Springfield, NJ– Playing on a Major Championship caliber golf course set up to challenge the field, Andrew Walker outlasted a collection of the best minority golfers in the world to win his first Advocates Professional Golf Association (APGA) Tour event at the APGA Cisco Invitational at Baltusrol Golf Club. Walker was one of two players in the 18-man Invitational field to shoot par or better in the final round to defeat Michael Herrera by two strokes.
“This is my first professional victory. To have it come against this group of guys at a golf course like Baltusrol is extremely gratifying,” Walker said. “This course is as tough as it gets, so to get up-and-down from a tough bunker shot on the 16th hole and then make two pivotal pars on 17 and 18 to get the win gives me a ton of satisfaction and confidence moving forward.”
Congratulations Andrew! Love to see @Cisco continue to support the @APGA_Tour! https://t.co/HQizWvke5M
— Billy Horschel (@BillyHo_Golf) August 17, 2022
The event was the second of two invitationals sponsored by Cisco on the APGA Tour in 2022 that featured not only significant prize money ($125,000 each – the second largest purses on Tour this season), but also offered participants enrichment and development opportunities off the course. With the victory, Walker collects the $40,000 winner’s check, the largest amount of his career which will go a long way in helping him with the costs associated with the game.
“The support from Cisco and to collect this winner’s check takes so much stress off of our shoulders on the APGA Tour. So we are all super thankful to have companies like Cisco backing us,” Walker said. “Golf is hard enough just to worry about where to hit your next shot, it’s even harder when you have to worry about the financial elements as well. Knowing what was on the line today with the winner’s check, it’s awesome to see myself perform.”
Baltusrol Golf Club, synonymous with championship golf, has a rich heritage that dates back to 1895. Baltusrol’s two championship courses, the Lower and Upper, have played distinguished roles on the national golf stage since their creation by architect A.W. Tillinghast. The Club has hosted 17 major championships in its 127-year history, including seven U.S. Opens, two U.S. Women’s Opens, and two PGA Championships. Baltusrol is the only club to have hosted U.S. Open championships for men and women on both of its courses.
“To win at a course of this caliber is huge for me,” he said. “The head pro and I were talking about it today that if you can win at Baltusrol, you should be able to perform at any other golf course in the world. Any other course should feel like a cake walk. It’s a real thing to say, the conditions and how precise you have to be in every facet of your game.”
Earlier this year, Walker had victory in his grasp at another major championship venue at Valhalla, but bogeys on three of the final five holes led to a T2 finish, one shot from being in a playoff.
“After Valhalla, I definitely tried not to get down on myself, but to take that experience and learn from it.” Walker said. “I learned to accept the moment a little bit more. I learned just to trust myself and my game and stay in the moment with each shot. The more I put myself in contention down the stretch, the more comfortable I’m going to be. That happened today and I was able to deliver, which feels absolutely incredible. I’ve had a lot of support from those closest to me. People like my dad just kept telling me to trust in my game and I did that today.”
Walker earned APGA Tour playing status in 2021 by finishing second in the inaugural APGA Tour Collegiate Ranking (the top-five players in the final rankings earn access to all APGA Tour full-field events). The APGA Collegiate Ranking is based on players’ Golfstat adjusted scoring average, designed to evaluate the top players positioned to qualify for APGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament access.
“Never forget where you came from” is an adage that is near and dear to Walker’s heart. His reminder, a large Panama hat, rests atop his head every time he puts a peg in the ground.
“Wearing a straw hat is something I’ve been doing for 15 years,” said the 23-year-old Walker. “I started wearing it because of my dad, it was his look back to the day when he first got into golf. My grandfather and godfather wore a straw hat too. It’s kind of a trademark for me, but really it makes me think of my family and it reminds me to be thankful for them every time I play.”
Walker started playing golf at the age of three in South Africa – his father cut down an old putter and would take him and his older brother to the golf course to practice after work. At six-years-old, Walker began playing competitively.
Additionally, Cisco and the APGA have created the Adrian Stills Award in honor of the Tour’s co-founder and current Board Member. Stills was one of the last African American golfers to reach the PGA TOUR through PGA TOUR Qualifying School before the Q-School process changed several years ago. The first annual Adrian Stills Award will be given at this year’s APGA Tour year-end event to the player who best exemplifies character and sportsmanship, as determined by a panel of judges and voted on by fellow players.
Cisco’s support of the APGA Tour builds on the brand’s ongoing investment in the game of golf, as seen through partnerships with leading organizations, such as the United States Golf Association; events, including the AT&T Pro-Am and the Billy Horschel APGA Tour Invitational presented by Cisco; and the individuals on Team Cisco across the PGA, LPGA and APGA Tours. Together with the APGA, Cisco’s goal is to drive inspiration to participation in the sport by fostering greater inclusion and making it accessible for more people.
APGA TOUR 2022 SCHEDULE/RESULTS
Date Tournament Winner
Jan. 29 APGA Tour at Farmers Insurance Open Invitational Patrick Newcomb
Feb 14-15 APGA Tour at TPC Harding Park Tim O’Neal
March 7-8 APGA Tour at TPC Landon Lyons
March 21-22 APGA Tour at Queens Harbour Willie Mack III
April 2-3 APGA Tour Port St. Lucie Tim O’Neal
April 11-12 APGA Tour at TPC Las Vegas Kamaiu Johnson
April 18-19 APGA Tour at TPC Michael Herrera
May 5-6 Billy Horschel APGA Tour Invitational Presented by Cisco Willie Mack III
June 20-21 APGA Tour Sugarloaf Toks Pedro
July 11-12 APGA Tour Deere Run Landon Lyons
July 19-20 APGA Tour at Valhalla Brad Adamonis
Aug. 8-9 Mastercard APGA Tour Championship Kamaiu Johnson
Aug. 16-17 APGA Tour Cisco Invitational at Baltusrol Andrew Walker
UP NEXT, FARMERS® FALL SERIES – The APGA Tour Farmers Insurance® Fall Series has expanded from three events to four in 2022, with tournaments taking place in the greater St. Louis, Philadelphia, Houston and Los Angeles areas. The APGA Tour Farmers Insurance Fall Series is designed to further the APGA Tour’s mission of bringing greater diversity to the game of golf and to provide additional playing and earning opportunities to APGA Tour players.
Tournaments in the APGA Tour Farmers Insurance Fall Series include:
- Sept. 7-9 – APGA Tour at Glen Echo Country Club, St. Louis, MO, $30,000 purse
- Sept. 19-21 – APGA Tour Valley Forge, Blue Bell, PA, $25,000 purse
- Oct. 25-26 – APGA Tour at Kingwood Forest Golf Club, Houston, TX, $25,000 purse
- Nov. 8-10 – APGA Tour Farmers Insurance Fall Series Finale at Tustin Ranch Golf Club, Tustin Ranch, CA, $30,000 purse
The APGA Tour Farmers Insurance Fall Series will also feature a $20,000 bonus pool that pays an additional $10,000 to the player who is awarded the most points from each of the four events. Additionally, the top three players from the APGA Tour Farmers Insurance Fall Series who are not already qualified will be invited to play in the 2023 APGA Tour Farmers Insurance Invitational®, an APGA Tour event that is played opposite the PGA TOUR’s Farmers Insurance Open® at Torrey Pines Golf Course. The top six players in the Lexus Cup standings, which were finalized following the APGA Mastercard Tour Championship, have already qualified for the 2023 APGA Tour Farmers Insurance Invitational. These qualifiers, along with Quinn Riley who qualified as the top player in the 2021-2022 APGA Collegiate Rankings include:
Rank Player Final 2022 Lexus Cup Points
1 Kamaiu Johnson 2290
2 Tim O’Neal 1972
3 Willie Mack III 1639
4 Michael Herrera 1612
5 Marcus Byrd 1531
6 Daniel Augustus 1428
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About APGA Tour
The APGA Tour was established in 2010 as a non-profit organization with the mission to bring greater diversity to the game of golf. The APGA Tour Board of Directors works 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 up to 18 tournaments awarding more than $800,000 in prize money and nearly $100,000 in bonus money in 2022, the APGA has organized a Player Development Program to aid young minority golfers as they work to chase their goals in professional golf.
