Greensboro, NC-The Peggy Kirk Bell Girls’ Golf Tour has expanded its partnership with the Insurance Office of America and the Symetra Tour’s IOA Invitational for 2020 to include sponsorship of both the PKBGT regional series in Florida for 2020, as well as a sponsor exemption into May’s 2020 IOA Invitational in Georgia.
Sponsor Exemption into the 2020 IOA Invitational, May 7-9 in Milton, GA., will be awarded to a top PKBGT player. IOA is currently the presenting sponsor of PKBGT regional series in Central Florida (Greater Orlando) and Central Gulf Coast (Pensacola Region) to provide more developmental opportunities for aspiring girls golfers. These two series will include a combined fourteen events in 2020.
“It is with great pleasure that we announce IOA’s continued partnership with the Symetra Tour as the sponsor for the IOA Invitational hosted at the Atlanta National Golf Club,” said Robert Hamilton, IOA SVP, IOA Tournament Director. “Based on our mission set forth to promote women’s golf, IOA’s founder, John Ritenour, is pleased to partner with the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls’ Golf Tour in allowing their elite players to compete for an exemption to their 2020 event. It is our hope this will continue to create competition and exposure to women’s golf, and I am excited to welcome the qualifying player to our event.”
IOA has sponsored the PKBGT Central Florida Series since its inception in 2018. This is the first season for the PKBGT Central Gulf Coast Series.
“The IOA Invitational is a great opportunity for junior female golfers in the region to be exposed to the professional game and future stars of the LPGA,” says PKB Girls’ Golf Tour Director and Co-Founder Mike Parker. “We are excited to partner with Insurance Office of America and the LPGA Symetra Tour to have an elite PKBGT member compete against the best, including many PKBGT alumni.”
PKBGT alumni represent 23 members of the LPGA and LPGA Symetra Tour in 2020, including an expected 10-12 alumnus who will tee it up at the IOA Invitational in May. IOA previously provided the PKBGT with a sponsor exemption for the 2018 IOA Golf Classic at Alaqua Country Club in Longwood, Florida. Sophie Guo, now a standout performer at the University of Texas at Austin, won the junior qualifier to represent the PKBGT. Guo made the cut and finished tied for 55th.
PKBGT also had a two-year partnership with the now-defunct LPGA Symetra Tour Self Regional Healthcare Classic at the Links at Stoney Point in Greenwood, South Carolina. A PKBGT member participated in 2018- Penn State freshman Lauren Freyvogel – and 2019 – UNC-Chapel Hill freshman Kayla Smith.
PKBGT will select a top performer from the 2020 PKBGT National Series to represent the tour as the sponsor exemption. The PKBGT National Series features 44 events across the East Coast, culminating with the 2020 PKBGT Tour Championship at Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club in Southern Pines, North Carolina, on August 14-16, 2020. The player will be announced in early April.
About PKB Girls’ Golf Tour
Founded in 2007 by Girls Golf of America, a non-profit 501 (c)(3) charitable organization, as a local girl’s golf tour and LPGA-USGA Girls Golf Program 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 focuses on developing tournament experiences as the player’s pace. In 2020, the PKBGT will feature over 1,000 members and operate over 110 tournaments in 10 states across the East Coast. PKBGT Championship events rank as some of the top 100 ranked girls’ events in the country. Learn more about the PKBGT at pkbgt.org.
About Insurance Office of America
Insurance Office of America is a full-service insurance agency founded in 1988 by John Ritenour and Valli Ritenour and is one of the fastest-growing independent agencies in the United States. IOA is ranked 13th on Insurance Journal’s 2019 Top 100 Independent Property/Casualty Agencies report and 23rd on Business Insurance’s 2019 100 Largest Brokers of U.S. Business List. IOA was named a National Underwriter Agency of the Year in 2018. Headquartered in Longwood, Florida, part of the greater Orlando community, IOA has more than 1,000 associates located in over 50 offices in the U.S. and London. For more information, visit ioausa.com.
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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