{"id":15676,"date":"2026-11-09T14:49:27","date_gmt":"2026-11-09T19:49:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pkbgt.org\/news\/?p=15676"},"modified":"2026-11-09T15:19:00","modified_gmt":"2026-11-09T20:19:00","slug":"inside-the-field-the-18th-pkbgt-invitational","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pkbgt.org\/news\/inside-the-field-the-18th-pkbgt-invitational\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the Field: the 18th PKBGT Invitational"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Greensboro, N.C. (Nov. 9, 2026) \u2014<\/strong> It is officially Invitational week on the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls Tour! This weekend the top players from the PKBGT will head to Wilmington for the 18th PKBGT Invitational. With players from 14 different states, let’s take a look inside the field!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another Chapter at the Country Club of Landfall<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We’re very excited to be traveling back to the Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, N.C.! The Country Club of Landfall is one of the finest private, member-owned clubs in the South, comprised of two championship courses boasting a total of 45 holes \u2014 with three 9-hole courses designed by Jack Nicklaus and the 18-hole course by Pete Dye, the latter of which will host the PKBGT Invitational.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Country Club of Landfall annually hosts one of the top women’s collegiate events in the country, the Landfall Tradition<\/a>, every October. With the Landfall Tradition recently concluded just a few weeks beforehand, the PKBGT Invitational will be set up as close as possible to the collegiate event, allowing players to be able to directly compare themselves to the nation’s top collegiate players in a competitive environment!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Past Champions Achieve Great Heights<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Fifteen different players have raised the championship trophy at the PKBGT Invitational in its 17 year history \u2014 you can view the event history here<\/a>.\u00a0The inaugural Invitational champion Katherine Perry Hamski played professionally on the LPGA Tour and now is the assistant coach at her alma mater, UNC-Chapel Hill. Several players have gone on to play professionally as well such as the 2011 and 2012 champion Lucia Polo and the 2013 champion Anna Redding.\u00a0The Wake Forest University duo of 2014 champion Emilia Migliaccio and 2015 champion Rachel Kuehn were two of the top amateur players in the world and helped lead the Demon Deacons to a National Championship. Rachel earned her LPGA Tour card through Epson Tour this season while Emilia is a broadcaster on the Golf Channel while continuing to play in amateur events. Macy Pate, the 2022 champion, is another past champion who now plays for Wake Forest, where she was named the 2024 ACC Freshman of the Year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent University of Virginia graduate Amanda Sambach, the 2017 and 2019 champion, claimed nine top-10 finishes in her amateur career, including a win at the Pacific Rim Collegiate Golf Super League Tournament. The 2018 champion Anna Morgan, a recent Furman University graduate, has earned her Ladies European Tour card. The champion of 2024, Grace Ridenour, just began her time at UNC-Chapel Hill under the tutelage of Katherine Perry Hamski! These are just a few of the impressive accolades of our past Invitational champions. We’re excited to watch these ladies as they continue their success at the higher levels!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strength of Field in a Class by Itself<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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The PKBGT Invitational is perennially ranked as a top-25 tournament in the country. While this event typically boasts a strong field, the 18th<\/sup> rendition of the Invitational will feature one of its highest-ranked fields ever, with 61 players of the 66-person field inside the top 1,000 on Junior Golf Scoreboard’s national rankings. Even more notably, 30 of these players rank inside the top 500, and 11 inside the top 250.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of the many amazing players joining us at the 18th PKBGT Invitational, 2023 champion Macie Rasmussen<\/strong> (Chesapeake, VA 2027) will be returning with a chance to make history by becoming the third player to win multiple PKBGT Invitationals and the first player to win both the Spring and Fall Invitational in the same calendar year!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Best of the Best<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Ever-bettering, the 18th PKBGT Invitational continues to boast a star-studded field, with several players ranked within the top 100 in the country by the Junior Golf Scoreboard. Macie Rasmussen is the highest ranked player in the field coming into the week ranked 12th in the nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aubrey Hilgers<\/strong> (Litchfield Park, AZ 2028) is nationally ranked at #29 on JGS and aims to build off her success at last year’s Invitational where she finished third. Fellow medalist from a year ago, Ira Joshi<\/strong> (Pinehurst, NC 2029), is ranked 69th in the nation and returns to Wilmington after finishing in a tie for fifth last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 98th ranked player in the country, Alyssa Zhang<\/strong> (Allison Park, NY 2028), will be making her second Invitational appearance while the 99th ranked player in the country, Victoria Davis<\/strong> (Cary, NC 2028), will be making her third appearance this week. Riley Grimm<\/strong> (Pinehurst, NC 2028) will head to Wilmington ranked 103rd in the country and looks to continue her strong play at the PKBGT Invitational where she has two runner-up finishes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Highest Ranked Players<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In addition to our previously featured players, eight other players in the field are currently ranked inside the top 300 players in the country by the Junior Golf Scoreboard, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n