{"id":15312,"date":"2025-08-18T11:16:19","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T15:16:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pkbgt.org\/news\/?p=15312"},"modified":"2025-08-18T11:21:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T15:21:08","slug":"pkbgt-alumnaes-recent-success-on-the-epson-tour-race-for-the-card","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pkbgt.org\/news\/pkbgt-alumnaes-recent-success-on-the-epson-tour-race-for-the-card\/","title":{"rendered":"PKBGT Alumnae’s Recent Success on the Epson Tour, Race for the Card"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Greensboro, N.C. (Aug. 12, 2025) \u2014<\/strong> Within the span of five months, four PKBGT alumnae gained seven wins on the Epson Tour, with two already securing their spot their LPGA Tour status via the Epson Tour’s Race for the Card. Two North Carolinian class of 2018 graduates, Gina Kim and Riley Smyth, one Ohioan 2015 graduate, Jillian Hollis, and a 2020 New York graduate, Melanie Green, have had immense success on the Epson Tour this year, with Kim winning three events, Smyth winning twice and Hollis and Green each winning one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent Epson Tour Wins<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

With one win already under her belt from the Inova Mission Inn Resort & Club Championship in her first professional season, Kim seemed ready and waiting to add wins two, three and four to her roster. The first event this season where Kim took home the winning hardware was the IOA Golf Classic presented by Aperture, held over March 14-16, 2025, in Longwood, Fl. Nearly two months later to the day, Kim took first again at the Copper Rock Championship, held May 15-17, 2025, in Hurricane, Utah. Keeping her wins spread out by approximately two months, her third win this season occurred July 10-13, 2025, at the Hartford HealthCare Women’s Championship presented by Munich Re.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

March saw Smyth\u2019s first ever professional win, and it\u2019s clear she\u2019s eager for more as she scored her second victory just three months later. Over February 28 to March 2, 2025, Smyth earned her first professional win at the Central Florida Championship in Winter Haven, Fl. and her second at the Great Lakes Championship at the Highlands presented by Johnnie Walker, held June 13-15, 2025, in Harbor Springs, Mich.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beginning her rookie year in 2018, Hollis has now accumulated four wins under her belt, with the most recent being at the Otter Creek Championship presented by Case Construction, held June 27-29, 2025, in Columbus, Ind. Her first two victories came in 2019, at the IOA Championship presented by Morongo Casino Resort & Spa and the The Forsyth Classic presented by the Decatur Park District, while her third professional win was claimed at the Circling Raven Championship in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her rookie year, Green took first at the Island Resort Championship presented by Delta County Chamber, held June 20-22, 2025 in Harris, Mich. In her ten starts this season, Green has made top-10 four times, with this being her first win and her lowest tournament score on the Epson Tour thus far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Riley Smyth after winning the Great Lakes Championship<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A History in PKBGT<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Both aged 25, Kim began her professional golf career in 2022, while Smyth followed just after by starting her rookie season in 2023. Two years younger at 23 years old, Green is just beginning her professional golf career with the Epson Tour, while veteran player Hollis stands at age 28 in her eighth active professional year. Despite the differences in age, their various golfing journeys can all be traced back to the PKBGT, where they all played events throughout middle school and high school. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between 2011 and 2016, Kim competed in 20 PKBGT events. Kim had seven wins under her belt throughout her time in the PKBGT, with 5 in the 2012 season. She also was the Bell National division champion of the Tar Heel Classic back to back years in 2015 and 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the while, Smyth played 31 events across three different divisions and two different series; Bell National, Prep Preview, and Prep North Carolina. Having played from 2014 to 2018, 18 of those 31 events saw her finishing in the top-10, with one being a PKBGT win at the Chanticleer Classic in 2015. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beginning her time at PKBGT during Kim and Smyth\u2019s final year, Green played in the PKBGT between 2018 and 2020. In the three years she played on tour, Green claimed two wins at the Mid-Atlantic Championship at Hillendale Country Club in 2018 and the PKBGT Tournament of Champions at Pinehurst #8 in 2019. Of the six events she played, she finished in the top-10 five times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jillian Hollis played three PKBGT events in 2013, one of which included winning the PKBGT Open Championship at the Country Club of Salisbury with impressive rounds of 73-70-70 for a total of 213 (E). Hollis also tied for fifth at the PKBGT Masters, helping her to a seventh place finish in the 2013 Bell National Order of Merit standings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Epson Tour’s Race for the Card<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Green and Kim have also officially locked in their spot in the Epson Tour Race for the Card, securing LPGA Tour status for the 2026 season. Of the 20 categories the LPGA uses to determine a player’s eligibility to compete in events, both Green and Kim have locked in spots in Category 9, giving them incredible leeway. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the top-10 players on the Epson Tour Money List are who gain Category 9 status, Smyth can also hold a spot in that category as long as she is able to hold her current position of seventh place. Meanwhile, Hollis is currently listed at 17, so to reach Category 14, she would need to land in spots 11-15.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With 12 spots still left in the Race for the Card, we’re cheering on their fellow PKBGT alumnae as they vie for LPGA Tour status! We\u2019re very proud to see everything these four alumnae \u2014 and all others \u2014 have accomplished, and we look forward to seeing everything they achieve in the future!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the PKBGT<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

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<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Greensboro, N.C. (Aug. 12, 2025) \u2014 Within the span of five months, four PKBGT alumnae gained seven wins on the Epson Tour, with two already securing their spot their LPGA Tour status via the Epson Tour’s Race for the Card. Two North Carolinian class of 2018 graduates, Gina Kim and Riley Smyth, one Ohioan 2015 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[432],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-event_news"],"yoast_head":"\nPKBGT Alumnae's Recent Success on the Epson Tour, Race for the Card - PKB Girls' Tour News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pkbgt.org\/news\/pkbgt-alumnaes-recent-success-on-the-epson-tour-race-for-the-card\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"PKBGT Alumnae's Recent Success on the Epson Tour, Race for the Card - PKB Girls' Tour News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Greensboro, N.C. 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