Greensboro, NC – On Sunday, December 11th, the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls’ Golf Tour played the final round of the 10th PKBGT National Tournament of Champions at Forest Creek Golf Club in Pinehurst, North Carolina.
Following an excellent round of golf on Saturday, the stage was set to crown a champion of champions on Sunday afternoon. Tee time’s were set to commence at 9:30 am with the leaders beginning their rounds at 11:00 am. Each player, having won an event in the 2022 PKB season, knew they had what it took to win the trophy setting up for an exciting final round!
Bell National
Elsie MacCleery (Crozet, VA 2025) started the day three shots back but after making birdies on her opening two holes and a bogey on the third by overnight leader, Kiera Bartholomew (Wake Forest, NC 2023), there was a tie at the top after three holes. Bartholomew punched back with a birdie on the fourth which was followed by a MacCleery birdie on the fifth. Bogeys and birdies were swapped back and forth on the front nine in what had the looks of a heavyweight fight. On the back nine, the players settled down and played much more steady golf as MacCleery began to pull ahead. A birdie on the par-3 17th gave Bartholomew a chance entering the final hole but a great up-and-down by MacCleery gave her a two-stroke victory.
Also playing in the final pairing was Avery McCrery (Wilmington, DE 2025). McCrery got into the mix playing her first seven holes in 1-under but made only pars from there and would finish the tournament in third place. Matching MacCleery’s round of 70 (-2) was Kathryn Ha (Roanoke, VA 2025). Ha made three birdies and a lone bogey on the round which allowed her to move up the leaderboard and claim fourth place.
1. Elsie MacCleery (Crozet, VA 2025) / 70, 70 = 140 (-4) 2. Kiera Bartholomew (Wake Forest, NC 2023) / 67, 75 = 142 (-2)
3. Avery McCrery (Wilmington, DE 2025) / 72, 71 = 143 (-1)
4. Kathryn Ha (Roanoke, VA 2025) / 74, 70 = 144 (E)
Prep Preview
The Prep Preview division was tight entering the final round with ten players within four of the lead and five within a stroke. This meant someone was going to have go low and separate themselves from the field which is exactly what Riley Grimm (Pinehurst, NC 2028) did. Grimm shared the overnight lead with Bretton Mackiewicz (Longwood, FL 2025). Both Grimm and Mackiewicz started their rounds 1-under through six holes and swapped pairs of bogeys over the next five holes. From there Grimm would play mistake free and pull away. She closed the door with birdies on the 5th and 7th holes, her 14th and 16th respectively giving her a cushion and a five stroke victory.
Malerie Lague (Huntersville, NC 2025) bettered her opening round by five strokes and shot 73 (+1) on Sunday. Her round included three birdies which helped her to finish in solo third. Kathryn DeLoach (Athens, GA 2026) had another steady round on Sunday and would finish in fourth place for the event.
1. Riley Grimm (Pinehurst, NC 2028) / 74, 71 = 145 (+1)
2. Bretton Mackiewicz (Longwood, FL 2025) / 74, 76 = 150 (+6)
3. Malerie Lague (Huntersville, NC 2025) / 78, 73 = 151 (+7)
4. Kathryn DeLoach (Athens, GA 2026) / 75, 77 = 152 (+8)
Closing Remarks
We would like to extend our greatest thanks to the entire staff at Forest Creek Golf Club for their incredible hospitality. It was another excellent Tournament of Champions with all of the 2022 PKB champions from throughout the year gathering together at an incredible course in the home of American golf. This weekend provided a challenge for all of our competitors and we would like to congratulate all of our medalists at the 10th PKBGT National Tournament of Champions!
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 2022 season will feature over 138 tournaments in 12+ states 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/.
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