On Sunday, July 28, the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls’ Golf Tour played the final round of the 2019 PKBGT Wolfpack Classic at Lonnie Poole Golf Course in Raleigh, NC.
Leaves on the tree-lined fairways of Lonnie Poole Golf Course sat motionless on Sunday afternoon. The towering forest likely focused on the subjects in the fairway, the field of 49 laying everything out on the course in a winner-take-all final round. Holding its breath as one last pairing marched down the 18th fairway, the 2019 PKBGT Wolfpack Classic’s final act.
While the heavy, stagnant air failed to generate enough motion to rustle the fully-blossomed, forest green scenery, final-round competition in both divisions churned up a whirlwind of excitement dispersed across NC State’s home course. A gathering point for nationwide collegiate competition at the NCAA Regional Championships in May, Raleigh hosted the future stars of the ACC and beyond in a weekend classic on the largest all-girls junior tour in the nation.
The color of choice for the final round: vibrant red. Not in an effort to channel a vintage Sunday Tiger performance, but rather a continuation of overwhelming support and passion for the host program. In the field, many of the girls sported Wolfpack gear. Hats, polos, pins and golf bags, State was well represented at the PKBGT’s annual stop in Raleigh.
Saturday’s first-round produced several scores to match the school’s colors. A future member of the Wolfpack pounced onto an early lead, with a one-under-par 71 on Day One. Two young pups in the Futures National division were locked in a dead-heat atop the leaderboard, posting their own respective scores of 71 (-1).
As they strolled down that final fairway, only one could be crowned champion of the 2019 PKBGT Wolfpack Classic. Spraying the course with high-level play on Sunday, let’s take a look at how everything panned out on the leaderboard at day’s end!
Bell National
Roaring back with a strong final round, Grayson Warren (Washington, NC 2021) claimed the win in Raleigh on Sunday. After narrowly missing out on the title last year, Warren was determined to prevail victorious in the 2019 PKBGT Wolfpack Classic. Four birdies in her final round shouldered the weight of her two-day total score: 75, 73 = 148 (+4). The win is Warren’s first of the 2019 season!
Locked in a two-way tie for second place through 36 holes, Macy Pate (Boone, NC 2024) and Nicole Nash (Charlotte, NC 2023) each shared a slice of the runner-up prize. Pate struck early for the second day in a row, carding a birdie on the second hole en route to a two-day total score of 75, 76 = 151 (+7). Nash made two birdies on the afternoon, closing the weekend with scores of 72, 79 = 151 (+7).
A three-birdie final round served as the propulsion Megan Morris (Cary, NC 2021) needed to enter this weekend’s top finishers. Morris clustered two birdies in the back end of her even-par front nine 36 in her final round. She closed the weekend in fourth place with a total score of 78, 74 = 152 (+8).
Rounding out the Bell National top five, Alexia Siehl (Fort Mill, SC 2022) posted a weekend total score of 75, 78 = 153 (+9). Siehl spritzed five birdies into her weekend at Lonnie Poole, including three across her final round on Sunday, earning her first top-five finish of the season.
Futures National
Talk about a heart-racing ending! Ellen Yu (High Point, NC 2026) and Grace Ridenour (Cary, NC 2025) tip-toed onto the 18th green locked in a close battle atop the leaderboard. In a dead heat, Yu set the tone by burying her putt for par.
Ridenour stood over a make-or-break par putt of her own. If it fell into the cup, the duo would stroll on to the first tee for a tiebreaker playoff. Should it fail to go in, the tournament would come to an end right then and there. With ice-water in her veins, she drained her par and matched Yu with a 72 on the afternoon, closing regulation play with scores of 71, 72 = 143 (-1).
An emphatic fist-pump from each and they were off to the first tee for a winner-take-all tiebreaker playoff. In a nail-biting finish, Ridenour narrowly missed her birdie attempt and tapped in for par.
Yu lined up a mid-range putt with victory on the line. She claimed to be “kinda nervous” while the gallery lining the green was experiencing palpitations, unable to contain their excitement over the decisive putt. With a short stroke, the ball rolled on and into the cup. Ellen Yu claimed the Futures Divison victory at the 2019 PKBGT Wolfpack Classic!
Adding to a stellar resume this season, Yu secured her fifth win of the year. Ridenour’s impeccable weekend performance was likely the most impressive runner-up finish of the 2019 PKBGT season. She tacks on her eighth top-five finish in the current national campaign.
Posting back-to-back scores of 74, Anna Howerton (Kernersville, NC 2023) earned third place with a weekend total score of 148 (+4). Howerton commenced her final round with back-to-back birdies, finishing with five throughout the tournament.
In fourth place, finishing with a weekend total score of 73, 76 = 149 (+5), Sophie Lauture (Raleigh, NC 2024) remained in the thick of things for the duration of the Wolfpack Classic. Enjoying the convenience of playing at home, Lauture carded three birdies in her Sunday round.
Capping off the top finishers, Anika Bhatnagar (Cary, NC 2020) secured fifth place after posting scores of 76, 78 = 154 (+10) this weekend. Bhatnagar made two birdies on the weekend in Raleigh.
Closing Remarks
We would like to thank Lonnie Poole Golf Course and North Carolina State University for their hospitality in hosting this year’s Wolfpack Classic! The view was pristine and the competition sensational. Congratulations to all of our top finishers in this weekend’s event!
Final Leaderboard
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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