LOS ANGELES – Marcus Byrd’s remarkable 2025 season on the Advocates Professional Golf Association (APGA) Tour was one for the ages. The 28-year-old Washington, D.C.-area native secured seven top-10 finishes in nine tournaments – including two victories and four runner-up finishes – to earn the APGA’s Jeff Dailey Player of the Year Award.

Byrd won both the APGA at Port St. Lucie in May and the APGA at TPC Deere Run in July, and finished second at the Cisco Black History Month Classic, APGA Juneteenth Classic, Mastercard Tour Championship and the APGA Cisco Invitational. He was sixth at the APGA at TPC Scottsdale.

The Temple Hills, Maryland resident had already been named champion of the APGA’s Cisco Cup Series in August, and closed the year with 3,026 points in the season-long Jeff Dailey points standings.

“It’s just another sign that I am moving in the right direction,” Byrd said. “It’s something that I can be proud of, take it back home to my family and show them that I’m trying my best to make golf a living.

“It’s awesome to go out here and see a lot of people that look like me who are working hard to get to that next level. There’s so much good going on with the APGA Tour, and there are so many opportunities that come from me playing well.”

Named in honor of the former Farmers Insurance CEO, the Jeff Dailey APGA Tour Player of the Year Award goes to the top player in the season-long points standings. The standings measure players’ consistency and overall performance across all APGA Tour competitions, including the Cisco Cup season, the APGA Farmers Insurance Fall Series and two Cisco Invitational events.

Byrd was awarded a $15,000 bonus. Willie Mack III, Chase Johnson and Luis Gagne placed second, third and fourth in the Player of the Year standings and earned bonuses of $5,000, $3,000 and $2,000, respectively.

“Marcus is a truly deserving winner of this award. His season was incredibly consistent, and it seemed like he had a chance to win every time he teed it up,” said Solomon Hughes, Chief Operating Officer of the APGA. “We are thrilled to see the success that he has enjoyed on the APGA Tour this year and are rooting for him as he pursues his dreams of playing on the PGA TOUR.”

Byrd completed his fifth year on the APGA Tour at last week’s Farmers Fall Series Finale in Tustin, California, and missed only one cut in 14 PGA TOUR Americas events. Additionally, Byrd is one of seven APGA players to advance to the second stage of PGA TOUR Q School, to be held at five sites across the country December 2-5.

“I am pleased with how I played this year, but there’s still always room for improvement, especially to get to the PGA TOUR,” said Byrd, who finished second in the APGA Jeff Dailey Player of the Year standings last season while also playing 20 events on the Korn Ferry Tour. “My goal is to get to the PGA TOUR. Even though I’m not quite there yet … I think the APGA is a great place to help me continue to grow my game.”

In the past year, Byrd has had a taste of what it’s like to play on the PGA TOUR. He made the cut in July at the ISCO Championship, his eighth PGA TOUR start, and on Monday he participated in the 18-hole open qualifying event for this week’s RSM Classic in Sea Island, Georgia – a tournament at which Byrd also made the cut in November 2024.

Chase Johnson won the APGA’s Jeff Dailey Award in 2023 and 2024.

Founded in 2010, the APGA is a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring an inclusive future through the game of golf. For more information on the APGA, visit apgatour.org.

About the APGA Tour  

The APGA Tour was established in 2010 as a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring an inclusive future through the game of golf. The APGA Tour Board of Directors works diligently to accomplish this by hosting and operating professional golf tournaments, player development programs, mentoring programs, and by introducing the game to inner city young people. In addition to conducting 16 tournaments awarding more than $1 million in prize and bonus money, the APGA has organized a Player Development Program to aid golfers as they work to chase their professional golf goals.

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The post MARCUS BYRD EARNS APGA’S JEFF DAILEY PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD WITH REMARKABLE 2025 SEASON appeared first on The Golf Wire.

Willie Mack III closed out his 15^th season on the APGA Tour with a sizzling 9-under-par 63 Thursday at Tustin Ranch Golf Club, besting longtime rival and friend Aaron Grimes through their final-round flurry of birdies to win his 17^th career APGA title – the most among active APGA golfers.

“It kind of means I’ve been out here a long time,” Mack III said. “There’s some great players out here. Anytime I can get a ‘W’ out here, it definitely boosts your confidence. When I first started out here, it was me, Tim O’Neal … there were some great players, but it was more top-heavy back then. Now, pretty much anybody can win if they get hot. The depth of the fields nowadays is pretty good.”

The Flint, Michigan native and Orlando, Florida resident closed the 2025 APGA season in impressive fashion, recording a 36-hole score of 12-under 132 to win by a stroke over Compton, California native Grimes (11-under 133), a 10-year APGA veteran who debuted on the tour in 2016.

Mack III was the APGA’s only three-time winner in 2025, accomplishing that feat over the last six APGA events he competed in. He received 700 points toward the APGA’s Jeff Dailey Standings and a $10,500 prize from the Farmers Fall Series Finale’s $35,000 purse.

Mack III was also named the overall champion of the APGA Farmers Insurance© Fall Series based on his cumulative performance and APGA Jeff Dailey points accumulated in three 36-hole competitions that comprised the series – the APGA at TPC Las Vegas (September 23-24), the APGA Daugherty Foundation Championship (October 1-2) and this week’s Farmers Fall Series Finale.

“This is my first time actually playing any of the Fall Series events.” Mack III said. “I know all the Farmers people come out and support this one. Just having them behind me and supporting me, it’s pretty special to win the Fall Series.”

Mack III also won the APGA at TPC Las Vegas and he earned a $7,000 bonus for winning the Farmers Insurance Fall Series. APGA rookie Jonathan Yoshihiro, of nearby Yorba Linda and a product of Cal State Fullerton, and Jaime Lopez Rivarola collected bonuses of $5,000 and $3,000, respectively, for finishing second and third in the series.

The torrid stretch of play that got Mack III back on track began in teaming with fellow Orlando resident Luis Gagne to win the APGA Two-Man Classic at TPC Louisiana at the end of July. From there began the positive waves of momentum that Mack III hopes will help carry him into competing at the second stage of PGA TOUR Q-School during the first week of December.

“To be able to get my game back the last couple of months has been pretty special, especially going into Q-School,” Mack III said. “I’d been struggling the first part of the season. Confidence was kind of low. Just playing bad.

“It’s been a struggle the whole year, honestly, but I kept grinding and glad it worked out. Trying to fiddle around with clubs too much, so I stopped that. It’s the same set, even from last year. I was messing around with the loft and lies, trying to get more spin and doing stuff I probably shouldn’t have been doing. I’m sticking with what I have right now.”

Mack III overcame a three-stroke deficit entering Thursday’s final round. Mack III and Grimes jumped into a co-lead at 7-under at the turn. Both penciled in birdies over half of their final round (nine birdies) on their Round 2 scorecards.

Mack III posted three consecutive birdies on holes 3-5 and torched Tustin Ranch GC for six birdies in seven holes from Nos. 9-15. Not to be outdone, Grimes posted four birdies on the front nine – on Nos. 1, 2, 6 and 9. The latter birdie started a run of five birdies in six holes, lasting through the 14^th.

Said Mack III: “We have live scoring so I was checking my phone, kind of, the whole day. Yesterday (Wednesday), the back nine, I shot 5-under so I had some pretty good momentum coming into today. It’s my first time here so I was trying to get used to the greens and how they were rolling. I kind of found something with my putting so hopefully I can keep that going the next couple weeks, going into Q-School.

“I’m glad to see him (Aaron) play well. We’re like best friends. I’m glad he could come in second. Knowing him, I know he’s mad, but there’s going to be some good banter going back and forth with both of us. Just pleased that I could get the ‘W.’”

The only difference between Mack III and Grimes, who was in search of his first APGA victory about an hour’s drive from where he grew up, on Thursday was that Mack III played bogey-free while Grimes suffered bogeys on Nos. 4 and 17. The bogey on No. 17 – a missed five-foot putt uphill that turned left of the cup – stayed with Grimes after his tournament concluded.

Said Grimes: “You always want to end the year on a strong note. One back from Willie, I think that’s good enough. He’s a good player, and if I’m around his vicinity on the golf course, I think that’s good. Willie’s one of my best friends. We talk every day. I’m happy for Willie. I knew he was going to put up a number. I was just trying to keep up with him. Bogey-free would have been fine. I had two three-putts, which definitely cost me.

“I really wanted to win it. It would have been huge. I needed a win at this point. I knew I had this one as my last tournament of the year and I really wanted to win. This is what I needed, some competition, and it definitely got me back motivated to keep things going. I’m still trying to scratch my first win out here but I’m getting closer and closer.”

Wyatt Worthington II, of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, started fast out of the gate in the final round with birdies on Nos. 2, 4 and 5 to briefly move into the lead at 7-under. He wound up in a tie for fifth at 7-under 137.

Five of the seven Southern California natives in the 41-man field finished in the top 14 on the leaderboard. Troy Kuramarohit, of Canoga Park, the 2024 Farmers Fall Series Finale champion, posted a 6-under 66 on Thursday to place in a tie for fifth place at 7-under 137.

Yoshihiro tied for eighth at 6-under 138. San Diegan Ryan Ellerbrock tied for 11th at 4-under 140, and Santa Clarita resident Jonathan Kang finished T14 at 3-under 141.

Joe Hooks set the pace in Wednesday’s first round amidst a packed leaderboard with a bogey-free 6-under 66. The Scottsdale, Arizona resident who made his PGA TOUR debut in his hometown of Detroit at the 2025 Rocket Classic recorded four birdies immediately after making the turn – on holes 10 and 11 and 14 and 15.

Among a group of four golfers who shot 5-under 67 and trailed Hooks by one shot were Kang (five of his seven birdies came on the back nine) and 2025 APGA Tour winners Luis Gagne and John-Baptiste Hakizimana.

Another foursome sat two strokes behind Hooks after Round 1 at 4-under, including Grimes – he made birdies on his first two holes and Nos. 10, 13 and 15 – and 2024 tournament runner-up and 2024 Farmers Insurance Fall Series champion Troy Taylor II.

About the APGA Tour  

The APGA Tour was established in 2010 as a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring an inclusive future through the game of golf. The APGA Tour Board of Directors works diligently to accomplish this by hosting and operating professional golf tournaments, player development programs, mentoring programs, and by introducing the game to inner city young people. In addition to conducting 16 tournaments awarding more than $1 million in prize and bonus money, the APGA has organized a Player Development Program to aid golfers as they work to chase their professional golf goals.

Media Contacts
Greg Ball
BZA Public Relations
apga@bzapr.com

The post APGA TOUR CAPS 2025 SEASON AS WILLIE MACK III SECURES 17TH ADVOCATES PROFESSIONAL GOLF ASSOCIATION TOUR VICTORY AT FARMERS FALL SERIES FINALE AND WINS THE FARMERS INSURANCE FALL SERIES appeared first on The Golf Wire.

Stills, 28, from Orlando, Florida, posted a 71-70-71—212 at Spyglass Hill Golf Course to finish at 4-under par and one stroke ahead of Marcus Byrd and Luis Gagne. The win marked a career milestone for Stills, who earned his first APGA Tour title in his seventh season on the APGA.

“It feels so crazy,” Stills said, as the emotions surrounding his first APGA victory clearly came over him. “I have been on this tour for about seven years now, and I have been working really, really hard to get here. I can’t even tell you how I feel right now. I feel so ecstatic, I feel so happy and I’m really honored.

“I don’t want to get emotional, but I have really tried to become the best person that I can as a golfer, and I have learned so much through this tour. I can’t tell you all the times that I have been close. I’ve done so much just to get where I am to make a check. I’m just really, really excited.”

Stills finished runner-up at the 2023 Farmers Insurance Invitational and T2 at the 2024 APGA Two-Man Classic.

With his victory, Stills earned 700 points toward the APGA’s Jeff Dailey standings and a $50,000 winner’s prize from a $150,000 purse – tied for the second-largest purse and winner’s share on the APGA Tour this season.

After the opening round, Byrd and Gagne shared the lead at 4-under 68, while Stills lurked three strokes off the lead. Byrd took sole possession of the lead after a second-round 69 and entered Thursday’s final round with a comfortable four-stroke lead.

As Byrd faltered Thursday, Stills maintained his steady play and got himself in position to win. Birdies on the first, seventh and 14^thholes were enough to propel him to victory.

“I started out really well – I hit it down the middle on No. 1, which is a weird tee shot,” Stills explained. “I have been blowing it in the trees the last two days. But I felt that I had a rhythm today and I could control the golf ball really well. I have been putting really well this week, so I knew that if I could just keep it in front of me and be as brave as possible, I knew I could just go. Honestly, I didn’t even look at the leaderboard. I didn’t know my putt on the last hole meant that much.”

Since joining the APGA Tour in 2019, Stills has become a model of perseverance and consistency, collecting six top-five finishes and four additional top-10s before breaking through this week. A graduate of the University of West Florida, Stills represents the next wave of emerging talent committed to advancing inclusion within the game of golf.

With his victory at Pebble Beach, Stills strengthened his position in the APGA’s season-long Jeff Dailey standings, moving into the top 10 with two tournaments to play in the 2025 season. Byrd, an eight-time APGA winner, has won twice this season and entered Pebble Beach leading the Jeff Dailey standings. Gagne, third in the standings entering the week, has a win and three runner-up finishes this season.

Full results from the Cisco Invitational at Pebble Beach can be found here.

The Cisco Invitational’s exclusive 20-player field was comprised of the top 18 golfers in the final 2025 Cisco Cup standings who accepted invitations along with the top two amateur golfers in the Cisco Junior Series standings – high school students Tye Treadwell (No. 296 American Junior Golf Association ranking), of Omaha, Nebraska, and Isaac Diaz (No. 478 AJGA ranking), of Del Rio, Texas.

The APGA Tour travels to Bradenton, Florida for its 15th tournament of the year at the Billy Horschel Invitational Presented by Cisco (October 20-22 at The Concession Golf Club). The 2025 APGA season runs through November with 16 tournaments from coast to coast.

About the APGA Tour

The APGA Tour was established in 2010 as a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring an inclusive future through the game of golf. The APGA Tour Board of Directors works diligently to accomplish this by hosting and operating professional golf tournaments, player development programs, mentoring programs, and by introducing the game to inner city young people. In addition to conducting 16 tournaments awarding more than $1 million in prize and bonus money, the APGA has organized a Player Development Program to aid golfers as they work to chase their professional golf goals.

Media Contacts
Greg Ball
BZA Public Relations
apga@bzapr.com

The post JOEY STILLS CLAIMS FIRST APGA TOUR TITLE AT THE CISCO INVITATIONAL AT PEBBLE BEACH appeared first on The Golf Wire.

The Cincinnati native backed up a first-round 6-under-par 65 on Wednesday with a final-round 5-under 66 on Thursday to overcome APGA Tour rookie Jonathan Yoshihiro for an overall score of 11-under 131 and a one-stroke victory in the APGA Daugherty Foundation Championship at Glen Echo Country Club.

It is the eighth APGA triumph for Hall, who has played on the APGA Tour since it was established in 2010. He was the first African American to play college golf at Ohio State, serving as a co-captain during his junior (2002-03) and senior (2003-04) years. Hall turned pro in 2005 and broke through to win his first APGA title in 2016 at the APGA Tour Championship.

Hall, 43, has now won APGA events in each of the past three seasons, all after turning 40.

“There were times today, during the round, I thought of Tim O’Neal (former APGA player and current PGA TOUR Champions golfer) and how he continued to win well into his 40s. If he could do it, I can do the same thing,” Hall said. “It means a lot that I am able to get a win here and there.

“It’s an amazing feeling. There are a lot of extremely talented golfers on the APGA Tour, and to be able to hold my own is a satisfying feeling. The level of competition is very high on the APGA Tour, and it drives me to work hard every day and continue to get better.

The APGA Daugherty Foundation Championship is the second of three golf tournaments on the APGA Farmers Insurance© Fall Series. Hall received 500 points toward the APGA’s Jeff Dailey Standings and a $13,500 winner’s prize from a $45,000 purse.

The tournament’s first-round lead was held by Yoshihiro, of Yorba Linda, California, on the strength of a 7-under 64. The Cal State Fullerton graduate made his six birdies over the first 11 holes, including three consecutive birdies on holes 5-7, and closed his round with an eagle on the par-4 18^th hole. Yoshihiro won his first APGA tournament in August at the tour’s most lucrative event, the Mastercard Tour Championship, and has four top-three finishes in his maiden season on the APGA.

Yoshihiro (10-under 132) entered the final round with a one-stroke lead over Hall, and two shots clear of Jonathan Kang, of Santa Clarita, California. Hall opened the final round ablaze, making birdie on three of his first four holes and offsetting Yoshihiro’s eagle on the par-5 fourth hole with an eagle of his own on the par-5 eighth hole to leapfrog Yoshihiro into the lead for the first time at 11-under. Following his tee shot into the eighth fairway, Hall hit his 9-iron approach from 144 yards to 18 feet and made the uphill putt with a slight right-to-left break.

“I think the key was birdieing almost all the holes that were yielding a lot of birdies, and the key was making the eagle on (No.) 8,” said Hall, who prepped his game this week by advancing out of the Pre-Qualifying Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School two weeks ago and placing third at the APGA at TPC Las Vegas last week. “The putter is starting to feel good, and that is key.

“I tried to get all I could on the front nine. Then, the back nine was all about executing shots and not making a mistake coming down the stretch. I would rate my game at around 6 or 7, out of 10, right now. It’s starting to heat up at the right time.”

Yoshihiro, who carded a closing 3-under 68, rallied from two strokes down to start the back nine, briefly catching Hall at 11-under following birdies at Nos. 10 and 12. But the par-4 was pivotal, with Hall making birdie and Yoshihiro making the first of two bogeys over his next three holes, and it gave Hall a lead he would not relinquish.

Hall and Kang each registered seven birdies in Wednesday’s first round. Hall got into red figures following birdies at Nos. 4 and 5 and closed with four birdies over a clean back nine, finishing up with birdies at Nos. 17 and 18. Kang, who played college golf at UC Irvine from 2016-21 and joined the APGA in 2023, strung together five birdies in a seven-hole stretch, tallying them consecutively at the fourth and fifth holes and Nos. 8-10.

Hall’s last APGA triumph, prior to this week, came at the 2024 APGA at Bermuda event. That win granted him an exemption into the PGA TOUR’s 2025 Butterfield Bermuda Championship in mid-November. He will forgo that sponsor exemption, however, so he can compete in the 2025 Deaflympics in Tokyo (Nov. 15-26).

The APGA’s only deaf golfer, Hall has made two starts on the PGA TOUR – as the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption recipient for the 2017 Genesis Open and most recently at the 2021 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The Deaflympics is a personal calling that supersedes the pageantry and potential payday of a PGA TOUR event.

Said Hall: “I have never competed in the Deaflympics and, since it goes every four years, I felt it was time at 43 to go experience it once before it’s too late. I have been blessed to play in a lot of big events and this was one I have yet to do. I felt like I needed to go play in the Deaflympics. It will be one of the greatest honors of my life and I can’t wait.”

Former Howard University  teammates Everett Whiten Jr. (9-under 133), of Chesapeake, Virginia, and Gregory Odom Jr. (8-under 134), a Memphis, Tennessee native, finished third and fourth, respectively. Two-time APGA winner Andrew Walker, the tournament’s 2024 champion from Holt, Michigan, placed T18 at 2-under 140.

The APGA Tour travels west for its 14th tournament of the year and descends on its most iconic tournament locale – Pebble Beach – at the 20-player Cisco Invitational (October 13-16 at Spyglass Hill Golf Course), the last of three 54-hole events on the APGA Tour. The 2025 APGA season runs through November with 16 tournaments from coast to coast.

About the APGA Tour  

The APGA Tour was established in 2010 as a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring an inclusive future through the game of golf. The APGA Tour Board of Directors works diligently to accomplish this by hosting and operating professional golf tournaments, player development programs, mentoring programs, and by introducing the game to inner city young people. In addition to conducting 16 tournaments awarding more than $1 million in prize and bonus money, the APGA has organized a Player Development Program to aid golfers as they work to chase their professional golf goals.

Media Contacts
Greg Ball
BZA Public Relations
apga@bzapr.com

The post KEVIN HALL OUTDUELS JONATHAN YOSHIHIRO IN FINAL-ROUND SHOOTOUT TO EARN HIS EIGHTH ADVOCATES PROFESSIONAL GOLF ASSOCIATION TOUR VICTORY AT APGA DAUGHERTY FOUNDATION CHAMPIONSHIP appeared first on The Golf Wire.

The Flint, Michigan native and Orlando, Florida resident overcame a two-stroke deficit entering Wednesday’s final round of the APGA at TPC Las Vegas, firing a bogey-free 7-under-par 64 to surge past Round 1 leader Jaime Lopez Rivarola for his 16^th career APGA victory – the most among active APGA golfers.

The APGA at TPC Las Vegas is the first of three golf tournaments on the APGA Farmers Insurance© Fall Series. Mack III received 500 points toward the APGA’s Jeff Dailey Standings and a $7,500 first-place prize from a $25,000 purse.

“It’s exciting. They (Farmers Insurance) were my first big sponsor. (That) I can come out here and get the victory with their name on it is special,” Mack III said. “They’ve been supporting me through ups and downs. A lot more ups than downs. I’ve been playing well the last couple weeks so hopefully I can keep doing that the rest of the year.”

An APGA player since 2011, the same year he turned professional, Mack III tallied an overall 36-hole score of 10-under 132 at TPC Las Vegas, besting Rivarola by two strokes to become the third golfer to win multiple APGA titles in 2025, following Marcus Byrd and Kamaiu Johnson.

Mack III has won two of the last four APGA Tour events, after teaming with fellow Orlando resident Luis Gagne to win the APGA Two-Man Classic at TPC Louisiana at the end of July. At that time, Mack III was re-tooling his bag with some new clubs in preparation for the final third of the APGA season and his participation in the first stage of PGA TOUR Q-School in October.

Said Mack III: “For sure, this is a confidence booster going into Pebble (Beach for the APGA’s Cisco Invitational Oct. 13-16). After that is first stage of Q-School. I’m just going to keep doing the same things I’ve been doing and keep everything sharp, and hopefully I can keep playing well.”

Rivarola, a Buenos Aires, Argentina native and Alpharetta, Georgia resident, also was bidding for his second APGA Tour triumph this year. The University of Georgia product most recently captured the APGA at TPC San Antonio in March.

Holding two career APGA titles, Rivarola entered Wednesday’s final round as the tournament leader following a 5-under 66 in Tuesday’s first round. That earned him a one-shot lead over Brian Ohr and Kevin Hall and put him two strokes clear of Mack III. Rivarola and Mack III each registered three birdies on their front nines during Wednesday’s final round.

Rivarola began the back nine with his only bogey of the day on No. 10 and Mack III, playing in the penultimate grouping, briefly caught Rivarola at 7-under with a birdie at No. 12. Rivarola then followed suit with his own birdie on the par-3 12^th to regain a one-shot lead before Mack III overtook Rivarola with consecutive birdies at the par-4 14^th and par-5 15^th holes to get to 9-under. He sealed the win with a closing birdie on the par-4 18^th hole.

“Everything was pretty much on all cylinders,” Mack III said. “I had no bogeys. I had a couple three-putts yesterday so I just told myself if I could not three-putt and keep hitting the ball like I did yesterday, I can put up a good number.”

In Tuesday’s first round, Rivarola rebounded from his sole bogey on the first hole with an eagle on the par-5 fourth hole and birdies on Nos. 6, 8 and 9. He concluded the opening round with his fourth birdie of the day.

Hall traded a birdie with a bogey on his first two holes and then again after the turn, but he made his first-round move with four consecutive birdies on holes 4-7. Ohr recorded a bogey-free first round with three birdies in a four-hole stretch – on Nos. 3, 4, 6 – and a final birdie on the par-4 13^th hole.

Cincinnati native and seven-time APGA winner Hall (6-under 136), who has played on the APGA Tour since it was established in 2010, and Wheeling, Illinois resident Ohr (5-under 137) wound up finishing third and fourth, respectively.

Las Vegas native Marcus Mullins carded an overall score of 9-over 151 (75-76) and placed 36th in his home event. The second-year APGA golfer was the only Nevada player in the 39-man field.

The APGA Tour moves to St. Louis, Missouri for its 13th tournament of the year, and its second of three stops along the APGA Farmers Insurance Fall Series circuit, at the 36-hole APGA Daugherty Foundation Championship Sept. 30-Oct. 2 at Glen Echo Country Club. The 2025 APGA season runs through November with 16 tournaments from coast to coast.

About the APGA Tour  

The APGA Tour was established in 2010 as a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring an inclusive future through the game of golf. The APGA Tour Board of Directors works diligently to accomplish this by hosting and operating professional golf tournaments, player development programs, mentoring programs, and by introducing the game to inner city young people. In addition to conducting 16 tournaments awarding more than $1 million in prize and bonus money, the APGA has organized a Player Development Program to aid golfers as they work to chase their professional golf goals.

Media Contacts

Greg Ball

BZA Public Relations

apga@bzapr.com

The post WILLIE MACK III CARDS FINAL-ROUND 64 AND SECURES 16TH ADVOCATES PROFESSIONAL GOLF ASSOCIATION TOUR WIN AT APGA AT TPC LAS VEGAS appeared first on The Golf Wire.

LOS ANGELES – The Advocates Professional Golf Association (APGA), in conjunction with Farmers Insurance, today announced the return of the fifth-annual APGA Farmers Insurance Fall Series, a collection of three of the remaining five tournaments on the 2025 APGA Tour schedule.

Born in 2021, the APGA Farmers Insurance Fall Series was created, largely, to extend professional development opportunities for APGA golfers to advance their career aspirations in the sport and to provide additional playing and earning opportunities. APGA golfers will compete in three separate events whose purses, cumulatively, amount to $100,000 in earnings.

Each APGA Farmers Insurance Fall Series event is a 36-hole (two-round) professional competition preceded by a day of practice rounds. The series begins with the APGA’s next two scheduled golf tournaments over consecutive weeks, and concludes with the 2025 APGA Tour’s final event:

• APGA at TPC Las Vegas – Sept. 22-24, TPC Las Vegas (Las Vegas, NV)
• APGA Daugherty Foundation Championship – Sept. 30-Oct. 2, Glen Echo Country Club (St. Louis, MO)
• APGA Farmers Insurance Fall Series Finale – Nov. 11-13, Tustin Ranch Golf Club (Tustin, CA)

The APGA Farmers Insurance Fall Series Finale is the only returning event from the 2024 series, and it wraps up the 2025 APGA season. In kicking off that tournament week, Farmers Insurance will host APGA Professional Development Day at its Woodland Hills, California headquarters on Nov. 10.

“The APGA Farmers Insurance Fall Series provided such a fantastic finish to last year’s APGA Tour season that it makes perfect sense for the series to continue on in 2025,” said Solomon Hughes, Chief Operating Officer of the APGA. “The APGA and all of its players deeply appreciate the longstanding support from Farmers® and their investment in creating additional player development opportunities and extending our 2025 season schedule to 16 tournaments.”

”We’re proud to be continuing our sponsorship of the APGA Fall Series and celebrating the event’s fifth consecutive year,” said Mark Welch, Chief People Officer for Farmers Insurance. “These tournaments help create real opportunities for talented golfers to compete, grow and impact the communities they inspire.”

The APGA Farmers Insurance Fall Series is among several initiatives the organization backs to assist the APGA’s mission. Farmers® sponsors APGA Foundation youth clinics, which are designed to introduce children to the fascinating sport of golf while promoting health and wellness in communities local to its events.

Westerville, Ohio native and 2023 Michigan State graduate Troy Taylor II was the overall champion of the 2024 APGA Farmers Insurance Fall Series.

Taylor II recorded his first professional win in the APGA at Seaview (NJ) tournament, which was the second of three tournaments in the 2024 APGA Farmers Insurance Fall Series, and placed in a tie for second in the 2024 APGA Farmers Insurance Fall Series Finale at Tustin Ranch Golf Club. Troy Kuramarohit, of Canoga Park, California, won the concluding event of the 2024 Fall Series.

Reynoldsburg, Ohio native Wyatt Worthington II won the third APGA title of his career at the first event of the 2024 APGA Farmers Insurance Fall Series, held at Bally’s Golf Links at Ferry Point in New York.

Founded in 2010, the APGA is a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring an inclusive future through the game of golf. For more information on the APGA, visit apgatour.org.

For more information about Farmers, visit Farmers.com.

About the APGA Tour

The APGA Tour was established in 2010 as a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring an inclusive future through the game of golf. The APGA Tour Board of Directors works diligently to accomplish this by hosting and operating professional golf tournaments, player development programs, mentoring programs, and by introducing the game to inner city young people. In addition to conducting 16 tournaments awarding more than $1 million in prize and bonus money, the APGA has organized a Player Development Program to aid golfers as they work to chase their professional golf goals.

About Farmers Insurance

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The post APGA FARMERS INSURANCE® FALL SERIES RETURNS FOR YEAR FIVE WITH THREE GOLF TOURNAMENTS, HIGHLIGHTING THE FINAL STRETCH OF THE 2025 APGA TOUR SCHEDULE appeared first on The Golf Wire.

LOS ANGELES – Membership in the APGA World Wide Technology Player Development Program has its perks, as five APGA Tour golfers can attest. Substantial bonuses from the program help offset professional touring circuit expenses to allow the dream of competing on the PGA TOUR in 2025 become a reality.

Two-time reigning (2023 and 2024) APGA Player of the Year Chase Johnson won the program’s top bonus prize of $7,500 by virtue of his first/second overall standing in the Cisco Cup Series points race.

Initially, eight golfers were selected to participate in the program during the 2025 APGA Tour season: Aaron Beverly (Sacramento, California resident), John-Baptiste Hakizimana (Hobe Sound, Florida), Kevin Hall (Cincinnati, Ohio), Chase Johnson (Boynton Beach, Florida), Gregory Odom, Jr. (Memphis, Tennessee), Cole Stevens (Johannesburg, South Africa), Troy Taylor II (Westerville, Ohio) and Andrew Walker (Holt, Michigan).

Of the golfers who were initially selected to the 2025 APGA World Wide Technology Player Development Program, cash bonuses from a prize pool of $25,000 were awarded to five who ranked highest in the APGA Tour’s Cisco Cup Series points standings. Bonus amounts were based on cumulative performance in ten designated Cisco Cup Series events during the 2025 APGA Tour season, culminating with the Mastercard APGA Tour Championship on Aug. 14.

Final APGA World Wide Technology Player Development Program bonus earnings are as follows:

1. Chase Johnson – $7,500
2. John-Baptiste Hakizimana – $6,000
3. Aaron Beverly – $5,000
4. Troy Taylor II – $4,000
5. Kevin Hall – $2,500

Additionally, WWT is awarding berths for the bonus-winners during the Monday (November 3) Qualifier for the PGA TOUR’s 2025 World Wide Technology Championship, paying each player’s travel expense. The event is held in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico at El Cardonal at Diamante, the first course design from Tiger Woods through his golf course architecture firm, TGR Design.

“WWT is proud to continue its sponsorship of the APGA Player Development Program, providing essential resources to top performers on the APGA TOUR.  The partnership reflects the shared values of WWT, the PGA TOUR and the APGA TOUR,” said Matt Horner, Executive Vice President, WWT. “The program is designed to create opportunities for APGA TOUR athletes to take the next step in their golfing career. Congratulations to all the golfers selected.”

The APGA World Wide Technology Player Development Program is a comprehensive initiative designed to nurture and elevate top performers on and off the course. Founded in 2010, the Advocates Professional Golf Association is a non-profit organization that offers elite coaching, customized club fittings, fitness evaluations, mentorship and new professional development sessions. The program equips players with the tools they need to reach the highest levels of the game.

“The APGA World Wide Technology Player Development Program has been a tremendous, innovative collaboration with our partners at World Wide Technology, and it is invaluable to the golfing growth and education of our participating players,” said Solomon Hughes, Chief Operating Officer of the APGA. “Our APGA golfers are incredibly deserving of these WWT rewards earned through their collective APGA Tour performance this year. Providing vital financial assistance and PGA TOUR-caliber playing opportunity surely inspires and motivates our talented golfers to maximize their potential as they ascend to grander horizons in golf.”

The APGA Foundation allocates more than $300,000 to support the Player Development Program. Each of the players in the program receives a Full Swing launch monitor, a golf course membership, golf instructions, mental coaching, mentorship, fees for Monday qualifiers into Korn Ferry Tour and PGA TOUR events as well as oversight and accountability from the APGA’s Director of Player Development. New this year, an APGA World Wide Technology Player Development Summit will be held in April in Connecticut at the Golf Performance Center.

About the APGA Tour

The APGA Tour was established in 2010 as a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring an inclusive future through the game of golf. The APGA Tour Board of Directors works diligently to accomplish this by hosting and operating professional golf tournaments, player development programs, mentoring programs, and by introducing the game to inner city young people. In addition to conducting 18 tournaments awarding more than $1 million in prize and bonus money, the APGA has organized a Player Development Program to aid golfers as they work to chase their professional golf goals.

About World Wide Technology

Founded in 1990, World Wide Technology (WWT) is a global technology solutions provider leading the AI and Digital Revolution. WWT combines the power of strategy, execution and partnership to accelerate digital transformational outcomes for organizations around the globe. Through its Advanced Technology Center, a collaborative ecosystem of the world’s most advanced hardware and software solutions, WWT helps clients and partners conceptualize, test and validate innovative technology solutions for the best business outcomes and then deploys them at scale through its global warehousing, distribution and integration capabilities. 

With over 12,000 employees across WWT and Softchoice and more than 60 locations around the world, WWT’s culture, built on a set of core values and established leadership philosophies, has been recognized 14 years in a row by Fortune and Great Place to Work® for its unique blend of determination, innovation and creating a great place to work for all.

Connect with WWT: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn

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Greg Ball

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Apga@bzapr.com

The post CHASE JOHNSON EARNS $7,500 BONUS PRIZE AS TOP PERFORMER IN THE APGA’S 2025 WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY PLAYER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM appeared first on The Golf Wire.

LOS ANGELES – A total of $150,000 in player bonuses were awarded to the top 10 golfers in the APGA Tour’s Cisco Cup points standings, measuring overall performance in ten designated Cisco Cup events during the 2025 APGA Tour season and culminating with last week’s Mastercard Tour Championship.

Washington D.C. native Marcus Byrd, an eight-time APGA Tour winner, won the $60,000 first-place bonus by virtue of his standing atop the final Cisco Cup points standings. Among the APGA’s 10-event series that makes up the Cisco Cup, Byrd won twice and registered three runner-up finishes.

Additionally, the APGA will pay 2025 PGA TOUR Q-School entry fees for the top 10 APGA golfers in the final Cisco Cup standings. That includes Yorba Linda, California native Jonathan Yoshihiro, who played his way into the Cisco Cup’s top 10 by virtue of winning last week’s tournament.

Cisco Cup bonus earnings from the $150,000 prize pool are as follows:

1. Marcus Byrd – $60,000
2. Chase Johnson – $30,000
3. Kamaiu Johnson– $15,000
4. Luis Gagne – $10,000
5. Jonathan Yoshihiro– $8,000
6. John-Baptiste Hakizimana– $7,000
7. Willie Mack III– $6,000
8. Jaime Lopez Rivarola – $5,500
9. Brian Ohr– $4,500
10. Michael Bradham – $4,000

“Cisco would like to extend a heartfelt congratulations to Marcus Byrd on clinching first place in the 2025 Cisco Cup standings—an impressive testament to consistency, resilience, and performance across this season,” said Rob McQueen, Vice President of Global Sponsorships at Cisco. “Cisco is proud to support the APGA Tour and honor players like Marcus, who exemplify excellence and embody the spirit of innovation and determination both on the course and beyond.”

Added Solomon Hughes, Chief Operating Officer of the APGA: “The APGA congratulates its top achievers through the Cisco Cup , as it is one of our more worthy accomplishments given these bonuses are endurance awards for sustained excellence throughout most of the 2025 APGA Tour season. Many of our touring players have their thoughts and sights set on Q-School this time of year and the APGA is proud to assist our professionals however we can in furthering their development and advancing opportunities in golf.”

About the APGA Tour

The APGA Tour was established in 2010 as a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring an inclusive future through the game of golf. The APGA Tour Board of Directors works diligently to accomplish this by hosting and operating professional golf tournaments, player development programs, mentoring programs, and by introducing the game to inner city young people. In addition to conducting 18 tournaments awarding more than $1 million in prize and bonus money, the APGA has organized a Player Development Program to aid golfers as they work to chase their professional golf goals.

Media Contacts

APGA Tour

Greg Ball

BZA Public Relations

Apga@bzapr.com

The post APGA TOUR’S CISCO CUP AWARDS $150K IN CAREER-BOOSTING BONUSES, WITH MARCUS BYRD TAKING $60K TOP PRIZE appeared first on The Golf Wire.

Yoshihiro carded a final-round 5-under-par 66 Thursday to emerge victorious, shooting 69-69-66—-204 over the three-day tournament.

His debut victory came one week after finishing tied for third at the Jefferson Health APGA Classic outside Philadelphia, and the 30-year old Californian has registered a number of other top-10 finishes this season.

“It feels amazing to win the Mastercard Tour Championship,” Yoshihiro said. “It’s been a long year. I’ve been in the last group (in the final round) several times and didn’t get it done, so it feels awesome to finally get a win out here.”

In Philadelphia last week, Yoshihiro shot 65 on Day 1 but faded in the second and final round, with bogeys on four of his final seven holes.

“I feel my experience helped me,” he explained. “I’ve been in a lot of late groups the last couple of years, but never got the job done. A lot of experience and trusting myself helped me in finally getting it done.”

Yoshihiro received a $55,000 winner’s prize, from a $155,000 purse (the largest first-place prize and total purse among all 2025 APGA Tour events), and 750 Cisco Cup Series points through the 10^th and final Cisco Cup event of the year.

Marcus Byrd, a two-time winner on the APGA Tour this year who owns eight career APGA Tour victories, tied for second at 8-under-par 205 alongside Joe Hooks, who in June won THE JOHN SHIPPEN National Invitational and made his PGA TOUR debut at the Rocket Classic. Joey Stills was fourth at seven under par.

The Mastercard Tour Championship played to a 36-hole cut after Wednesday’s second round, with the top 30 on the leaderboard continuing on to play Thursday’s final round.

Yoshihiro opened with back-to-back rounds of two-under-par 69 in the first two rounds, then got hot Thursday when the pressure was on. Playing in the shadows of the Manhattan skyline, he navigated the front nine with two birdies and no bogeys. After his first bogey of the round on the 14^th hole, he bounced back with an eagle on the par-5 15^th, followed by birdies on the 16^th and 18^th to close out Byrd and Hooks.

Yoshiro had not played on the APGA Tour until this season, and said the experience has been incredible.

“It’s been awesome,” he said. “The courses are so good – a lot better than the regular mini tour. It’s awesome that we get to go to great venues and play tougher golf courses. The competition is really good out here.

“(Getting my first win on the APGA Tour) is big. It’s nice to get that chip off your shoulder and prove to yourself that you can do it, especially heading into Q-School season. There’s a lot of pressure out here to get the job done.

Byrd’s remarkable season resulted in him finishing the year atop the Cisco Cup standings. In addition to winning the APGA at Port St. Lucie and the APGA at TPC Deere Run, he was second in the Cisco APGA Black History Month Classic and the APGA Juneteenth Classic, as well as sixth in the APGA at TPC Scottsdale.

“(Winning the Cisco Cup) is huge – it gives me an opportunity to keep chasing my dreams,” Byrd said. “Everyone knows that it’s hard out here with expenses, grinding and traveling week to week. The fact we are able to have Mastercard help us out going into this next year and Cisco being a sponsor, we wouldn’t be able to do it without those guys. I’m just super fortunate that my good play was rewarded this year and I have a place to play next year. I’m excited to keep going and fortunate to have the APGA, Mastercard, and Cisco in my corner. Looking forward to a great 2026.”

The APGA Tour travels west for its 12th tournament of the year at the 36-hole APGA at TPC Las Vegas, September 22-24 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 2025 season runs through November with 16 tournaments from coast to coast.

About the APGA Tour  

The APGA Tour was established in 2010 as a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring an inclusive future through the game of golf. The APGA Tour Board of Directors works diligently to accomplish this by hosting and operating professional golf tournaments, player development programs, mentoring programs, and by introducing the game to inner city young people. In addition to conducting 16 tournaments awarding more than $1 million in prize and bonus money, the APGA has organized a Player Development Program to aid golfers as they work to chase their professional golf goals.

 
Media Contacts
Greg Ball
BZA Public Relations
apga@bzapr.com

The post JONATHAN YOSHIHIRO SECURES FIRST ADVOCATES PROFESSIONAL GOLF ASSOCIATION VICTORY AT THE MASTERCARD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP AT BALLY’S GOLF LINKS AT FERRY POINT appeared first on The Golf Wire.

Hakizimana carded a final-round 3-under-par 67 Tuesday to win the second-annual Jefferson Health APGA Classic by four strokes, recording an overall 36-hole score of 10-under 130 at The 1912 Club.

He received a $24,000 winner’s prize, from an $80,000 overall purse (the fifth-largest purse among 2025 APGA Tour events), and 500 Cisco Cup Series points.

Amateur and incoming Temple University junior Matthew Vital finished second at 6-under-par 134, while Luis Gagne, Michael Herrera, Trey Rusthoven, and Jonathan Yoshihiro tied for third at 5-under 135.

“This one means a lot to me,” Hakizimana said. “I have been working so hard and have a great team behind me. Without my sponsors – Worldwide Technology, the APGA and Cisco – I wouldn’t be here. This means a lot to me, but also to all the people who have been supporting me.”

Hakizimana, 35, who began to teach himself golf around age five by hitting stones with tree branches before practicing with partially-broken clubs on the nearby nine-hole golf course he lived next to in his native Rwanda, immigrated to the United States when he was six and turned pro at age 15.

Hakizimana’s best APGA results prior to this week were a pair of second-place finishes – in last week’s APGA Two-Man Classic at TPC Louisiana (with playing partner Troy Taylor II) and in the 2024 Farmers Insurance Invitational at Torrey Pines.

Years ago, when he had given up playing professionally, he said he had the same dream four times within a one-month span in which Tiger Woods told him to return to the game.

“To come back and win a tournament, it means a lot,” Hakizimana said. “I would tell people and kids that if you have a dream, you cannot give up. Everyone has the tools to make it to the next level – it just depends on how much you want it. When I had those dreams and Tiger spoke to me, I knew it wasn’t a joke.”

Hakizimana set a torrid pace atop the leaderboard in Monday’s first round, shooting a 7-under 63 and holding a two-stroke lead over Yoshihiro. After an uneven start Monday, Hakizimana found his groove and lit up The 1912 Club with seven birdies in his last 11 holes. He made four birdies in a five-hole stretch from holes 8-12 and closed his round with birdies on the par-4 17th and 18^th holes.

The Hobe Sound, Florida resident opened his second round by playing the front nine one under par, but a bogey on the 10^th and a scorching hot front nine from Vital – who made five birdies without a bogey in his opening nine holes – meant Hakizimana’s lead had evaporated by the time he reached the 12^th tee. Yoshihiro played the front in three under par and was threatening as well.

Knowing the pressure was on, Hakizimana recalled the work he had been doing with his sports psychologist and dug deep to birdie the par-5 12^th and eagled the par-4 13^th, firmly grasping the momentum that would carry him to victory. He also birdied No. 15, and by the time he bogeyed the 17^th his lead was secure enough that it didn’t matter.

“My playing partner (Yoshihiro) was playing really well, and when he laid up on 12, I knew I had to go for it,” Hakizimana explained. “I went for it and made a big putt for birdie, and he made a six, and that helped me a lot. Then I put it in on the green on 13 and was hoping to make a 3 but made the putt. All of a sudden, I had a three-shot lead and I felt much more comfortable.”

On No. 12, he hit his driver to 255 yards out and then nestled a hybrid into about 30 feet. He left himself four feet for a comfortable birdie putt.

On the driveable, 275-yard par-4 13^th, Hakizimana hit his 3-wood to approximately 30 feet again and then drained the long putt for eagle. 

Vital and his twin brother, Michael Vital – 2023 Liberty High School graduates from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and returning juniors to the Temple University men’s golf team – took advantage of tournament exemptions and provided local rooting interest.

Matthew Vital was bidding to become the second amateur tournament winner in APGA Tour history, along with Kieron van Wyk, who won the 2025 APGA Tour’s season-opening Farmers Insurance Invitational at Torrey Pines. Vital won the Boys 12-13 age division of the 2019 Drive, Chip & Putt Championship at Augusta National Golf Club and was the 2023 Pennsylvania State Junior Amateur champion. At age 15, Matthew set the Reading Country Club course record with a 62 in a 2021 Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour event, eclipsing Sam Snead’s 18-hole course record of 63 carded in the 1949 Reading Open.

Michael Vital finished the tournament T39 with a 36-hole score of 7-over 147. Zachary Juhasz, another local golfer from Bethlehem, placed T37 at 6-over 146.

The APGA Tour heads north along Interstate 95 and up the Eastern Seaboard for its 11th tournament of the year, and its 10th event on the Cisco Cup Series, next week at the 54-hole APGA Tour Championship, August 11-14 at Bally’s Golf Links at Ferry Point in the Bronx, New York City. The 2025 season runs through November with 16 tournaments from coast to coast.

About the APGA Tour  

The APGA Tour was established in 2010 as a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring an inclusive future through the game of golf. The APGA Tour Board of Directors works diligently to accomplish this by hosting and operating professional golf tournaments, player development programs, mentoring programs, and by introducing the game to inner city young people. In addition to conducting 16 tournaments awarding more than $1 million in prize and bonus money, the APGA has organized a Player Development Program to aid golfers as they work to chase their professional golf goals.

 
Media Contacts
Greg Ball
BZA Public Relations
apga@bzapr.com

The post JOHN-BAPTISTE HAKIZIMANA SECURES FIRST ADVOCATES PROFESSIONAL GOLF ASSOCIATION VICTORY WITH FOUR-STROKE WIN IN JEFFERSON HEALTH APGA CLASSIC AT THE 1912 CLUB appeared first on The Golf Wire.