Southern Pines, NC- The Peggy Kirk Bell Girls’ Golf Tour finished the second round of the 2020 PKBGT Tour Championship hosted at Ms. Bell’s Pine Needles Golf Resort. Pine Needles, voted annually as one of the top tracks in the Carolina’s, has been privileged to host three USGA Women’s Opens, including the upcoming 2022 US Women’s Open. A forecast that looked somewhat questionable when the day began opened up to what turned into a gorgeous day as the golf course played its tricks on the Bell National field, seeing a 0.14 rise in scoring average from yesterday to today. The Futures National field had a better grasp of the harsh playing conditions improving their scoring average by almost a whole stroke. Just as the rain, the overnight leaders held on to the top spot in both divisions.
Who will join Grace Ridenour (Cary, NC 2025) on top of the Order of Merit pedestal in the Bell National and Futures National divisions? It’s too close to call! Tomorrow’s final round will be the determining factor.
Bell National
In the Bell National division, the top-ranked JGS player, Hy0 Joon Jang (Bluffton, SC 2022), held onto her overnight lead through moving day. The tougher hole locations and fast greens proved to be tough to juggle for the Bluffton, SC native following her opening round 68 (-4) with a (+3) score of 75, remaining at (-1) for the tournament. Jang’s lone birdie occurred on par-five sixth. Sarah Lydic (Oceanview, DE 2024) sits just two shots off Joon Jang’s total after her second-round score of 73 (+1).
There are enormous ramifications for the final round for Sydney Hackett (Ashburn, VA 2022), Melanie Walker (Burke, VA 2022) and Maria Atwood (Holly Springs, NC 2022), the #1 ranked player and the #3 ranked Bell National players in the Order of Merit Standings stand tied at (+6) for the tournament. Atwood, battling a wrist injury, struggled in round one around the greens but recovered quite nicely for a second-round score of 73 (+1). The highlight of her round came on the front side when she eagled the par-five sixth hole. All three have a shot at claiming the top spot in the Order of Merit race going into the final round. After an extensive review of the Order of Merit points, our analytics team compiled three scenarios that could potentially play out tomorrow.
Order of Merit Madness
-For Walker to go home with her name on the OOM trophy, Sydney Hackett MUST finish solo 18th, and Maria Atwood MUST finish solo 13th or worse.
-For Hackett, and Atwood it’s a much easier route to the title… WIN Tour Championship and your name will forever be etched alongside some of the PKBGT’s best to play the tour.
-If Atwood finishes solo 2nd, Hackett MUST finish higher than solo 8th.
1. Hyo Joon Jang (Bluffton, SC 2022) / 68 / 75 = 143 (-1)
2. Sarah Lydic (Ocean View, DE 2024) / 72 / 73 = 145 (+1)
T3. Kiera Bartholomew (Wake Forest, NC 2023) / 75 / 73 = 148 (+4)
T3. Anna Howerton (Winston Salem, NC 2023) / 75 / 73 = 148 (+4)
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Futures National
Three-time major champion Madison Messimer (Myrtle Beach, SC 2025) walked off the eighteenth hole with a three-shot lead after her second round 74 (+2) for a two day total of 146 (+2). No stranger to pressure, the Myrtle Beach, SC native heads into tomorrow vying for her fifth straight tournament victory, and her fourth major championship of this pandemic shortened season. Messimer carded two birds on the day. Staying in the silver spot once again is Emerson Dever (Durham, NC 2025) after a second-round 76 (+4) for a two day total of 149 (+5). Moving up from third and joining Dever in the two-hole is Cara Hilburn (Little River, SC 2022), who fired a round of 75 (+3) and a two day total of 149 (+5).
Order of Merit Madness
Only two players have a shot at etching their names onto the Order of Merit trophy.
-The Longshot- Kathryn Ha WINS Tour Championship, Madison Messimer MUST finish solo 8th or worse.
-Madison Messimer MUST finish the event to be forever etched in history.
1. Madison Messimer (Myrtle Beach, SC 2025) / 72 / 74 = 146 (+2)
T2. Emerson Dever (Durham, NC 2025) / 73 / 76 =. 149 (+5)
T2. Cara Hillburn (Little River, SC 2022) / 74 / 75 = 149 (+5)
T4. Makayla Grubb (Stafford, VA 2025) / 78 / 76 = 154 (+10)
T4. Shyla Brown (Matthews, NC 2026) / 80 / 74 = 154 (+10)
Click Here to View Full Futures National Leaderboard
Click Here to View Final Round Tee Times
Round three will begin Sunday, August 16, at 7:30 AM, weather permitting. We will be broadcasting the first tee for the entire tee block tomorrow!
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About the PKBGT
Founded in 2007 by Girls Golf of America, 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 2020 season will feature over 110 tournaments in 9 states on the East Coast, and with over 1,000 members, the PKBGT is the largest girl’s only tour in the country. Learn more about the PKBGT at http://www.pkbgt.org/.
For complete coverage of the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls’ Golf Tour, follow the PKBGT on social media @PKBGirlsTour (Twitter), facebook.com/girlsgolftour (Facebook), @pkbgirlstour (Instagram) or visit our website at www.pkbgt.org.
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