AVONDALE, Louisiana (July 29, 2026) – No other eventon the Advocates Professional Golf Association (APGA) Tour mixes golf with glitz and glamor like the inaugural APGA Michael Eaves Classic & Celebrity Pro-Am, July 27-29. So it was quite fitting for Andrew Fernandes to capture his first title on the APGA Tour in such scintillating style.
Fernandes emerged from a sudden-death playoff against Steve Kibare and Troy Taylor II, carding an eagle on the first extra hole – the par-5 18th – to walk away as the tournament’s first champion at TPC Louisiana.
“It feels like a long time coming. I believed that I could win. It’s been over four years since my first professional win on a mini tour, and I did it! It feels good,” Fernandes said. “I really, really, really trusted myself and trusted my instincts.”
Fernandes earned an $8,000 prize from a $25,000 purse and 500 points in the APGA’s Jeff Dailey standings and Cisco Cup Series standings. Fernandes previously registered top-10 APGA Tour finishes this year at the Cisco Black History Month Classic at TPC Sawgrass and the APGA Juneteenth Classic in Los Angeles.
In the playoff on No. 18, Fernandes followed his drive with an approach from 253 yards that rolled to within three feet of the cup, setting up his winning eagle putt. Kibare made birdie and Taylor II recorded a par on the lone playoff hole. Following the approach shot, Fernandes said he was battling through cramping in his calf, not to mention nerves, as he walked from fairway to green.
“I didn’t feel good after, but I hit an incredible shot to three feet and I’m just so fortunate that it worked out that way,” Fernandes said.
Fernandes (67-70), Kibare (68-69), Taylor II (70-67) finished at 7-under-par 137 after 36 holes of regulation play. Taylor II, playing in the second-to-last group with Kibare, and Fernandes, in the final group, each made birdie on the par-5 18th hole to pull Kibare into a playoff.
Kibare and Fernandes both closed their back-nine stretches over the final round with three birdies against no bogeys. It was another three-foot putt on No. 18 that Fernandes had to make in order to qualify for the playoff.
“I had that three-footer and I could not feel the club head. Couldn’t feel my hands. Couldn’t feel anything,” Fernandes said in describing his nerves at the time.
“I really told myself to be patient. When we made the turn onto the back nine, I said I’m going to play nine holes of the most committed golf that I can, and I just really tried telling myself I can will this golf ball in the hole with my mind.”
A native of Cerritos, California, Fernandes played at Cal State Dominguez Hills (NCAA Division II) in the 2016-17 and 2018-19 seasons before turning pro in 2020 and joining the APGA Tour in 2023.
His golf idol is Tiger Woods, and Fernandes past performed community service at Woods’ TGR Learning Lab in Anaheim, a short distance from his childhood home.
Said Fernandes: “I heard a video, actually on Monday, which was (Woods’ former caddie) Steve Williams talking about Tiger, and no matter if Tiger had an ‘A-game’ or a ‘D-game,’ he felt like some of his ‘D-games’ rose up to an ‘A’ just because he committed. And that’s what I did this week. Good advice.”
Fernandes shot an opening-round 5-under 67 and entered Wednesday as a Round 1 co-leader, one stroke ahead of Kibare, a Canton, Georgia native who was an NAIA First Team All-American and 2023 Southern States Athletic Conference Player of the Year for Dalton State University (Georgia) before graduating in 2024. Fernandes was also a Round 1 co-leader at last month’s APGA at TPC Scottsdale.
Taylor II, a Westerville, Ohio native, Michigan State product, and the son of 1980s Ohio State basketball star Troy Taylor, was T6 after Round 1 – three strokes behind Fernandes and two back of Kibare – before recording a final-round 5-under 67.
This week’s APGA tournament took place at the same venue that hosts the PGA TOUR’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans and was hosted by Michael Eaves, an ESPN SportsCenter and golf anchor, seven-time Emmy Award winner and longtime APGA supporter.
Tournament week kicked off on Monday with a pro-am comprised of many of Eaves’ friends from the sports and entertainment world: Ryan Clark, a Marrero, Louisiana native, LSU football product and 2008 Super Bowl champion; 2016 and 2020 NBA champion J.R. Smith; 2006 NBA champion Dorell Wright; retired Major League Baseball All-Stars Torii Hunter and Matt Kemp; three-time World Long Drive champion Alexis Belton; professional golfer and golf media personality Shasta Averyhardt; golf and media personality Nikki Blades; 11-time Emmy Award-winning Entertainment Tonight host Nischelle Turner; Stan Verrett, a New Orleans native and New Orleans Saints pregame show host; and Emmy Award-winning sports media personality Jemele Hill.
J.R. Smith, who recently completed his college golf stint at North Carolina A&T following his NBA career, also made his APGA Tour debut in this week’s professional tournament while competing as an amateur. Smith registered rounds of 81-83 (20-over 164) and placed 45th.
Fernandes shared the Round 1 lead with Willie Mack III, the Flint, Michigan native whose 19 APGA Tour titles are the most among active golfers.
Mack III, who partnered with Luis Gagne to win last year’s APGA Two-Man Classic event at TPC Louisiana when it was played under a team format, made birdie on three of his first seven holes and tallied four more birdies on Nos. 10, 11, 16 and 18. Fernandes responded effectively to his lone bogey of Round 1, on the par-4 sixth hole, with an eagle on the par-5 seventh hole and birdies on Nos. 8, 11 and 13.
Founded in 2010, the Advocates Professional Golf Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring an inclusive future through the game of golf.
The APGA Tour tees up the ninth event of its 2026 season with the APGA at The 1912 Club in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania from August 2-5. The season runs through November with 12 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 12 tournaments awarding more than $1 million in prize and bonus money in 2026, the APGA has organized a Player Development Program to aid golfers as they work to chase their professional golf goals.
