt, president of the South African Golf Association (Saga).

"In 2005 our team finished second in the international competition. This year we have entered a strong team and are optimistic they too will perform well in this competition format."

There are five competitions being played simultaneously. They are an international team competition in which the best score from the men and women is added together, the lowest aggregate after 72 holes being the winner. There is a betterball medal competition for men and women.

Finally, there is an individual competition, for men and women, where the winner is determined by points scored for birdies and eagles in each round. - Sapa