Media Release

Contact:

Jonathan Dudley

Director of Programming

Triad Youth Golf Foundation

Phone: 336-510-4653

Fax: 336-545-9913

Email: jdudley@tygf.org

Website: www.tygf.org

January 6, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Peggy Kirk Bell honored with title name of the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls Golf Tour

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Greensboro, NC - Peggy Kirk Bell, charter member of the LPGA and the recipient of the Professional Golf Association’s 2007 “First Lady of Golf Award”, is continuing her legacy of expanding the game for women. Mrs. Bell will be honored by the Triad Youth Golf Foundation with the title name of the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls Golf Tour and will serve as the honorary chairperson of the tour.

Administered by the Triad Youth Golf Foundation, the Carolina’s based Tour is the second “Girls only” golf tour in the nation and it is directed by the LPGA/USGA Girls Golf programs of Greensboro & Winston-Salem.

“I am excited and honored to be a part of a great opportunity to spread the game of golf to lady golfers across the Carolinas,” stated Mrs. Bell.

This year the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls Golf Tour will offer two stages of competition: a collegiate division for girls preparing to play in college & beyond and a futures division designed for players looking to gain tournament experience for middle & high school golf. All events will be held in a girl’s only atmosphere and directed by the LPGA/USGA Girls Golf programs of Greensboro & Winston-Salem.

The Girls Golf Tour began in 2007 with 63 participants from the Carolina’s and surrounding states. “With the Tour, we saw an opportunity to meet a need for girls in the Carolinas who enjoyed the game of golf, but did not have a local tour to compete on to develop their games based on their different levels of skill.” states Chris Haarlow, TYGF co-founder and 4-time US Kids Golf “Top 50 Kids Teacher in the US” Award Winner.

“We are very excited to honor Mrs. Bell and have her input with the Tour. She is a legend in the sport and it will be a great opportunity for the young girls in the Carolina’s to learn more about the history of the women’s game as they make set out to make their own” states Robert Linville, the President of the Triad Youth Golf Foundation and the Director of Instruction for Robert Linville’s Precision Golf School.

Mrs. Bell has always been at the forefront of promoting women’s golf. Raised in Findlay, Ohio Peggy started playing golf at age 17. She took to the game immediately and quickly won a number of titles. She played the ladies amateur tour in the 1940s before the development of a professional tour, winning three Ohio Amateurs and the 1949 Titleholders and North and South Women’s Amateur Golf Championship. She was also a member of the 1950 U.S. Curtis Cup team.

However, her reputation does not stop with her playing abilities on the green grass. As a charter member of the LPGA, she has always been a strong advocate for women’s golf. In the past twenty years, she was voted for the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf, she became the first woman voted into the World Golf Teachers Hall of Fame in 2002, and last year she was named the 2007 PGA First Lady of Golf.

“For us, Peggy Kirk Bell is the perfect role model for the tour,” states TYGF director of programming Jonathan Dudley. “Her life is a living testimony that a strong faith partnered with the exercise of individual talent can transcend any barrier in life.”

In adding Mrs. Bell as honorary chairperson, the Triad Youth Golf Foundation continues to grow its programming for young golfers in the Carolina’s. Since 1999, the Triad Youth Golf Foundation has developed innovative ways to engage youth through golf, including outreach clinics through the LPGA/USGA Girls Golf initiative, Golf FORE Juniors Schools programs and beginner youth leagues.

“The Foundation was founded to bridge the gaps for junior golf in our area,” states Vice President Chris Haarlow. In addition, the TYGF tournament division includes two US Kids Golf Local Tours, the JP Looney’s Parent-Child Tour and now, the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls Golf Tour.

The 2008 Peggy Kirk Bell Girls Golf Tour will kick-off at Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club in Pinehurst, North Carolina on Saturday & Sunday, March 1^st and 2^nd. The Tour will feature seven events across North Carolina with the Tour Championship scheduled for Thursday & Friday, June 12^th and 13^th.

For more information, go online at tygf.org or call 336-510-4653 for more information.