​TRINITY, Texas — Stars have come and gone at the Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship at Whispering Pines Golf Club, and plenty of them have been big ones. The tournament, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, counts five former world No. 1s on both the men’s and women’s sides among its alumni.But this year, the biggest star might be a piece of the back nine that wasn’t even in play the last time the biennial event came to this remote corner of Texas, about 90 minutes north of Houston.Two years ago, Whispering Pines was still recovering from a flood that tore through the property, buried portions of the golf course in silt and left its signature par-3 15th needing to be rebuilt.Now you’d never know it. In fact, the hole might be even more visually stunning than it was before.That’s the backdrop of the event, which starts on Wednesday, bringing 80 of the world’s top amateur players from 20 countries and six continents back to the Chet Williams-designed course that has long been regarded among the best in Texas.It’s quite a turnaround from 2024.Flood ravaged Whispering Pines two years agoA 100-year flood swept through the sprawling property about six months before that year’s Spirit, coming after a storm that dropped nearly two feet of rain in just a handful of days. Large portions of the golf course were covered in silt, and No. 15, one of the most recognizable holes on the property, took a particularly brutal hit.Whispering Pines founder Corby Robertson acknowledged at the time that the green would have to be rebuilt. It’s well-known around the club that Robertson is still squeamish about discussing the flood, an obvious sign of the pain it brought to the energy mogul.Understandably so, as the course and the tournament are a huge source of pride for the former University of Texas football All-American.“It’s very hurtful to watch something that you’ve invested your time, interest and financing in and to just watch Mother Nature take it apart,” Robertson said then. “On hole number 15, we’re gonna have to rebuild the green. I’m sorry, we got a temporary and it’ll be better someday.”Someday has arrived.Hole has been completely rebuiltThe 15th is completely repaired ahead of the 2026 Spirit, and what was one of Whispering Pines’ showcase holes before the flood is again a striking part of the experience. The short par 3, wrapped by water and guarded by dramatic bunkering, was closed for more than a year. Steel piers 60 feet in length were driven deep to stabilize the area. It has emerged from the rebuild looking every bit as good as it did before, and perhaps even better.Texas star Farah O’Keefe was seeing it for the first time this week.“It’s pretty challenging,” O’Keefe said. “I haven’t really played too many island greens before, so to get up there, it’s not a true island, but it’s pretty close. It’s pretty neat. The bunkering on the front portion of the green is really, really cool l