Lights, Camera Action! Drama Unfolded at the home of the 2022 US Women’s Open
PKBGT TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP
Bell National
Kathryn Ha (Roanoke, VA 2025) opened and closed the Tour Championship with a red number. The PKBGT veteran fired the low Bell National round of the 54 hole championship event on Friday with a round of 69 (-3), which included five birdies. Ha’s flatstick did not have the same amount of luck as Friday, but she battled off a barrage of birdies from her nearest competitors to stay atop the podium one position. Four players held a share of the lead on the final round on Sunday, including Kiera Bartholomew (Wake Forest, NC 2023), Maya Beasley (Pinehurst, NC 2023), and Julia Zigrossi (Spencerport, NY 2023). An untimely error from Ha on the 18th fairway prevented the Roanoke native from winning outright, as she finished the tournament tied at (E) with Bartholomew and Beasley.
Maya was eliminated on the first playoff hole after her approach shot found an awkward lie in the greenside bunker, preventing her from getting up and down for par. Bartholomew and Ha both had chances to shut the door on the first, but neither putt found paydirt. Like the three previous times Bartholomew teed off on the par-four second, she elected to hit the fairway wood off the tee in the playoff. Ha followed with a blast from her driver. Bartholomew hit a fine approach just onto the front edge of the green. With nearly 20 people following the playoff, Katherine Ha sauntered up to her ball and struck her approach just feet from the hole. After what seemed like an eternity, Ha shouted from the fairway, “did that just go in!”. Sure enough, Kathryn’s approach had found the bottom of the cup for an eagle two! As Kiera rushed over to congratulate Katherine on her victory, both players had much to be celebrated. Bartholomew’s third-place finish (lost the scorecard playoff for second) clinched the Bell National Order of Merit title for Kiera.
Futures National
Like the Bell National championship, the Futures National division provided its own fireworks and excitement coming down the stretch on Saturday and Sunday. Raquel Walker (Burke, VA 2026) got the red numbers starting for the younger division with a round of 70 (-2) on Friday. Like the Bell leader, the putting surfaces were not as easy for Walker on Saturday struggling to keep up with Kanchana Duangsam (Haymarket, Va 2025), who lit up Pine Needles dropping five birdies on her outward nine, and two more coming home. Duangsam birdied four consecutive holes before finally slipping on the par-five fifteenth where she made a bogey.
Finishing just a couple of groups ahead of Duangsam, Walker and Kim was Caroline Hawkins (Columbia, SC 2026). Hawkins was quietly putting together her career-low round of 69 (-3) to shoot her into the final foursome on Sunday with Walker, Duangsam, and Kim. Caroline picked up right where she left off on Sunday morning making the early move towards Duangsam after four birdies on her outward nine. By the turn, Hawkins held sole possession of the lead. Caroline added three more birdies on her back-nine and closed the final round with three straight gutsy pars, including a five-foot save on the seventeenth to claim her fourth Futures National title of the season by five over Jenna Kim (Raleigh, NC 2027).
With Kim finishing ahead of Duangsam in the Tour Champion, Jenna Kim was crowned the 2021 Futures National Order of Merit champion after a phenomenal rookie season as an 18-holer on the PKB Girls’ Tour. Kim won five times, she averaged just over a 73 scoring average, and finished runner-up four times over the 2021 season.
About the PKBGT
Founded in 2007 by Girls Golf of America, a non-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization, 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 2020-2021 season will feature over 110 tournaments in 9 states on the East Coast, 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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