Pinehurst, N.C. — The Peggy Kirk Bell Girls Golf Tour returned to Pine Needles Lodge & GC as well as Southern Pines GC for the 16th Peggy Kirk Bell Junior. This event held 119 competitors across three divisions to finish off the 2024 season.
The players took advantage of the dry weather on Saturday with over half of the Bell National field shooting in the 70’s. Madison Koshko (State College, PA 2026) led the pack after 18 holes with an opening 71 (-1). Grace Lee (Suwanee, GA 2028) was right behind shooting a 73 (+1) to hold solo second going into Sunday. Five players were tied for 3rd with a 75 (+3) after the opening round at Pine Needles.
2024 Peggy Kirk Bell Junior Bell National Medalists
On Sunday, the rainy and windy conditions were the biggest challenge for the field. Ashnoor Kaur (Roanoke, VA 2027) found the rain to be no challenge while shooting the round of the weekend, 68 (-4). With this impressive round Kaur and Koshko were tied after 36 holes at 143 (-1). Madison Koshko won the playoff on Hole 1, making a long birdie putt to secure the Bell National title. Grace Lee, Elizabeth Ryu (Dublin, OH 2025), and Alisa Davidova (Roanoke, VA 2027) rounded out the top 5 for the field.
In the Prep Preview division, Christine Park (Norwood, NJ 2029) started strong with a 72 (E) to sit in first place after round one. Gayatri Arora (Charlotte, NC 2030) shot a 76 (+4) on Saturday to secure second place after 18 holes. Park was able to hold onto her lead by shooting a 73 (+1) on Sunday to win the division by seven strokes. Ava Romansky (Spartanburg, SC 2026) and Taryn Smoak (Lexington, SC 2026) tied for second respectively by shooting a two day total of 152 (+8). Betsy Mitchell (Kansas City, MO 2029) shot an impressive 70 (-2) on Sunday to jump from 17th to 4th place for the tournament.
2024 Peggy Kirk Bell Junior Prep Preview Medalists
Over at Southern Pines GC, the Futures National division was only able to contest a 27-hole tournament due to severe weather impacting the course on Sunday. Madelyn Dickerson (Debary, FL 2033) impressed again, shooting 77 (+5), 34 (-1) for the weekend to secure the first place trophy. Charlotte Chianese (Clayton, NC 2029) had a strong first round helping her to finish in second place for the tournament. Isabella Zhu (Redmond, WA 2030) and Kirstan Hodges (Concord, NC 2026) tied for third place with a total of 120 (+13).
2024 Peggy Kirk Bell Junior Futures National Medalists
Congratulations to the champions of the 16th Peggy Kirk Bell Junior and all of our medalists from this past weekend. We would also like to thank the staff at Pine Needles and Southern Pines for hosting us this weekend and their amazing hospitality!
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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 2023-2024 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/.
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