The second annual JIm Thorpe Invitational presented by Coca-Cola Beverages Florida (JTI) will again be held at ChampionsGate Golf Course in Orlando, Florida. The event is part of the United Golfers Association’s ongoing efforts to grow the game by creating opportunities for elite minority golfers to enhance their overall player development in the sport and advance their personal goals.
The event also aims to help them find support needed to allow them to better focus on their career path and development in the game. The Tournament will host the largest field in history of the top Minority Junior, Collegiate and Professional Tour Players in one field.
This golf event was created to celebrate Jim Thorpe and create an event that will allow his supporters to participate and contribute to increasing the amount of minority golfers being introduced to the sport of golf and competing in events that will prepare them for either a career in golf on or off the fairways.
DATE: February 18-19, 2023
SITE: ChampionsGate Golf Course
February 18 – Juniors – International Course & Collegiate/Tour Pro’s National Course
February 19 – Juniors – International Course & Collegiate/Tour Pro’s National Course
TOUR PURSE: $25,000
FORMAT: 18 players, two-day, 36-hole stroke-play competition, no cut
WINNERS: 2022 – Professional – Joey Stills
2022 – 16/18 Matthew Vital & Bella Flores
2022 – 13/15 Drake Belcher & Alana Hall
2022 – 10/12 Ayden Febres & Bella Mitchell
2022 – U9 Kylani Gathers & Tyler Lambert
TEE TIMES (ET): Round 1, February 18 – National Course: 7:30-10:30 AM
Round 2, February 19 – International Course: 7:30-10:30 AM
TV BROADCAST: GolfPass, golf’s most comprehensive digital membership by NBC Sports Next, which will provide on-demand content and social media coverage highlighting the uniqueness of the 2023 Jim Thorpe Invitational Tournament. Coverage will be available on-demand at www.GolfPass.com beginning Thursday, Feb. 23. GolfPass coverage will include a variety of video segments highlighting the tournament and its surrounding events, and featuring competing junior golfers, the awards presentation, panel discussion and post-tournament sporting events involving youth.
In addition to providing content, NBC Sports Next’s GolfPass will be offering all of the JTI 2023 Participants with a 12-month complimentary membership, providing access to its entire vault of benefits, from on-demand video instruction and entertainment to tee-time benefits and news covering the entire industry plus access to thousands of hours of exclusive instructional and entertainment programming, which can be streamed on demand 24/7.
The PGA TOUR will be covering the Jim Thorpe Invitational including exclusive coverage on Sunday, February 19, for the Professional Tour Division of the JTI. Coverage will include video from PGA TOUR Entertainment and editorial on PGATOUR.COM along with scheduled interviews with Jim Thorpe, Joey Stills (defending champion), Wyatt Worthington, Aaron Beverly, and Tarek DeLavallade, the JTI Tournament Director. The content will be available on PGATOUR.com, social media platforms, and also showcased on the many outlets for Make Golf Your Thing.
FIELD INFORMATION:
Fields and leaderboards will be posted at the links below –
PROFESSIONAL FIELD SUMMARY
Defending Champion Joey Stills returns to the event coming off an excellent showing at the APGA Tour Farmers Insurance Invitational where he finished alone in second with a birdie on the 18th hole. His best finish on the APGA Tour in 2022 came at the Billy Horschel APGA Tour Invitational presented by Cisco, where he finished 3rd at TPC Sawgrass. His victory at the 2022 Jim Thorpe Invitational was one of three professional wins last year where he also recorded two wins on the OGA Tour. The son of PGA TOUR player Adrian Stills, Joey played at the University of West Florida and was a participant, and later a coach, at First Tee Gulf Coast.
APGA Tour standout and 2021 APGA Tour Lexus Cup champion Willie Mack, who has won more than 60 professional events and now plays full-time on the Korn Ferry Tour is the most accomplished player in the professional field.
Also Included in the field is 2022 APGA Tour Lexus Cup Champion Kamaiu Johnson who won three times in 2022. Johnson won his third event of the season at the APGA Charlie Sifford Centennial at the Clubs of Kingwood just two months after winning the APGA Mastercard Tour Championship and the season-long Lexus Cup Points race. The Tour Championship win also earned Johnson full-time status on the PGA TOUR LatinoAmérica series where he made the cut in two of the first three events of the season in December. Johnson now has five APGA Tour wins in the last three years having also won the Tour Championship in 2020 and the APGA Tour’s Las Vegas stop each of the past two years.
Daniel Augustus, who finished 6th in the APGA Lexus Cup standings has 8 top-10 finishes and two runner-up finishes on the APGA Tour. Earlier in 2022, Augustus conducted an interview with Golf Digest and the Fire Pit Collective revealing a childhood of tragedy and abuse.
Quinn Riley finished No. 1 in the 2021-22 APGA Collegiate Ranking. The Duke graduate has made professional starts on the PGA TOUR, Korn Ferry Tour and the Asian Tour. Quinn, Mulbe Dillard (No. 1 player from inaugural APGA Collegiate Rankings), Andrew Walker, Mahindra Lutchman, Cam Riley, Jeffrey Cunningham and Travis Jackson all finished in the top five in the APGA Collegiate Rankings for their respective classes earning them immediate membership and access to the APGA Tour. Walker is in his second full season as a professional and captured his first APGA Tour win at the 2022 APGA Cisco Invitational at Baltusrol in August
Wyatt Worthington II enters the event having qualified for the 2022 PGA Championship as a PGA professional and winning the John Shippen Invitational, which granted him an exemption to play in the PGA TOUR’s Rocket Mortgage Classic earlier this year.
Ryan Alford teed it up at the 2022 Farmers Insurance Open on the PGA TOUR. A two-time APGA Tour winner in 2021, Alford struggled through health-related COVID-19 complications and looks to rebound in 2023.
Ethan V. Mangum will be a featured and highlighted collegiate player in the collegiate division. He is an American scholar at The College of William & Mary. He strives to reach honor academically as a Master of Business Administration candidate. During his time at Florida A&M, Mangum led the Rattlers to their first-ever MEAC Championship and NCAA Regional appearance during the 2020-21 season. In his amateur career, he has 33 tournament victories and last summer he was the low amateur at the inaugural JOHN SHIPPEN Invitational. Mangum also has been a mainstay in the Advocates Professional Golf Association (APGA) Collegiate rankings, earning the top spot in the debut rankings this past fall.
COKE FLORIDA RETURNS AS PRESENTING SPONSOR
Coca-Cola Beverages Florida, LLC (Coke Florida), the fourth largest Black-owned business in the United States, will again serve as Presenting Sponsor of the Jim Thorpe Invitational Tournament.
“As one of the largest Black-owned companies in Florida, it’s an honor for Coke Florida to partner with UGA and Jim Thorpe to present this premier tournament in one of our largest operational markets in the state,” said Percy L. Wells, II, Group Vice President, Government Relations, Public Affairs, and Communications. “The Jim Thorpe Invitational will be a valuable experience for all participants to engage and learn while at play – we look forward to creating the space for that camaraderie again. This event is one of many community engagement activities that Coke Florida supports during Black History Month annually.”
Jim Thorpe, the Tournament Host, is known for his commitment to developing young golfers, exposing them to the industry of golf, and increasing diversity in all aspects of the sport.
“We are once again extremely grateful to have Coca-Cola Beverages Florida as the Presenting Sponsor for the Jim Thorpe Invitational,” said Thorpe. “This level of support from Coke Florida will assist in creating a unique experience for all who attend, yielding significant impacts for the sport in the minority golf community.”
About United Golfers Association
The mission of the UGA is to foster an inclusive culture for Black golfers and contribute to the evolution of the sport by offering resources to golf professionals, tour players, golf enthusiasts, and youth in golf. United Golfers Association (UGA) [Founded in 1925] is a 501(c)3 organization that is committed to increasing the introduction, development and advancement of African American youth to the sport of golf. The UGA Developmental Golf Academy will provide these golfers with the resources and direction to cultivate their passion for the sport as competitors and professionals in the industry. The UGA Golf Academy is designed to prepare them mentally, physically and professionally to compete as Future Tour Players and Golf Professionals throughout the world. www.unitedgolfersassociation.org
