On Saturday-Sunday, May 4-5, the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls’ Golf Tour plays the 2019 PKBGT Imperial Girls Classic presented by Imperial Headwear at Columbia Country Club in Blythewood, SC.
Moving into May, golf courses around the region enter full bloom, the peak of the spring season. The colder, rainy days are few and far between, replaced by consistently comfortable days of warmth and sunshine. The Peggy Kirk Bell Girls’ Golf Tour travels south to open the month at the 2019 PKBGT Imperial Girls Classic!
Returning to South Carolina, in partnership with Imperial Headwear, the event will be hosted by Columbia Country Club in Blythewood. The finest club in the Midlands since opening its doors in 1904, Columbia Country Club has played host to several high-level events, including the Carolinas Amateur Championship Qualifier last July.
The course provides a scenic journey through a combination of stunning wooded areas and bodies of water lining the greens, challenging golfers to test the elements. The girls will compete in one of two divisions next weekend: Bell National at 5,867 yards and Futures National at 5,028 yards.
In traveling back to South Carolina, the PKBGT’s southernmost national participants have a chance to gain position on the rest of the competition in the 2019 Order of Merit race. With a weekend of competition ahead in Blythewood, we take a closer look at the field of 38 set to play in the 2019 PKBGT Imperial Girls Classic!
Bell National
Leading the field of 18 in the Bell National division, Nicole Adam (Pinehurst, NC 2020) returns to the tour for the first time since the Tournament of Champions in January. Adam is currently ranked ninth on the PKBGT Performance Index and sits just outside of the top 30 in the Bell National Order of Merit race. Adam’s top finish this season was a win at the PKB Junior at Pine Needles Lodge and GC in December. She also finished in the top five, in fifth place, at the PKBGT Invitational.
A regular atop the leaderboard early on in the 2019 campaign, Madeline Ananthasane (Auburn, GA 2020) returns to the course after earning a T9 finish at the PKBGT Spring Invitational in March. Ananthasane skyrocketed in the rankings after a two-week stretch in which she finished T4 at the PKBGT Orange Whip Classic, only to top the performance in Clemson with a win at the RocketTour Players Championship in Athens. She currently sits No. 17 on the Performance Index and No. 24 in the Order of Merit.
Similar to Ananthasane, Catie Craig (Sautee Nacoochee, GA 2021) experienced success early and often in the 2019 season. With three top ten finishes to her credit, Craig’s best performance came at the 2019 PKBGT Spring Invitational where she finished T5. Craig is currently ranked No. 16 on the Performance Index and can make some noise in the Order of Merit race, where she is currently in seventh place, with a strong performance in Blythewood.
Migrating north from the sunshine state, Mackenzie Gallagher (Orlando, FL 2021) hopes to return to the top of the leaderboard. Gallagher, currently ranked No. 37 on the Performance Index and No. 60 on the Order of Merit, has two top-ten finishes on the season. She finished T10 at the RocketTour Players Championship and had her season-best T4 at the Orange Whip Classic.
Rounding out the players to watch in the Bell National division, Yeon Joo Kim (Seoul, Rebuplic of Korea 2019) looks to break into the top ten in South Carolina. Kim’s top performance was a second place finish at the PKB Foundation Classic in January. She is currently ranked No. 56 on the Performance Index and T73 on the Order of Merit.
Futures National
With the top five players on the Futures National Order of Merit not participating in the tournament, Ellen Yu (High Point, NC 2026) heads into Blythewood as the top-ranked player in the field. Yu is currently in sixth place on the Order of Merit rankings with four top-ten finishes to her credit this season. Her best tournament performance was a win at the PKBGT Spring Invitational, the last time she competed in South Carolina.
Fresh off her fourth-place finish at the Palmetto Classic her last time in South Carolina, Elizabeth Lohbauer (Huntersville, NC 2021) enters the tournament ranked inside the top 20 of the Order of Merit, at No. 19. Lohbauer finished T8 at the PKB Junior in addition to her performance in Greenville.
Bethany Welch (Matthews, NC 2023) is currently ranked No. 22 on the Order of Merit. Welch looks to add another top ten finish to her 2019 season. Previously, she finished eighth at the Palmetto Dunes Resort Classic, fourth at the PKBGT Spring Invitational and third at the Orange Whip Classic.
Closing out the players to watch in the Futures National division, McKenzie Daffin (Fayetteville, NC 2021) has a number of top ten finishes in her possession this season. With her best effort coming in a T5 finish at the PKBGT Tar Heel Classic, Daffin is currently ranked No. 24 on the Order of Merit.
About our event partner, Imperial Headwear
Imperial Headwear, the official headwear of the PKBGT, partners with the tour to present the 2019 PKBGT Imperial Girls Classic. For over a century, Imperial Headwear has focused on providing stylish and comfortable headwear to sport through the endless opportunities that life presents. Imperial takes pride in their expert craftsmanship, paying close attention to every detail and every stitch on anything they make. Providing classic with a twist, the PKBGT is proud to have Imperial Headwear as our event partner and official headwear of the tour.
Final Thoughts
We would like to wish all of our competitors the best of luck in the 2019 PKBGT Imperial Girls Classic at Columbia Country Club! In our return to South Carolina with a classic event, the weekend promises to be action-packed and full of exciting, nail-biting golf! We look forward to a tremendous event!
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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