What Is the APGA Tour? Everything You Need To Know
Marcus Byrd at the 2022 APGA Tour Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines South
The APGA Tour is the Advocates Pro Golf Association Tour. It is a non-profit organization founded in 2010 to provide African American and other minority golfers the opportunity to compete at the highest level of professional golf.
What Is the APGA Tour?
Since 2010, the APGA has grown from a three-tournament schedule and $40,000 in total prize money, to 18 tournaments at some of America’s most prestigious golf courses, and over $1 million in prize and bonus money in 2022.
The tour’s success has fueled individual success. Or, maybe it’s the other way around. Either way, Willie Mack III, the 2021 APGA Lexus Cup winner, made a successful Q-School run in 2022 to earn his Korn Ferry Tour card for 2023, where he is one step away from reaching the PGA Tour.
Kenneth Bentley is the CEO of the APGA, which also cites setting members up for success in the golf industry and offering career development and mentoring opportunities to members in its mission.
APGA Tournaments
The APGA offered an elite tournament schedule in 2022, with over $1 million in prize and bonus money across 18 tournaments. Four of those 18 tournaments had purses of $100,000 or more, including the $150,000 purse at the APGA Tour Championship. Every purse on the 2022 APGA Tour was at least $25,000.
In addition to offering a healthy financial prize for its players, the APGA competes on some of America’s most prestigious golf courses for professional golfers.
Check out some of the top courses that hosted APGA tournaments in 2022 alone.
|
Course |
Highlights |
|
Torrey Pines (North & South) |
Two U.S. Opens |
|
TPC Harding Park |
|
|
TPC Louisiana |
Zurich Classic host since 2005 |
|
TPC Las Vegas |
Previous host of Shriners Children's Open |
|
TPC Scottsdale |
WM Phoenix Open host |
|
TPC Sawgrass Players Stadium Course |
Players Championship host |
|
Valhalla |
3 PGA Championships; 1 Ryder Cup |
|
Baltusrol |
2 PGA Championships; 7 U.S. Opens; 4 U.S. Amateurs; 2 U.S. Women’s Opens |
The APGA Tour season begins in January, with the Tour Championship typically held in August, even though events run into November.
RELATED: How Hard is Torrey Pines South Course? The Data-Driven Answer
Do APGA Tour Events Get OWGR Points?
Despite the elite lineup of courses and proven talent in its events, APGA tournaments do not receive Official World Golf Ranking points. Tournaments are typically two-day, 36-hole events, which do not meet OWGR criteria. As a result, some of the most recognizable names from the APGA Tour, don’t hold impressive OWGR rankings. For example, before embarking on his first full Korn Ferry Tour season in 2023, Willie Mack III ranked 3064th in the world, with an all-time best ranking of 1685. Kamaiu Johnson, another huge APGA success, also has an all-time best OWGR of 1685.
The Path From the APGA to the PGA Tour
Willie Mack III talks to media after the final round of Korn Ferry Tour Q-School
In 2021, Willie Mack III earned a scholarship to Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School by winning the 2021 APGA Tour Lexus Cup. While Mack’s Q-School bid came ended in the second stage in 2021, he made it all the way through in 2022 to secure his 2023 Korn Ferry Tour card.
APGA Tour Farmers Insurance Invitational
Since 2020, Farmers Insurance has hosted the APGA Invitational and the PGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open simultaneously at Torrey Pines, and in 2022, the event became the first-ever APGA tournament to be broadcast on national television, appearing on the Golf Channel.
The tournament, which kicks off the APGA season in January, includes 18 APGA Tour players who qualified via the previous season’s Lexus Cup points list, and offers an enticing $100,000 purse and a $30,000 winner’s check.