On Saturday-Sunday, March 9-10, the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls’ Golf Tour plays the 2019 Tar Heel Classic at UNC Finley Golf Course in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The Tour returns home to our home state to continue the college course tour following a road trip through some of the finest campuses the south has to offer.
Originating dubbed the “NC University Classic”, Tar Heel Classic pays homage to the Tar Heels Women’s Golf team who call UNC-Finley Golf Course their home throughout the season. With a rich history and epic battles of the Tour’s top players in previous season, this year’s field of 90 competitors is right there with the best of them.
The players will be separated into three divisions of competition: Bell National competing at 5,950 yards, Prep Preview competing at 5,650 yards and Futures National competing at 5,100 yards.
We take a closer look at the field for the 2019 Tar Heel Classic!
Bell National
Headlining the 42 player Bell National field is the number one ranked player on the PKBGT Performance Index, Amanda Sambach (Davidson, NC 2021). Along with her top ranking on the Performance Index, Sambach is ranked 32 on the Junior Golf Scoreboard (JGS). With two top-three finishes on the season, Sambach looks to nab her first win of 2019.
Making her first appearance of the 2019 campaign, Caroline Curtis (Richmond, VA 2019) enters the event ranked fifth on the PKBG Performance Index. The seven-year PKBGT vet is currently ranked 69 on the JGS and looks to make a splash at the event which she won two years ago.
Ranked sixth on the PKBGT Performance Index, Danielle Suh (Herndon, VA 2020) competes in her first event since the PKBGT Invitational in November. Suh is currently ranked in the Top 500 on the JGS.
Kendall Turner (Chesapeake, VA 2019) returns to the Tour for the first time since her seventh place finish at the PKBGT Invitational. Turner, ranked inside the Top 500 on the JGS, is the ranked seventh on the PKBGT Performance Index and looks to improve that position in Chapel Hill.
Rounding out the players to watch in the Bell National field is Maria Atwood (Holly Springs, NC 2022). Atwood is ranked tenth on the PKBGT Performance Index and is in the Top 500 on the JGS. Her top finish in the 2019 season came at the PKB Junior in December where she ended the tournament T2.
Prep Preview
Sydney Yermish (Wynnewood, PA 2023) is ranked 77th on the PKBGT Performance Index, the highest ranking of the 24 player Prep Preview field. This will be the first appearance in the Prep Preview division for Yermish this season. Her previous best finish was T12 in the Bell National field at the PKB Junior.
Entering the tournament ranked 92nd on the PKBGT Performance Index is Macy Pate (Boone, NC 2024). Pate is riding a second place finish at the 2019 Orange Whip Classic and looks to continue that success in next weekend’s tournament.
With a T10 finish at the PKBGT Tournament of Champions under her belt, Sydney Hackett (Ashburn, VA 2022) takes the course in Chapel Hill ranked 97th on the PKBGT Performance Index. Hackett hopes to build on her performance at Pinehurst No. 8 in January.
Amber Mackiewicz (Virginia Beach, VA 2023) enters the tournament ranked 115th on the PKBGT Performance Index. Mackiewicz finished T2 at the PKBGT Tournament of Champions at Pinehurst No. 8 in January. She has also competed in the Bell National division at several events this season.
No stranger to Top 10 finishes this season, Autumn Carey (Manning, SC 2022) is back at it in the 2019 Tar Heel Classic. She earned her second T2 of the season at the 2019 RocketTour Players Championship in Athens, GA her last appearance on the course. The other came at the PKBGT Tournament of Champions.
Futures National
Sophie Lauture (Raleigh, NC 2024) tops the 24 player Futures National field as the number one ranked player on the Futures National Order of Merit. Lauture had a strong two week period in February, finishing second at the 2019 Orange Whip Classic before winning the 2019 RocketTour Players Championship at the University of Georgia.
Currently sitting in third place on the Futures National Order of Merit is Grace Ridenour (Cary, NC 2025). Ridenour has yet to finish outside the Top Three in her three events this season, capped by a win at the Palmetto Dunes Resort Classic in November.
A win at the PKB Junior in December followed by a fifth place finish at the PKB Foundation Classic set Abby Hunter (Blacksburg, VA 2021) in contention for the Futures National Order of Merit. She is currently ranked fifth on the OOM and is coming off a T8 finish at the 2019 Orange Whip Classic.
Final Thoughts
With a strong history as one of the most competitive events on the PKBGT, we look forward to all of the talent to take the course for the 2019 Tar Heel Classic! We wish all of the competitors in each division the best of luck and anticipate an electric event at the home course of the UNC Tar Heels Women’s Golf Team.
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 players’ pace. The 2019 season will feature over 90 tournaments in 9 states on the East Coast and with over 900 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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