Wilmington, NC– The Peggy Kirk Bell Girls Golf Tour headed to the Country Club of Landfall for the final round of the 17th PKBGT Invitational.
Ella Hannant (Pikeville, NC 2027) entered the day in a tie for second place, two shots off the lead, and by the end she was lifting the Invitational trophy! After a back and forth battle and 54 holes, Hannant and Kennedy MacCleery (Crozet, VA 2027) remained deadlocked posting tournament scores of 216 (E)!
Both players played the first five holes of the final round in one over par, before Hannant eagled the par-5 6th to tie MacCleery for the lead. The pair had three multi-shot swings during an exciting back nine, ultimately leading to the 18th tee where Hannant stood with a one shot lead. Both players were able to get around the par five 18th green in two shots. Hannant, playing from the green side bunker, didn’t get up and down ultimately settling for a par. After chipping on, MacCleery had about a 12 foot birdie try to force a playoff. The putt dropped and the pair was heading back to the 18th tee for a sudden death playoff! The first playoff in PKBGT Invitational history!
Both players found the fairway off the tee in the playoff and hit their second shot’s up by the green. After their chips on, MacCleery, facing a steep hill on her chip shot, was away and to putt her birdie try first. MacCleery’s putt slid by, setting the stage for Hannant. Her putt traveled 13 feet before falling to the bottom off the cup, leading to a cheer from the gallery gathered around the green, a fist pump from Hannant, and a championship clinching moment!
Players battled difficult winds all weekend and faced a set up very similar course set up to the prestigious Landfall Collegiate Tradition! Aubrey Hilgers (Litchfield Park, AZ 2028) shot the round of the day with an even par 72 to finish in solo third place. Playing with Hannant & MacCleery, Ava Osborne (Austin, TX 2027) shot a 77 (+5) and finished in fourth place. Finishing in a tie for fifth place was Isabella Anderson (Columbus, OH 2026) & Ira Joshi (Pinehurst, NC 2029) with a tournament score of 221 (+5).
Congratulations to Ella on becoming the 17th PKBGT Invitational champion & to all our medalists this weekend! Thank you to the Country Club of Landfall for their incredible hospitality this weekend and to all our competitors and families for a great weekend at the 17th PKBGT Championship!