The inaugural Linville Cup Team Challenge and Leadership Retreat is in the books! The Linville Cup is designed to reward and enrich the lives of the top finishers of the 2017 Peggy Kirk Bell Girls’ Golf Tour with a weekend of team golf and leadership seminars. Building on our motto of “more than a golf tournament”, this special weekend will bring together players who have excelled in the past year to Pinehurst, the home of American golf and at Pine Needles/Mid Pines GC, the home of our tour namesake.
Final Round Recap
The inaugural Linville Cup ended in dramatic fashion coming down to the final group of the championship match. An early victory by dynamic pair Amelia Cho and Emily Wang got Team Middle Atlantic a point on the board early, but a 4 and 3 victory by NC East team members Erin Singleton and Anika Bhatnagar quickly tied the match up. In match 3, Middle Atlantic duo Paris Fieldings and Jessica Rathbone won their match 3 and 2 over Katelyn Kenthack and Halynn Lee to help propel Middle Atlantic to a 2-1 lead. Meanwhile, match 2 of the championship match up had made its way through all 9 holes, with NC East’s Grace Holcomb and Kayla Dowell winning 2 UP after the final hole. At the end, it all came down to a hard fought match between Middle Atlantics Elizabeth Coffren and Tatum Walsh versus NC East’s Maria Atwood and Megan Kanaby. NC East secured the final point after Atwood sunk a clutch 8 footer for par, to help NC East take home the inaugural Linville Cup!
In the consolation match, NC West secured a 4-1 victory over team Southeast. Wins by Dial and Song, Crane and Denhard, Ketchum and Meric in addition to a win by Wessels and Cook helped lead the team to victory and secure 3rd place in the inaugural Linville Cup. Match 5 between Southeast’s Catherine Stoerker/Shae Payne and Charleigh Hodges/ Nicole Kramer was the only match to go extra holes in Monday’s final round, in which both teams had to play true alternate shot. Stoerker and Payne won the match after playing an extra hole in a sudden death playoff.
Win or lose, team spirit, sportsmanship and new friendships made the inaugural Linville Cup one to remember. Thank you to our players, coaches and sponsors for making this event extra special! We look forward to the future of this championship event and growing and inspiring young junior girl golfers!
About the Coaches
Team North Carolina East
Julie Shore – Retired from IBM, EWGA of Raleigh Board Member
Katherine Perry – Graduate of UNC Chapel Hill, PKBGT Alumna & LPGA Tour Member
Team North Carolina West
Shonda Jones – Associate Dean at Wake Forest, Executive Women’s Golf Assoc. Board Member
Allison Emrey – Graduate of Wake Forest Univ., PKBGT Alumna & 2018 LPGA Tour Member
Team Middle Atlantic
Bonnie McGowan – Golfer Director and Daughter of Tour Matriarch Peggy Kirk Bell
Katie Kirk – Graduate of East Carolina Univ. & former PKBGT Order of Merit Champion
Team Southeast
Kristen Rooke – Board Member, WSCGA Junior Golf Foundation
Allyson Markiewicz – Business Economics graduate of Wofford Univ. & PKBGT Alumna
Each team consists of 10 players who excelled on the PKBGT in 2017; and therefore, have been chosen to represent their region at the inaugural Linville Cup.
The Linville Cup features multiple opportunities for players to interact with the coaches and staff. Mentorship is a big component of this event and we hope the players take away many life lessons, confidence and friendships to build their golfing careers on.
Our coaches are ex-collegiate golfers as well as women business leaders who will share their experiences with the girls. This event provides a unique experience for players to compete and develop in a team environment.
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 last 20 years, including current LPGA Tour rookie & 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 low cost, nationally ranked girls’ golf tournaments designed to prepare junior girls’ golfers for high school and 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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