Both PKBGT alumnae Melanie Green and Catie Craig claimed wins at two separate tournaments this past weekend.
Melanie Green, a Medina, N.Y. native, won big at the Women’s Amateur Championship last Saturday by going 2-up against Lorna McClymont of Scotland. This makes for the first American to win the Women’s Amateur Championship in the last 28 years, showing what a challenging and all the more impressive win this makes.
This victory hands Green an invite to the next two LPGA majors, the Amundi Evian Championship and AIG Women’s Open, alongside two more majors next year, at the Chevron Championship and U.S. Women’s Open. This win has also granted her the highest World Amateur Golf Ranking yet at 38, marking her third win and 20th top-10 finish.
During her time at PKBGT, Green played seven events over three seasons before graduating. Of those, she won two, the 2018 Mid-Atlantic Championship and the 2019 Tournament of Champions, and finished top-10 in four others.
In her time at the University of Central Florida from where she recently graduated, Green received numerous awards, like the American All-Conference Team all four years, and set both single-season and UCF career records for scoring average, rounds of par or better and many other accolades.
Stateside, Catie Craig took first at the North & South Women’s Amateur Championship at Pinehurst Resort on June 29. In the final match, Craig began the day 4 up, allowing her the 4&3 win against fellow PKBGT alumna Macy Pate.
Following her recent win, Craig is now the highest ranked she has reached so far on World Amateur Golf Ranking at 106. This victory makes a total of 5 wins and 12 other top-10 finishes for her.
As a PKBGT golfer, Craig played twenty events of six seasons, from 2016 to 2021. With twelve of those tournaments ending with a top-10 finish, her most notable finish of second at the 2019 Tournament of Champions landed her in sixth in the 2019 Bell National Order of Merit ranking.
As a current Western Kentucky University student, Craig has made quite the name for herself, as she became the first Lady Topper to win the 2023 Conference USA Individual Champion title. She has also received an abundance of awards and titles in her time as a Lady Topper, being named the Conference USA Most Improved Golfer of the Year as a sophomore and earning the C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Medal as both a freshman and sophomore.
We’re very happy to congratulate these two alumnae on their recent wins and look forward to undoubtedly seeing many more!
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/.
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.