Four APGA Tour players are competing in PGA TOUR’s Wells Fargo Championship:
Willie Mack III, Marcus Byrd and Quinn Riley.
The APGA Tour is set to return to TPC Scottsdale for the sixth event of the 2023 season. The event, which aims to promote diversity in the sport, will be held from May 7-9, 2023, and will feature 50 players competing in a two-day, 36-hole stroke-play competition with no cut.
The Advocates Professional Golf Association (APGA) is committed to providing minority players with the necessary tools and support to succeed in the sport. The organization believes that by ensuring equal access to resources, minority players can focus on their development and career path in the game.
TPC Scottsdale, located in suburban Phoenix, will provide a challenging test for the players with its two championship courses – the Stadium Course and the Champions Course. The venue has a rich history of hosting professional golf events, including the Waste Management Phoenix Open, which is held annually on the Stadium Course.
This year’s event will offer a purse of $25,000, with the winner taking home $7,500. The remaining prize money will be distributed among the top finishers.
One player to watch during the tournament is Wyatt Worthington, who qualified for the PGA Championship at Oak Hill after finishing T8 in the qualifying tournament in New Mexico. Worthington, who is also competing in the APGA at TPC Scottsdale, will be looking to build on his recent success and make a strong showing in Arizona.
In addition to Worthington, three APGA Tour players will be competing this week in the PGA TOUR’s Wells Fargo Championship, highlighting the talent and potential of the APGA Tour.
The APGA at TPC Scottsdale promises to be an exciting event, showcasing the skills and determination of the talented field of players. Fans of the game can follow the action on Monday and Tuesday, May 8-9, as the players battle it out for the top spot and a chance to further their careers in professional golf.
Special note: for the first time this week at the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, three APGA Tour players are competing in a PGA TOUR event. Willie Mack III, two time APGA TOUR player of the year, Monday qualified, Marcus Byrd, winner of two APGA TOUR events this year, and Quinn Riley, the top ranked player in the 2022 APGA Collegiate ranking, both received sponsor exemptions. Another former APGA Tour player, Joseph Bramlett, is also in the Wells Fargo Championship field.
FIELD SUMMARY:
Kevin Hall enters the tournament seeking his second straight and third overall APGA Tour win of the 2023 season. He won the APGA Tour Black History Month Classic in February, then finished in a three-way tie for second at APGA Florida in March. Last week, he captured APGA at PGA Golf Club, which vaulted him to first place in the Lexus Cup Point Standings with 1498 points after four regular-season events. Hall was diagnosed as profoundly deaf at age two after surviving H-flu meningitis and learned to play golf at nine. He later became the first African American golfer to play at The Ohio State University, where he won the 2004 Big Ten Individual Championship.
Joe Hooks and Christian Heavens, who live in the Old Town section of Scottsdale, are both entering their fifth event of the season. Hooks, originally from Detroit, has had a strong start this year including a T4 finish last month at APGA at TPC Las Vegas and a ninth-place finish at the APGA Black History Month Classic in February. He was a runner-up three times and had eight top five finishes in his standout 2022 season.
Heavens, a native of St. Louis, joins the field looking to reclaim his success from last year. The tour veteran turned pro in 2011 and boasts 26 professional victories. Last year on the APGA Tour, he finished in the top four at APGA Tour Charlie Sifford Centennial and APGA Tour at Bermuda. His 2023 season includes a T7 finish at the APGA Farmers Insurance Invitational and a T10 finish at the APGA Black History Month Classic.
After several years in APGA Tour competition, Wyatt Worthington II earned his first APGA Tour victory last month at TPC Las Vegas. Worthington, from Reynoldsburg, Ohio, shot 7-under 135 over 36 holes to beat Marcus Byrd by two shots. A teaching pro at The Golf Depot at Central Park in Gahanna, Ohio, Worthington qualified for the 2023 PGA Championship this week by finishing in a tied for eighth place in the PGA Professional Championship tournament for PGA of America teaching pros in New Mexico. This is the third time that Worthington has successfully qualified for the professional golf major set May 18-20 at famed Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York.
Phoenix resident and GOLF Channel Beyond the Fairway podcast host Doug Smith will not be teeing it up this week. The APGA Tour member now serves as a GOLF Channel on-course correspondent for PGA TOUR and college golf events. He worked the APGA Tour Farmers Insurance Invitational for GOLF Channel in January. Originally from Versailles, KY, Smith was the first black player on the University of Louisville golf team.
PGA TOUR PLAYERS & OFFICIALS AVAILABILITY:
Sunday: Practice round tee times begin at 12:12 p.m. and continue until 3:03 p.m. Range activity and interviews from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Monday: First round tee times begin at 10:06 a.m. Pre-round by request in morning. Post-round beginning around 3 p.m.
Tuesday: Final round tee times begin at 10:06 a.m. Pre-round by request in morning. Post-round beginning around 3 p.m. with tournament expected to conclude around 3:30 p.m.
2023 RESULTS TO DATE:
APGA Farmers Insurance Invitational at Torrey Pines Golf Course (January 28-29)
- Champion: Marcus Byrd (player bio)
- Runner-Up: Joey Stills (player bio)
APGA Black History Month Classic at Indian Canyons Palm Springs (February 27-28)
- Champion: Kevin Hall (player bio) *Playoff Victory
- Runner-Up: DeVaughn Robinson
APGA Florida at St. John’s Golf & Country Club (March 20-21)
- Champion: Marcus Byrd
- Runners-Up: Davin White (player bio), Kevin Hall, Zachary Juhasz
APGA Las Vegas at TPC Las Vegas (April 10-11)
- Champion: Wyatt Worthington II (player bio)
- Runner-Up: Marcus Byrd
APGA at PGA Golf Club (May 1-2)
- Champion: Kevin Hall
- Runners-Up: Chase Johnson, Varun Chopra, Salvador Rocha Gómez, Andrew Fernandes
