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Camaraderie is key component of all-girls Peggy Kirk Bell Tour
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Published: June 16, 2008
The Peggy Kirk Bell Tour is a rarity because it's all about the girls.
The popularity of the two-year tour was evident last week when more than 60 girls from as far away as West Virginia converged on Pine Brook Country Club for the year-ending tour championship.
The girls played 18 holes on Thursday and 18 more on Friday to determine the year-end champions for the two divisions.
The tour, which has 106 members, is run by the Triad Youth Golf Foundation with help from Precision Golf in Greensboro. The tour, which is for girls ages 12 to 18, gives them a place to compete without the distractions of being thrown into the middle of a boys tournament.
"So many tournaments just kind of have us girls compete but they sometimes don't even pay attention to what we are doing," said Meredith Mock, a sophomore on the Reagan High School golf team. "They run it like a college tournament and the competition is very good."
While the competition is one thing, what sets this tour apart is the camaraderie that's everywhere. One thing that most of the girls have in common is the desire to get better, and this tour offers that.
Nimeeta Bhasker of Advance, 16, goes to Salem Academy and she has been playing in junior golf tournaments since she was 11. She said that the Peggy Kirk Bell Tour is by far the best.
"To have an all-girls tour pretty much in my backyard is great," Bhasker said. "When you are playing in a boys and girls tournament together, you kind of feel like the boys are treated a little better. They treat you very well on this tour and it's fun to compete."
Victoria Allred of Pfafftown, who won the Futures Division Tournament last week with a 79-75, finished second in the points race behind Cassidy England of Madison Heights, Va. The Bell Division is for the older girls with some of them heading off to play in college this fall.
Ashley Sheley, who is from Lexington, S.C., found out about the tour midway through the year and has loved the competition. She hopes to play at Lenior-Rhyne this year as a freshman.
"I think it's really helped me competitively because I don't get a chance to play with too many girls others than the ones on my high-school team," Sheley said. "But we are all friends and we don't have that competitive edge a lot so when you come out here playing against girls you don't know as well you tend to focus more."
Sheley said that she has learned a lot playing on the Peggy Kirk Bell Tour.
"They are very organized with this tour," Sheley said. "There aren't a lot of girls-only golf tournaments and I kind of wish they had more of those in South Carolina."
Another benefit of the tour is that caddies aren't allowed, so players have to carry their own clubs. This is a big deal because it forces them to make their own decisions on the course without the benefit of a parent caddying for them.
Craig and Linda Mock, who are the parents of Meredith, were there to support their daughter and raved about the tour.
"They run this like an LPGA Tour tournament and they really do a nice job with everything," Linda said.
This year's tour had more than double the players from last season. There were seven tournaments offered this year but tour officials say they will likely add tournaments next season.
Meredith Mock said that she was told that the nearest girls-only tour is in Iowa, so she realizes the significance of the Peggy Kirk Bell Tour.
"It's good that there are so many girls out here playing," Mock said. "It's helped my mental game the most because you have to be focused on each shot."
Simpson's pro debut
Webb Simpson made the most of his sponsor's exemption to the PGA Tour stop in Memphis earlier this month.
Simpson, a Raleigh native who graduated from Wake Forest last month, made the cut in his pro debut and tied for 64th to make $12,660.
Simpson has signed with Professional Advisory Group, which is owned by Thomas Parker, a former Wake Forest golfer. Parker, who played for Coach Jerry Haas for two seasons and graduated in 1999, also represents Billy Andrade, Charles Howell III and Carl Pettersson.
Simpson has signed multiyear endorsement deals with Titlest and FootJoy, according to Parker.
Sam Simpson, who is Webb's father, said that it's been a whirlwind of activity since his son turned pro.
"This is a new segment in his life," Sam said. "It's been so much fun to watch him as an amateur and we've had a great time as a family."
The entire family was in Memphis to see Webb tee off as a professional for the first time.
"My wife and I got to thinking about when he was hitting golf balls at 8-years-old; we never dreamed he'd be trying to make a career out it," Sam said.
Sam said that his son, who won three times at Wake Forest and won several more prestigious tournaments as an amateur, was thrilled with how things turned out in college.
"He'll always have a warm spot for Wake Forest and Winston-Salem because he always felt comfortable there and he thrived so it couldn't have worked out any better," Sam said.
Around the green
Jonathan Montgomery of Germanton, 15, shot 68-68 earlier this month to become the youngest winner in the Walnut Cove Rotary Club Men's Amateur Tournament. The 40-year-old tournament was played at Hemlock Golf Course and it has an impressive list of former winners -- Derek Brown, Walter Hall, Arlis Pike and Terry Mills. Montgomery, a junior at South Stokes, is 5-5 and weighs 110 pounds. He beat a field of 60 players….
Donald Reaves, the chancellor at Winston-Salem State, ended his first year at WSSU in style by making his first hole-in-one on May 30 at Tanglewood Park's Championship Course. Reaves, an avid golfer whose daughter, Katie, played golf at Yale, used a 7-iron from 148 yards on hole No. 2….
Chris Logan of Winston-Salem made five birdies in a row and eight overall to fire a 65 to win the championship flight of the Egolf Amateur Tour at Meadowlands earlier this month. Logan's 65 included a back-nine 30. "It could have easily been a 59," said playing partner Tod Dauler of Greensboro, who finished second, eight shots back of Logan, a three-time Forsyth Invitational winner….
High Point's Drew Weaver will be defending his British Am title starting today. Weaver finds it hard to believe that a year has already passed. "I'm exited to go over there and try to defend," said Weaver, who with his win last year played in the Masters and the British Open. Last year, Weaver made headlines because no American had won the British Amateur in 30 years. This year's tournament will be at Turnberry. "Last year I didn't know a lot about this tournament or what to expect," Weaver said, "but this year there's definitely a different feel."
■ John Dell can be reached at 727-4081 or at jdell@wsjournal.com .
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