Bermuda Run, NC – The Peggy Kirk Bell Girls’ Golf Tour traveled to Bermuda Run Country Club in Bermuda Run, NC to play the final round of the 14th PKBGT Invitational.
It was a cold yet beautiful day for the final round of the 14th PKBGT Invitational. Light wind and sunshine set the stage to crown a champion. With tee times commencing at 9:00 am, players were ready to grind out another round at Bermuda Run Country Club. Macy Pate (Winston Salem, NC 2022) held the lead after Rounds one and two and started off hot opening with a birdie on the first. Alexsandra Lapple (Pinehurst, NC 2023), who was second entering the round, birdied the second to close the gap and put pressure on Pate.
While there was little wind, the cold weather and difficult course led players to struggle to make birdies and chase Pate. Ellen Yu (Greensboro, NC 2025) started the round on a mission and was two-under through eight holes. She would finish the round at +1 and finish in second. The tough scoring day meant any score around par would be good enough to move players up the leaderboard. Victoriah Kuranga (Decatur, GA 2023) birdied two holes on the back nine and scored a 75 (+3) on the round to claim third place.
Lapple and Anna Howerton (Winston Salem, NC 2023) were looking to catch their playing partner, Pate, but couldn’t get anything going and would shoot 81 (+9) and 78 (+7) to tie for fourth. With players on her heels, Pate stuck to her own game making four birdies on her way to the low-round of the day, a 72 (E). Pate’s steady play allowed her to build a significant lead that would ultimately get to seven strokes and allow her to make an easy par on 18 to win the championship.
1. Macy Pate (Winston Salem, NC 2022) / 66 + 75 + 72 = 213 (-3)
2. Ellen Yu (Greensboro, NC 2025) / 72 + 75 +73 = 220 (+4)
3. Victoriah Kuranga (Decatur, GA 2023) / 73 + 73 + 75 = 221 (+5)
T4. Anna Howerton (Winston Salem, NC 2023) / 74 + 72 + 78 = 224 (+8)
T4. Alexsandra Lapple (Pinehurst, NC 2023) / 71 + 72 + 81 = 224 (+8)
Pate joins a long list of illustrious past PKBGT Invitational champions. Past champions include current LPGA Tour players and top amateurs in the world. Pate is committed to play collegiately at Wake Forest where two past champions currently play (Rachel Kuehn, 2015 and Emilia Migliaccio, 2014).
Pate is the second consecutive PKBGT Invitational champion to win the year following finishing runner-up at the event (Sara Im won in 2021 after finishing runner-up in 2020). Does this mean Ellen Yu will win next year? Only time will tell but for now we will catch our breaths on what was yet another unforgettable weekend at the PKBGT Invitational!
Thank you to all our players and their families. We would also like to thank Bermuda Run Country Club for their excellent hospitality all week. The 2023 PKBGT season continues next weekend in Williamsburg, VA and Hilton Head, SC! Travel safe and play well!
Full 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 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/.
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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