{"id":11326,"date":"2019-11-01T21:24:10","date_gmt":"2019-11-01T21:24:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pkbgt.org\/news\/?p=11326"},"modified":"2019-11-15T13:08:59","modified_gmt":"2019-11-15T13:08:59","slug":"20event6_preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pkbgt.org\/news\/20event6_preview\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the Field: 2019 PKBGT Invitational"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are just a week away from the most prestigious event on the year-long PKBGT circuit: The PKBGT Invitational contested at Bermuda Run Country Club in Advance, NC. <\/a><\/p>\n

Played over Veteran\u2019s Day weekend each year, the PKBGT Invitational is a 54-hole championship event played on both the east and west courses of Bermuda Run \u2013 with layouts of over 6200 yards at each venue.<\/p>\n

While this event typically boasts a strong field, the 11th<\/sup> anniversary playing of the Invitational will feature its highest ranked field yet, with 75% of the field ranking inside the top 1,000 on Junior Golf Scoreboard. Even more notable, 31 of these players rank inside the top 500 \u2013 a difficult feat to obtain.<\/p>\n

With players from 15 states and three different countries \u2013 let\u2019s take a look inside this year\u2019s field of 72 at the 2019 PKBGT Invitational!<\/p>\n

Highest Ranked Players<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Entering the field for the fifth time is 2017 PKBGT Invitational Champion and three-time Bell National Order of Merit Champion Amanda Sambach<\/strong> (Davidson, NC 2021). Sambach, who is verbally committed to play collegiately at the University of Virginia, is currently ranked sixth on Junior Golf Scoreboard and first on the PKBGT Performance Index.<\/p>\n

The most victorious PKBGT champion of all time with 17 titles (Bell, Prep and Futures), Sambach holds seven<\/em> PKBGT Major Championship titles in the Bell division, including a first place finish at this year\u2019s 2019 Tour Championship to capture the season-long Order of Merit by just two points.<\/p>\n

Youngest Player in the Field<\/strong><\/h2>\n

They say age is just a number, and that proves to be true for Ellen Yu<\/strong> (High Point, NC 2026) who enters the field at just 12 years old. Yu earned her spot in the field after a strong, 2nd<\/sup> place finish on the 2019 Futures National Order of Merit \u2013 her first season on the Futures National circuit.<\/p>\n

In addition to Yu, the field features two eighth graders, 11 freshman, 18 sophomores, 23 juniors and 11 graduating seniors.<\/p>\n

Verballed, Sealed, Delivered<\/strong><\/h2>\n

14 of the 72 player Invitational field have verbally committed to play collegiate golf:<\/p>\n