On Tuesday-Wednesday, July 23-24, the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls’ Golf Tour plays the 2019 PKBGT NOVA Girls Championship at Hidden Creek Country Club in Reston, VA.
In another stop on the 2019 season’s farewell tour, the PKBGT National Series returns to the Middle Atlantic region for one final event. We bid adieu to the Palmetto State two weeks prior at the Southeast Classic. Reston, Virginia is the final destination for a mid-week championship event highlighting the elite talent of the northernmost PKBGT membership.
Hidden Valley Country Club played host to the PKBGT’s last convoy north, and this time around, we’re replacing the valley with a creek. Don’t let the similarity deceive your eyes, Hidden Creek Country Club hosts the 2019 PKBGT NOVA Girls Championship. A gathering of 31 players split between two divisions: Bell National at 5,828 yards and Futures National at 5,235 yards.
With the PKBGT Tour Championship peering around the corner, the opportunity to advance in the National Order of Merit rankings dwindles. Five events remain – at the conclusion of this weekend’s Precision Girls Championship, that number drops to four. More importantly, for many residents of Virginia, Maryland and further north, the NOVA Girls Championship is the final chance to make a move and improve their spot.
Peaking into triple digits this weekend, sunshine will remain though temperatures will return to more comfortable conditions. The field is set and their eyes are on the prize. Let’s take a look at the players to watch in next week’s PKBGT NOVA Girls Championship!
Bell National
Returning to defend her honor, Danielle Suh (Herndon, VA 2020) enters the 2019 NOVA Girls Championship with a repeat in mind. Winning last year’s event, Suh hopes to walk out of Reston bearing the two-time champion title by going back-to-back. She is the highest-ranked player on the PKBGT Performance Index in the field, currently in 13th place. Inside the top ten of the Bell National Order of Merit, Suh hopes to jump ahead from No. 9 and top her season-best T4 finish which came at the LPGA Pure Silk Girls Junior Championship.
After a strong showing in the Prep Preview division this season, Sydney Hackett (Ashburn, VA 2022) takes another crack at the Bell Division following her T6 finish at the PKBGT Open Championship. Hackett is ranked 30th on the Performance Index and closed out the Prep Preview Order of Merit in fifth place. She won the PKBGT Masters in the Prep Preview field and hopes to transfer that success into the next level.
Though she hasn’t played often this season, Tatum Walsh (Midlothian, VA 2021) returns to the tour ranked 35th on the Performance Index. Walsh finished T12 in her last appearance at the PKBGT Open Championship and won her first event of the season at the MAPGA Kingsmill Championship Junior Invitational. Currently inside the top 70, she looks to make strides in her Order of Merit ranking before season’s close.
Isabel Bae (Bristow, VA 2021) heads to Reston ranked inside the top 70 of the Performance Index. Bae flirts with the top 20 on the Order of Merit, currently ranked No. 23. Her season-best performance was a third-place finish at the DuPont Girls Classic, and she possesses two T10 finishes at the PKBGT Masters and the Commonwealth Classic.
Futures National
The NOVA Girls Championship is an opportunity for Middle Atlantic regional competitors to generate buzz at the national level. Leading the pack is Cailyn Park (Fairfax, VA 2025), who enters the tournament as the highest nationally ranked competitor on the Futures National Order of Merit. She also heads the Futures Middle Atlantic Order of Merit, presented by Storie Apparel.
Claire Kim (Lorton, VA 2021) enters the tournament as the second-ranked player on the Futures Middle Atlantic Order of Merit. Kim has two top-five finishes in regional events this season: a second-place finish at Pendleton Golf Club and third place at Augustine Golf Club.
Capping off our list of players to watch, Barrett Butler (Bristow, VA 2022) is one spot behind Kim, ranked third on the Futures Middle Atlantic Order of Merit. Butler also possesses two top-five finishes in her regional season. She finished T4 at both Pendleton Golf Club and Shenandoah Valley Golf Club.
Final Thoughts
We would like to wish all of our competitors the best of luck in Reston at the 2019 PKBGT NOVA Girls Championship. There is no better way to send off the 2019 national series in the Middle Atlantic than a two-day mid-week championship event! To stay up to date on the leaderboard, be sure to follow live scoring HERE!
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 player’s 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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