Greensboro, NC – On Monday, May 30th, the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls’ Golf Tour played the final round of the 2022 PKBGT Open Championship at the Country Club of Salisbury in Salisbury, NC.
The practice facilities appeared barren at the opening of check-in early Monday morning, quite the antithesis of the past two days at the Country Club of Salisbury. With the field at the 2022 PKBGT Open Championship cut down to 27 and 18 in the Bell National and Futures National divisions respectively, the plethora of PKBGT umbrellas dwindled down to a select few who performed well enough to make it to Monday’s final round.
For a third consecutive day, Mother Nature blessed the PKBGT championship event with a blissful shining sun and brilliant blue skies. Despite the steadily rising temperatures, a breeze appeared around midday that made the conditions wonderful.
On the course, both the Bell National and the Futures National fields were flourishing as two players from each division scored under par. The 8:00 a.m. double-tee start sent players off of both holes one and ten, and left each featured group to close out on the opposite nine.
With kids splashing around the pool and families gathered in the lawn chairs surrounding Country Club of Salisbury’s swimming facilities, the atmosphere was undoubtedly electric as players completed a 54-hole weekend to the sounds of summer jams from the poolside patio.
A few ladies from the Class of 2022 bid adieu to the PKBGT, this Memorial Day weekend serving as the final event of their tour career. For others, this was just the first taste of the PKBGT experience, a warm welcome for a future with the tour.
After all was said and done, and 54 holes of golf completed, here is how the leaderboard panned out!
Bell National
Sydney Hackett (Ashburn, VA 2022) took home the 2022 PKBGT Open Championship title in one of her final events as a member of the PKBGT. Hackett held onto first place by scoring ten birdies throughout the three days to secure her win with a three-day score of 67, 71, 74 = 213 (E). Having played in this tournament three times before, it’s no surprise that her improvement through those few years has led her to taking home the championship bowl!
Finishing runner-up with only two strokes behind first was Ellen Yu (Greensboro, NC 2026). Yu’s under-par score on the second day of the tournament helped to achieve her spot in second, shooting 35 on both the front and back nine. Yu clutched second place by closing out the weekend with a three-day total score of 72, 70, 73 = 215 (+2).
Staying neck and neck with Yu, Avery McCrery (Wilmington, DE 2025) finished in third with a three-day total score of 75, 68, 73 = 216 (+3). Over the span of the three days, McCrery scored 14 birdies, eight of which were made on the second day of the tournament.
Anna Howerton (Winston Salem, NC 2023) and Garland Gould (Raleigh, NC 2024) tied for fourth place with three-day total scores of 218 (+5). Howerton finished with a three-day spread of 72, 76 and 70. Her under-par final round came at the hands of three birdies, giving her the fourth place medal trophy via a scorecard playoff. Gould remained consistent all weekend, scoring 73, 74, 71 in the final round, giving her the fifth place hardware. During the second day of the tournament, she scored an eagle on hole 15!
Another player that made an incredible eagle was Ellie Acrey (Winston-Salem, NC 2026), the 2021 Prep Order of Merit Champion, who shot only 2 on a par 4!
Futures National
Holding onto her victory throughout all three days, Riley Grimm (Pinehurst, NC 2028) scored under-par on two out of the three days. She finished with a three-day total score of 70, 76, 68 = 214 (+1). She holds the highest number of birdies in her division with 13 of them!
Kallyn Black (Greensboro, GA 2026) finished runner-up with a three-day total score of 71, 73, 76 = 220 (+8). Likewise, Black also maintained her place throughout the weekend by staying in second throughout the tournament. Additionally, Black averaged at least two birdies every day of this tournament.
Finishing in third place with a three-day total score of 74, 79, 74 = 227 (+14) was Abigail Avallone (Bethesda, MD 2026). Similar to Grimm and Black, Avallone held her place in third for the duration of the tournament. Half of her eight birdies were scored on the second day of the tournament, helping her to hold onto her title.
Bouncing back in her final round, earning a fourth-place finish was Lila Becker (Woodstock, MD 2025). Becker finished with a three-day total score of 80, 79, 69 = 228 (+15). Aside from Grimm, Becker was the only other person to score under-par in their division throughout this tournament.
Closing out the Top Finishers at the 2022 PKBGT Open Championship is Zoe Cusack (Potomac, MD 2026). Cusack finished with a three-day score of 80, 77, 72 = 229 (+16). She also had the second highest number of birdies in their division with 10, matching the winner of the Bell National division.
Closing Remarks
We would like to thank the entire staff at the Country Club of Salisbury for their incredible hospitality over the three-day weekend, serving as host for yet another PKBGT Open Championship! The weather was on its way to blazing and the action on the course certainly surpassed the conditions. Congratulations to all of our top finishers this Memorial Day weekend!
Final Results
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 2021-2022 season will feature over 90 tournaments in over 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/.
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