Southern Pines, N.C. — The Peggy Kirk Bell Girls’ Golf Tour in partnership with the LPGA Foundation and Girls Golf headed to Pine Needles Resort, host to four US Women’s Opens, for the inaugural LPGA*USGA Girls Golf National Championship.
It was a week to remember in Southern Pines for the 144 girls and families who participated in the inaugural LPGA*USGA Girls Golf National Championship! The week for the players began with check-in, where they received their player gifts from the championship’s sponsors, and a welcome banquet, where players and families were welcomed to Pine Needles by Stephanie Peareth, the LPGA Foundation’s Director of Operations, and Mike Parker, the PKBGT’s Executive Director. Special guests Mo Martin, 2014 British Women’s Open Champion, Emilia Migliaccio Doran, PKBGT alumni & NCAA National Champion, Dr. Beth Brown, Senior Player Development Advisor for USNDP, & Brandi Jackson, College Recruiting specialist, shared great insights and advice to the young players eager to achieve the success the speakers had. Throughout the field, players came to event from 32 states and 5 countries creating a field representative of a National Championship!
After practice rounds on Monday, play commenced at 7:30 AM Tuesday morning when Western Kentucky commit Reagan Ramage (Burlington, KY 2025) hit the opening tee shot. 66 players competed in the Bell National division playing three rounds from 6,000 yards with a cut to the top-35 & ties after the second round. The Futures National division saw 57 players competing from 5,100 yards for three rounds with a cut to the top-29 & ties after the second round. 18 Discovery players competed for two rounds that consisted of nine holes to decide the National Champion.
Vivi Yen (Pomana, CA 2027) fired the only round under par in the Bell National division on Tuesday. Yen made three birdies and an eagle during her round of 71 (-1) giving her a one-shot lead over Pinehurst local, Riley Grimm. Yen fell back to the pack during the second round with a 75 (+3). After consecutive rounds of even par, Grimm held the 36-hole lead at the inaugural National Championship by one over Leigh Allen (Cataula, GA 2025) & Maria Isabella Errichetto (Southern Pines, NC 2027). After the second round, the field was reduced to the top 35 players with the cutline at 157 (+13).
Before the leaders begun their final round, players were already looking to make one final charge for the title. At one point, eight players were within two shots of the Bell National lead! Reagan Ramage & Julie Waldo (Prattville, AL 2026) would fire rounds of 68 (-4), matching the low rounds of the tournament, showing the leaders that birdies were out there. After matching birdies on the 6th and 7th holes, Grimm & Errichetto turned it into a two-girl race to the finish between the Pinehurst locals! After a birdie on the 12th, Errichetto matched Grimm’s lead. Then a bogey for Grimm on the par-3 13th, vaulted Errichetto into the lead. The 14th hole saw another two shot swing with Grimm making birdie and Errichetto recording a bogey.
Grimm held the lead by one with four to play. Errichetto reached the par-5 15th in two shots but settled for a two-putt birdie, while Grimm matched her birdie with an impressive up-and-down from the green side bunker. The pair played the next two holes perfectly, both making pars. Both players found the fairway on the 18th hole with Errichetto hitting her approach safely into the middle of the green. Grimm mishit her second and found the green side bunker setting the stage for a dramatic finish around the 18th green. Grimm hit the shot of the tournament with her splash from the bunker leaving her with a tap-in par, putting the pressure on Errichetto to make her putt and force the playoff. When the putt didn’t drop, Grimm had won the inaugural Championship. No love was lost by the local friends, as Errichetto joined in on the water shower given to the champion as she walked off the 18th green.
Five players shot under-par during the first round in the Futures National division. Anna Wu (Victoria, Canada 2029) & Hannah Ingersoll (Dyer, IN 2027) opened with impressive rounds of 68 (-4) to share the overnight lead. The second round was a much tougher day for scoring, but not for Natalia Henderson (Southern Pines, NC 2029). Henderson shot the low round of the day and her career, a 69 (-3). Her five birdies and eagle were good enough to give her a two-shot lead entering the final round. The cutline for the Futures National division was 160 (+16) with 30 players making the final round.
Henderson did not get off to the start she was hoping to begin the final round on Thursday. A triple bogey-bogey start saw her lose her lead early. She showed great resilience by making two birdies to close the front nine and played her remaining holes in level par. But the day would belong to the Canadian Anna Wu. Wu made five birdies and took control of the day early on, ultimately winning by two strokes and was the only Futures National player to finish under par for the week.
While the Discovery division, ended a day earlier than the other divisions, it was not short on excitement! Three players, Madelyn Dickerson (Debary, FL 2033), Angelina Chang (Aurora, Canada 2032), & Isabella Miller (Apopka, FL 2032) were all tied for the lead after shooting opening rounds of 37 (+1). The final round would come down to the 18th hole with Chang leading Dickerson by one stroke. Chang missed the green short and failed to get up and down to save par, for the moment tying her with Dickerson. Dickerson had played the hole perfectly and left herself a birdie chance to win the National Championship. Her putt nearly missed, setting up a playoff at the Inaugural event!
The playoff was held on the par-5 first hole. With large galleries watching, both players hit excellent tee shots and second shots on the lengthy hole, setting up wedges into the green. Chang missed the green with her approach and Dickerson took advantage. She hit her wedge to inside two-feet putting the pressure on Chang. Chang would fail to get up and down, allowing Dickerson to calmly sink her winning putt.
This historic week has been memorable for everybody involved from the players, to the parents, tournament staff, volunteers, sponsors, and course staff. The LPGA Foundation, Girls Golf, and the PKBGT would like to thank the amazing sponsors who were unbelievable to all the players this week helping to make this week one the players won’t forget. They would also like to give a huge thank you to the Pine Needles Resort for their gracious and non-stop support the entire week. Congratulations to our inaugural National Champions and all our players from this week! We are so excited to see the event grow over the coming years and the places our inaugural field will go!
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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/.
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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