Ohio-born 27-year-old wins on the APGA Tour for second time in three starts
BLUE ASH, OH– Playing in front of his mother and father, Barberton, Ohio, native and Kent State University graduate Chase Johnson shot a final round, five-under-par 65 to win the first 2023 APGA Farmers Insurance® Fall Series event at Sharon Woods Golf Course near Cincinnati, Ohio. The win is Johnson’s second APGA Tour victory in his last three events. Johnson won the APGA Ascension Classic in August and a week later finished 2nd at the APGA Mastercard Tour Championship to Varun Chopra. On Tuesday, thanks to some great scoring that included two eagles and four birdies and a must-make bogey putt on the 18th hole, it was Johnson’s turn to edge Chopra, who held the first-round lead.
After a one-under 69 in the opening round, Johnson came out hot in round two with an eagle-2 on the par-4 first hole, driving the green with his tee shot and sinking a 30-foot putt. He went on to add another eagle on the par-5 ninth as part of a front nine of 31 that saw him surge into the lead. Johnson added two more birdies on the back nine. On the final hole, Johnson hit his tee shot into a hazard and flew the green with his next shot. Needing to get up-and-down for bogey, he hit his chip to around 20 feet. Playing in an APGA Tour event in front of his father for the first time, the Ohio native knew he had to make the bogey putt for the win and was able to convert.
“This course is extremely firm and the pins this week were very challenging,” Johnson said. “It was a course where you had to stay patient, be very confident and play to your numbers. On 18, I looked at the leaderboard for the first time and knew I had to make that putt. I’ve learned a lot this year being in contention on the APGA Tour and I knew that in those situations, I needed to hit the putt firm and not leave it short. It was a great feeling seeing that putt go in.”
Johnson has now finished in the top-five of all seven APGA Tour events that he has played this year including four runner-up finishes and two victories. With the APGA Ascension Classic victory, Johnson earned an exemption into the World Wide Technology Championship later this year on the PGA TOUR. It will be Johnson’s second PGA TOUR start of the calendar year after earning an exemption to the Rocket Mortgage Classic by winning the 2023 John Shippen Invitational. Johnson, who spent the 2021 season on the Korn Ferry Tour, made the cut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Johnson’s finishes on the APGA Tour this year –
| Event | Finish |
| APGA Farmers Insurance Cincinnati | 1st |
| APGA Mastercard Tour Championship | 2nd |
| APGA Ascension Classic | 1st |
| APGA at Valhalla | T5 |
| APGA at TPC Deere Run | 2nd |
| APGA at TPC Scottsdale | 2nd |
| APGA at Port St. Lucie | 2nd |
“It is so gratifying to get the victory. I have been stacking up a lot of second-place finishes this year and I’m proud that I’ve stuck with it and am now converting a few seconds into victories,” Johnson said. “After losing my card on the Korn Ferry Tour, I lost some confidence. I’m so thankful for the challenge and opportunity that the APGA Tour has provided. We get to play incredible courses against top level competition and now having been in contention, I have regained that confidence and performed under pressure. I want to keep this going through the rest of the Farmers Fall Series and into Q-school this Fall.”
The APGA Farmers Insurance® Cincinnati included a diverse field of 51 golfers playing for a $25,000 purse and allowed players to establish position in the Farmers Insurance Fall Series bonus pool. The APGA Farmers Insurance Fall Series is a three-event series 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:
- September 3-5 – APGA Farmers Insurance Cincinnati – $25,000 purse, $7,500 to the winner
- October 2-4 – APGA Farmers Insurance Austin – $25,000 purse, $7,500 to the winner
- November 7-9 – APGA Farmers Insurance Fall Series Finale – $45,000 purse
- The top performing players from the three events will receive additional money from the Fall Series Bonus Pool with the winner receiving $15,000
APGA TOUR 2023 SCHEDULE/RESULTS
Date Tournament Winner
Jan 28-29 APGA Farmers Insurance Invitational Marcus Byrd
Feb 26-28 APGA Black History Month Classic Kevin Hall
March 20-21 APGA Florida @ St. Johns Golf & Country Club Marcus Byrd
April 9-11 APGA Las Vegas @ TPC Las Vegas Wyatt Worthington II
May 1-2 APGA at PGA Golf Club Kevin Hall
May 7-9 APGA Scottsdale @ TPC Scottsdale Kamaiu Johnson
May 28-30 APGA Deer Run @ TPC Deere Run Marcus Byrd
July 23-25 APGA at Valhalla Marcus Byrd
July 30-Aug 1 APGA Two Man Classic @ TPC Louisiana Christian Heavens & Quinn Riley
August 8-10 APGA Ascension Classic Chase Johnson
August 13-15 APGA Mastercard Tour Championship Varun Chopra
Sept. 3-5 APGA Farmers Insurance Cincinnati Chase Johnson
Jeff Dailey Award – In January 2023, the APGA Tour announced that the top player at the end of the season will receive the Jeff Dailey APGA Tour Player of the Year award. This honor will be given to the APGA Tour member who earns the most combined points in APGA Tour competition throughout the Lexus Cup season, the APGA Farmers Insurance Fall Series, and two Cisco Invitational events. The award, which is named after former Farmers Insurance CEO Jeff Dailey in recognition of his long-time support of the APGA Tour, will include a $25,000 bonus for the winner. Thanks to his four victories on the APGA Tour this season, Marcus Byrd currently leads the Jeff Dailey Award standings, but the victory on Tuesday helped Johnson close the gap slightly.
“We launched the APGA Tour in 2010 thanks to a $10,000 contribution that came from Farmers Insurance and through the support of Jeff Dailey,” said APGA Tour CEO Ken Bentley. “The APGA Tour has made incredible progress over the years and Jeff has been a catalyst of our momentum and success. As we look at the future, we want to make sure that his impact on our Tour isn’t forgotten. Having this award in his name is fitting and will serve as a reminder that with the sustained help of dedicated and passionate supporters, change can happen.”
Special APGA Youth Clinic featuring Ohio native Kevin Hall – One of the stars of the APGA Tour is Kevin Hall, who has won twice this year and six times on the APGA Tour in his career. Remarkably, Hall plays each round in silence. He was diagnosed as profoundly deaf at age two after surviving H-flu meningitis. He learned to play golf at nine and later became the first Black golfer to play at Ohio State University, where he won the 2004 Big Ten championship by 11 shots.
Hall returned to his hometown for the APGA Farmers Insurance @ Sharon Woods and hosted a clinic with students from his former high school – St. Rita School for the Deaf on Saturday, September 3. The clinic included golf instruction, and an essay contest with two winners receiving $500 each and four runner-up winners receiving $250 each.
As Hall has said in the past, “If I have a dream and I want to accomplish something, I’m not going to let my deafness stop me. There is always a way to get it done and I had to learn that at a young age, and it’s helped me tremendously to get to where I am today and accomplish all the things I’ve accomplished.”
In regard to this event, Hall added, “It’s pretty special to have the APGA Tour come to Cincinnati, and it is just as special to be a part of a clinic for the students of St. Rita. It’s always fun to interact with the students having been in their shoes myself. It’s an honor to be able to give back and share the wonderful game of golf with the young kids. I’m looking forward to it.”
