On Monday, April 22, the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls’ Golf Tour played the 2019 CGA/PKBGT Vicki DiSantis Qualifier at Carolina Trace Country Club in Sanford, NC.
The wrath of Mother Nature’s roaring storms forced the cancellation of the North Carolina region’s 2019 CGA/PKBGT Vicki Disantis Qualifier in Siler City on Saturday. The event was rescheduled to Monday afternoon and moved to Carolina Trace Country Club in Sanford, NC.
A disappointment at the time, the move to Monday afternoon was a blessing in disguise. As players passed through the security gate in the morning vibrant sunshine radiated across crystal clear blue skies and reflected off the grand body of Lake Trace, rippling from a refreshing breeze along the shore.
The ideal conditions for an afternoon of golf, the field of 42 gathered in Sanford – bathing in the spring break sun while they ironed out final adjustments on the putting green and driving range – vying for a coveted exemption into the 14th CGA Vicki DiSantis Girls’ Championship at Pine Island Country Club in May.
Named after long-time CGA and PKB girls’ golf supporter Vicki DiSantis, the event is one of the most prestigious girls’ championships in the Carolinas, annually drawing the top-ranked girls’ golf talent in North Carolina and South Carolina.
A prime example of her loyal support, DiSantis was in attendance at Carolina Trace for the qualifier, serving as a rules official. The course, in full bloom, gave the field a stark challenge with the looming presence of Lake Trace on several holes. At the end of the round, take a look at how the leaderboard panned out.
Results
18 holes of regulation golf were not enough to crown a champion on Monday. Morgan Ketchum (Winston-Salem, NC 2022) and Trinity Muthomi (Kernersville, NC 2022) were locked in a dead heat, finishing their respective rounds with scores of 75 (+3), forcing a tiebreaker playoff.
Heading back to the ninth hole, both girls reached the green in two shots. Ketchum was first to putt, eyeing a 12-footer which she promptly drained into the cup for birdie. With the weight of the match leaning on her putter, Muthomi matched Ketchum’s 12-footer with a lengthy birdie of her own, keeping the tiebreaker playoff alive.
The duo traveled back one hole further to the eight hole – a daunting par-3 with an elevated tee box that might better serve as a ski slope. Miss short or left: your ball joins the many that came before, laid to rest at the bottom of the sea. Miss long or right: enjoy a day at the beach with little room to work with, the water just one thinned shot away.
Muthomi missed right on her tee shot, landing in the right green-side bunker, while Ketchum put her first shot on the dance floor. The bunker proved to be an arduous test when Muthomi went into the water on her second shot, forcing a drop. Ketchum missed her first putt but left herself with a makeable par approach.
Just prior to the 8 p.m. mark, Ketchum lined up and sank the playoff-clinching par earning the 2019 CGA/PKBGT Vicki DiSantis Qualifier championship, and an exemption into the 14th CGA Vicki DiSantis Girls Championship! Finishing runner-up with a valiant effort, Muthomi also earned her exemption into the championship.
Rounding out the Top 3, Halynn Lee (Cary, NC 2021) finished the day with a score of 77 (+5). Lee sank a crucial birdie putt on her penultimate hole, bumping herself into sole possession of third place.
Other Players to Earn Exemptions
T4. Tyler Spriggs (Cary, NC 2022)
T4. Sophie Lauture (Raleigh, NC 2024)
6. Megan Morris (Cary, NC 2021)
T7. Emily Matthews (Mebane, NC 2023)
T7. Deborah Spair (Raleigh, NC 2020)
9. Victoria Ladd (Greensboro, NC 2019)
T10. Mary Sears Brown (Wake Forest, NC 2021)
T10. Napat Rattanaprakarn (Kenly, NC 2020)
T10. Haylie George (Cary, NC 2021)
T10. Justine Pennycooke (Cary, NC 2023)
T10. Emily Brubaker (Raleigh, NC 2020)
Closing Remarks
We want to thank all of the staff at Carolina Trace Country Club for their flexibility in hosting this year’s qualifier! We would also like to thank the CGA for their partnership in putting on the event. Congratulations to all of the girls who earned their exemption into the 14th Vicki DiSantis Girls Championship!
Final Scoreboard
About the PKBGT
Founded in 2007 by the Triad Youth Golf Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization, as a local girls’ golf tour in the Triad region of North Carolina, the tour began as a simple concept: create more effective competitive playing opportunities for girls. By utilizing innovative yardage-based divisions instead of the traditional age-based format, the tour focused on developing tournament experience at the player’s pace. The 2019 season will feature over 90 tournaments in 9 states on the East Coast and with over 900 members, the PKBGT is the largest girl’s only tour in the country. Learn more about the PKBGT at http://www.pkbgt.org/.
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