By Chip Hutcheson
Kentucky Today
A Kentucky native playing on the LPGA Tour has joined with two organizations to promote girls golf in her home state.
Emma Talley, a native of Princeton, Ky., will become a Tradition Ambassador to the Kentucky PGA Junior Tour and the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls Golf Tour (PKBGT) in 2021. The PKBGT season-opening event will bear her name — the two-day Emma Talley Girls Tradition — will be April 17-18, 2021 at Bowling Green Country Club. That is where Talley won three Kentucky state high school championships while playing for Caldwell County High School.
Emmy Talley
“I am excited and honored to be a part of the Emma Talley Girls Tradition on the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls Golf Tour in 2021,” Talley said. “Girls Golf of America has done an excellent job of growing the game and inspiring confidence in young ladies, and it is a privilege to partner with them.”
“The Girls Golf of America Foundation and the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls Golf Tour are proud to partner with Kentucky Junior Golf and Kentucky high school legend Emma Talley to promote girls golf in the state,” Mike Parker, PKBGT director said. “The Emma Talley Girls Tradition will provide a national platform for girls to compete and shine a light on the great golfing talent among Kentucky’s girls.”
Talley played golf at the University of Alabama, where she won an individual NCAA championship. She just completed her third year on the LPGA Tour, winning $146,423 this year and finishing 73rd on the official tour money list. She has won $684,946 in her career.
Talley concluded the season ranked 24th on the LPGA Tour in driving accuracy, hitting 78.5 percent of fairways. She was 29th in greens in regulation, hitting 69.44 percent. But she was 126th in putting average at just under 31 putts per round. Talley was 55th in total birdies with 138.
In addition to the April tournament, a personalized experience for players of the PKBGT will be hosted by Talley in the future. The structure and date of this experience are to-be-determined because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the recent announcement of the LPGA Tour’s schedule. This experience will be designed to give girls of Kentucky the opportunity to learn from Talley, interact with her and help further the juniors’ love for golf.
In 2021, the PKBGT will feature over 1,000 members and operate over 110 tournaments in 11 states across the Eastern United States. PKBGT events frequently rank as some of the top 100 ranked girls’ events in the country.
The LPGA Tour resumes Feb. 25-28 at the Ganbridge Championship in Florida. There are 34 official events across North America, Europe and Asia this year, with two new events added to the tournament calendar and players competing for a record $76.45 million in official purses.
