The Peggy Kirk Bell Girls’ Golf Tour takes on Mid Pines Inn and Golf Club in from January 19-21, 2019 for the second annual Linville Cup Team Challenge and Leadership Retreat.
The Linville Cup is a weekend of team golf and leadership seminars designed to reward the top players of the 2018 PKBGT in each region. The retreat builds on our motto of “more than a golf tournament” by bringing together members who have excelled in the past year to Pinehurst, the home of American golf and Pine Needles/Mid Pines GC, the home of our tour namesake.
Mentorship is a major component of the Linville Cup with multiple opportunities for players to interact with the coaches and staff. We hope that players will take away many life lessons, a stronger sense of confidence and friendships to build their golfing careers on.
Our coaches are ex-collegiate golfers as well as women business leaders who share their experiences with the girls. The event provides a unique experience for players to stray away from the individual mentality of tournament golf to compete and develop in a team environment.
About the Coaches
Team North Carolina East
Julie Shore- Julie has been involved with golf for more than 40 years, playing, volunteering, mentoring and coaching young golfers. She retired in 2013 after a nearly 37-year career with IBM and coached youth golf programs for two years with TGA (Teach, Grow, Achieve) of Wake County. She serves on the NC Golf Panel and has recently been named the President of the LPGA Amateur Golf Association (formerly EWGA) Triangle Chapter. Julie is an avid golfer who plays golf several times a week, and competes regularly.
Katherine Perry- A 9-Time PKBGT Champion, Perry attended UNC-Chapel Hill and played college golf for the Tar Heels from 2010-2014. Perry competes regularly on the LPGA and LPGA Symetra Professional Tours, where her career best performance came after a T14 finish at the 2018 LPGA Cambia Portland Classic. Katherine also serves as an ambassador of the PKBGT, promoting the tour in the professional ranks and makes regular appearances at PKBGT events.
Team North Carolina West
Charlene Johnson- A graduate of Wake Forest University, Charlene recently retired after 36 years commercial banking (Wachovia and First Tennessee). Charlene also volunteers for the Carolinas Golf Association as a rules official and is the Finance Chair of the Appalachian State University Foundation Board.
Allison Emrey- A 3-time PKBGT Champion, Emrey attended Wake Forest University and played college golf for the Demon Deacons from 2011-2015. Allison currently competes on the LPGA and LPGA Symetra Tours, her best performance being a 5th place finish at the 2017 Symetra Tour’s IOA Golf Classic. Emrey also serves as an Ambassador for the PKBGT and hails from Charlotte, NC.
Team Middle Atlantic
Katie Kirk- A 3-time PKBGT Champion, Kirk attended East Carolina University and played collegiately for the Pirates from 2011-2015. During her time at ECU, Kirk was selected by the LPGA Foundation as the recipient of the 2015 Dinah Shore Trophy. In addition, Kirk holds the PKBGT Invitational scoring record from her win in 2011 with a 2 day total of 5-under (66-71).
Charlaine Hirst- Originally from Cape Town, South Africa, Charlaine attended Longwood University where she was a 4-Time All-American golfer and a 3-Time Division II National Champion. She competed on the LPGA Futures Tour (now Symetra Tour) for 9 years and also competed in the 1998 US Women’s Open and the LPGA’s 2010 Wegman’s Championship. From 2004-2008, she taught alongside Peggy Kirk Bell in her women’s golfaris at Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club. She currently resides in the Pinehurst area and works as a teaching professional and as an LPGA-USGA Girls Golf Site Director.
Team Southeast
Cathy Robinson- Cathy is a retired military, a former paralegal and a lifelong South Carolinian. She loves the outdoors and is an avid golfer. Cathy is also Chairperson for the WSCGA Junior Golf Foundation, a partner of the PKBGT and the PKBGT South Carolina Regional Series.
Allyson Markiewicz- A PKBGT Champion, Markiewicz graduated in 2017 from Wofford College with a degree in Business Economics. During her time at Wofford, Allyson played golf for the Terriers and was very involved with junior programs at Spartanburg CC. Originally from Charlotte, NC, Mackiewicz now works for Wells Fargo as a Digital Marketing Analyst.
Each team consists of 10 players who excelled on the PKBGT in 2018; and therefore, have been chosen to represent their region in the second annual Linville Cup.
Event Namesake
The Linville Cup is named for PKBGT Tour Founder Robert Linville. Robert is the owner/founder of Robert Linville’s Precision Golf School and co-founder of the PKBGT’s parent foundation, the Triad Youth Golf Foundation.
A PGA member for over 30 years, Robert has a passion for developing players and has taught some of the top players to come out of North Carolina in the last 20 years, including current LPGA player and PKBGT Alumnus Katherine Perry. Robert’s passion and energy for developing equity for girls in golf is why the PKBGT has grown to where it is today.
The Peggy Kirk Bell Girls’ Golf Tour is an initiative of the Triad Youth Golf Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit foundation aimed at increasing learning and playing opportunities for youth golfers. Based out of Greensboro, North Carolina, the PKBGT offers affordable, high-quality nationally ranked girls’ golf tournaments designed to prepare junior girls’ golfers for high school and collegiate golf. The PKBGT is the nation’s largest “girls’ only” junior tour with over 700 members in 2018 and 800+ girls having played, playing in or committed to playing collegiate golf. Learn more about the tour at pkbgt.org or by contacting Tour Director Mike Parker at mparker@pkbgt.org or 336-347-8537.
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