Katherine Perry's Pro Golf Fund
Donation protected
Ever since I was 13 years old I have dreamed of playing professional golf. My dad introduced me to golf at the age of 10. He would take me to the driving range to hit balls and have putting contests, and I quickly fell in love with the game. Throughout middle and high school I played in junior golf events primarily in North and South Carolina. I spent every afternoon during the school year and every day during the summer practicing and playing at Lochmere Golf Club in Cary. All of this preparation and time spent was fun and exciting because I knew that every extra ball hit, hole played, or putt rolled would put me one step closer to my professional golf dream.
With the support of my parents all of my hard work paid off during my junior golf career. Some accomplishments included: 2008 & 2009 order of merit champion on the Peggy Kirk Bell Golf Tour, 8 time winner on PKBGT, 2009 North Carolina girls player of year, 2009 & 2011 NC Women's Amateur Champion, qualified for the 2009 US Women's Open, qualified for the 2009 US Junior girls championship, runner up in the North & South Jr. Amateur championship, 2010 N.C. Junior Girls Championship winner, and qualified for the 2010 U.S. Women's Amateur.
These accomplishments led me to a scholarship to play for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I still remember getting the phone call offering me a place on the golf team and crying my eyes out from happiness. You see, UNC was my dream school, and I had the opportunity to put on a UNC uniform and play for the greatest university in the world! (I am a little biased). My four years spent playing for Jan Mann, Patricia Earley, and Leah Buchmann at UNC were amazing, unforgettable, and a wonderful opportunity for me to grow as a person and a golfer. The lifelong friendships that I gained with my teammates was the very best part of my four years at Carolina.
Throughout my collegiate career I carded seven top-10's and seven top-20's. I placed 8th in the 2012 NCAA championship, placed within the top-12 at the ACC Championship four years in a row, and finished third in the UCF challenge and the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate. I also qualified for the 2012 US Women's Open and was awarded NGCA All-America Honorable mention.
In May, 2014 I graduated with a double major in Exercise & sport science and psychology. I decided to further pursue my golf dreams and compete in LPGA qualifying school. Q-school is a series of three tournaments in which players compete to earn status on the LPGA and Symetra tours. The top 100 in stage 1 move on the stage 2, the top 80 in stage 2 advance to stage 3. The top 70 and ties after the 4th day in stage 3 make the cut and play a fifth day. On the fifth and final day of stage 3 the top 20 players earn full LPGA status, 21-45 earn conditional LPGA status, and the rest earn full status on the Symetra Tour for 2015. The Symetra tour is the web.com equivalent for women. In the three stages my scores were: Stage 1- 74-67-69-73 (finish T-4th out of 280), Stage 2- 75-70-67-73 (finish T-10th out of 190), Stage 3- 75-72-69-71-76 (finish T-52nd out of 154). With these finishes I have earned full status on the Symetra tour!
I am looking forward to competing on the tour in 2015, but I will need some financial assistance to make my professional golf dream a reality. Each Symetra tour event (approximately 20) costs $500 to enter. With home expenses (rent, insurance, bills), travel expenses (gas, flights, rental cars, hotel expenses, caddy fees, food) and entry fees added up, my goal to reach the LPGA tour has become an extremely expensive endeavor. I saved up during college to pay my way through q-school ($5500 for entry fees alone) and I work part-time at the golf course and babysit at night to earn some extra money to put towards my golf career. I am careful with how I spend my money, have a drafted budget in place for the year, and will be saving money every way possible in 2015. Unfortunately I don't have nearly enough to compete in a full Symetra tour schedule. I am asking you for your help in reaching my dream. Any amount of money is helpful, and every cent will be appreciated! Thank you so much for your support!
With the support of my parents all of my hard work paid off during my junior golf career. Some accomplishments included: 2008 & 2009 order of merit champion on the Peggy Kirk Bell Golf Tour, 8 time winner on PKBGT, 2009 North Carolina girls player of year, 2009 & 2011 NC Women's Amateur Champion, qualified for the 2009 US Women's Open, qualified for the 2009 US Junior girls championship, runner up in the North & South Jr. Amateur championship, 2010 N.C. Junior Girls Championship winner, and qualified for the 2010 U.S. Women's Amateur.
These accomplishments led me to a scholarship to play for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I still remember getting the phone call offering me a place on the golf team and crying my eyes out from happiness. You see, UNC was my dream school, and I had the opportunity to put on a UNC uniform and play for the greatest university in the world! (I am a little biased). My four years spent playing for Jan Mann, Patricia Earley, and Leah Buchmann at UNC were amazing, unforgettable, and a wonderful opportunity for me to grow as a person and a golfer. The lifelong friendships that I gained with my teammates was the very best part of my four years at Carolina.
Throughout my collegiate career I carded seven top-10's and seven top-20's. I placed 8th in the 2012 NCAA championship, placed within the top-12 at the ACC Championship four years in a row, and finished third in the UCF challenge and the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate. I also qualified for the 2012 US Women's Open and was awarded NGCA All-America Honorable mention.
In May, 2014 I graduated with a double major in Exercise & sport science and psychology. I decided to further pursue my golf dreams and compete in LPGA qualifying school. Q-school is a series of three tournaments in which players compete to earn status on the LPGA and Symetra tours. The top 100 in stage 1 move on the stage 2, the top 80 in stage 2 advance to stage 3. The top 70 and ties after the 4th day in stage 3 make the cut and play a fifth day. On the fifth and final day of stage 3 the top 20 players earn full LPGA status, 21-45 earn conditional LPGA status, and the rest earn full status on the Symetra Tour for 2015. The Symetra tour is the web.com equivalent for women. In the three stages my scores were: Stage 1- 74-67-69-73 (finish T-4th out of 280), Stage 2- 75-70-67-73 (finish T-10th out of 190), Stage 3- 75-72-69-71-76 (finish T-52nd out of 154). With these finishes I have earned full status on the Symetra tour!
I am looking forward to competing on the tour in 2015, but I will need some financial assistance to make my professional golf dream a reality. Each Symetra tour event (approximately 20) costs $500 to enter. With home expenses (rent, insurance, bills), travel expenses (gas, flights, rental cars, hotel expenses, caddy fees, food) and entry fees added up, my goal to reach the LPGA tour has become an extremely expensive endeavor. I saved up during college to pay my way through q-school ($5500 for entry fees alone) and I work part-time at the golf course and babysit at night to earn some extra money to put towards my golf career. I am careful with how I spend my money, have a drafted budget in place for the year, and will be saving money every way possible in 2015. Unfortunately I don't have nearly enough to compete in a full Symetra tour schedule. I am asking you for your help in reaching my dream. Any amount of money is helpful, and every cent will be appreciated! Thank you so much for your support!
Organizer
Katherine Perry
Organizer
Durham, NC
