On Saturday-Sunday, August 3-4, the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls’ Golf Tour plays the 2019 PKBGT Terrapin Classic at the University of Maryland GC in College Park, Maryland.
The second stop on the PKBGT college closeout tour – a stretch of Division I courses to cap off the 2019 National Series – College Park plays host to the 2019 PKBGT Terrapin Classic. One final voyage north before a date at Mrs. Bell’s home course for the Tour Championship, the PKBGT’s northernmost members gather at the home course of the University of Maryland Women’s Golf team.
Following a mid-week championship in Virginia, girls from the Middle Atlantic region of the tour are staring down the final opportunity to gain ground in the Order of Merit rankings before Tour Championship. Hoping to break into the top of the charts and challenge the tour’s southernmost members, a crucial weekend in College Park could alter the season for several competitors.
For members unable to partake in the mid-week NOVA Girls’ championship, two-days at the University of Maryland provide a chance to make up lost ground. Along with a weekend on the course, members and their families can explore the fully-blossomed scenic grounds on campus. Functioning as a world of its own – the town coined “College Park” because of the school – families can hop on the UMD Metro stop and ride down to the nation’s capital between rounds.
Regardless of options off the course, the focus remains on the fairways and greens. Players will compete in one of two divisions: Bell National at 5,833 yards and Futures National at 5, 209 yards. All prepped for another rousing event in Maryland, let’s take a look at the players to watch in next weekend’s PKBGT Terrapin Classic!
Bell National
After flirting with victory in several events this season, Paris Fieldings (Suffolk, VA 2023) looks for a breakthrough performance. Entering the tournament as the highest-ranked player on the PKBGT Performance Index, currently at No. 11, Fieldings is also in the top five of the Bell National Order of Merit. She has six top-five finishes this season, her best a T2 performance at the PKBGT Mid-Atlantic Girls’ Championship.
A victory in her recent memory bank, Sue Lee (Lorton, VA 2022) aims to repeat her success in College Park next weekend. After winning the Valley Junior Girls, Lee moved into the top 20 on the Order of Merit. She holds three other top-ten performances including a T4 finish at the Commonwealth Classic.
One of few members traveling south for the event, Kierra Bartholomew (Westampton, NJ 2023) tasted a top-two finish in Greensboro at the Precision Girls’ Championship this month. Ranked 46th on the Performance Index, Bartholomew is primed for another finish toward the top of the leaderboard next weekend.
Coming off a seventh-place finish at the NOVA Girls’ Championship, Isabel Bae (Bristow, VA 2021) holds three top-ten finishes this season. Ranked No. 66 on the Performance Index, Bae’s third-place finish at Dupont Country Club was the peak of her season. She hopes to top that at the University of Maryland next weekend.
Futures National
Back in action, Josephine Nguyen (Springfield, VA 2024) tries to pick up another win in her territory. After winning the Mid-Atlantic Girls’ Championship last time around, Nguyen’s most recent performance was a T5 finish at the PKBGT Open Championship. She is currently ranked fourth on the Futures National Order of Merit.
Cailyn Park (Fairfax, VA 2025) won the NOVA Girls’ Championship earlier in the week, and her back-to-back efforts commence in College Park. Currently ranked inside the top 20 on the Order of Merit, Park has two other top-ten finishes this season: T9 at the Dupon Girls Classic and eighth place at the Valley Girls Open.
She only played one event this year, but Helen Yueng (Clarksville, MD 2024) made the most of her time. Yueng claimed the title in Wilmington, Delaware, and sits outside the top 100 on the Order of Merit by one spot.
Final Thoughts
We wish all of our competitors the best of luck next weekend at the University of Maryland for the 2019 PKBGT Terrapin Classic. Closing out “Classic Season” on a collegiate level course, competitors are in for a robust challenge in preparation for the Tour Championship! To stay up to date on the leaderboard, be sure to follow live scoring HERE!
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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