SILVIS, Illinois (July 16, 2026) – As far as winning professional golf tournamentsat TPC Deere Run goes, Marcus Byrd’s name has become as synonymous as anyone who has ever won at the Illinois course.
Familiarity with the D.A. Weibring-designed course and his local guest caddie fueled Byrd with yet another happy return to the Quad Cities region, as his 4-under-par 67 in Thursday’s final round of the 2026 APGA (Advocates Professional Golf Association) at TPC Deere Run paced him to a four-stroke victory.
The 2025 APGA Tour Jeff Daily Player of the Year Award winner compiled an overall 10-under 203 (67-69-67) and has enjoyed a harmonious relationship with TPC Deere Run over the past three years. He also won this tournament in 2023 and 2025 and tied for third place in 2024.
Not one to buck good karma, Byrd brought back First Tee – Quad Cities participant Ariana Williams as his caddie for a second consecutive title run at this tournament. As a youth, Byrd was a product of the First Tee-Greater Washington, D.C. program.
“She’s just a sweetheart and keeps me grounded,” Byrd said of Williams. “We just talk about anything else other than golf, which is nice. It’s just really cool to kind of get to know a First Tee kid from here.
“TPC Deere Run is a great place to come back to. It’s always in great shape and they treat us great here. It’s just a good layout. You really have to place your golf ball out here, which is super important. I was fortunate to play here in the PGA (TOUR John Deere Classic) event in 2023, so it was helpful having some knowledge to fall back on.”
Byrd claimed a $8,000 winner’s check from a $25,000 purse and earned 500 points toward the Cisco Cup Series and the APGA’s Jeff Dailey Player of the Year standings.
APGA Tour rookie David Kim, of Anaheim, California, and Westerville, Ohio native and Michigan State product Troy Taylor II tied for second place at 6-under 207. Kim carded a 4-under 67 and earned his third top-4 finish on the APGA Tour this season.
Byrd, a Washington D.C. native and resident of Temple Hills, Maryland, captured his 11th APGA Tour event in his sixth year on the circuit. He has won the past two APGA Tour events and is the first golfer to win three APGA Tour events this year.
“It’s cool and is just a process,” Byrd said. “It shows that hard work pays off. I just continue to try to put my best foot forward and work as hard as I can to try to get to that next level.”
The 2019 Conference USA Golfer of the Year as a senior at Middle Tennessee State is one of four APGA Tour golfers (also Luis Gagne, Chase Johnson and Gregory Odom Jr.) to hold full membership on the PGA TOUR Americas tour in 2026. On that tour, he has placed top-25 in four of eight starts with a best finish of T3 in the 71st ECP Brazil Open in April.
Playing on the PGA TOUR Americas tour has helped to sharpen his game and test his mentality and competitive edge.
“Playing against those guys week in and week out, working on my game, continuing to get better, and playing seven days in a row on great golf courses is what I need to do to make it to that next level,” Byrd said. “It gets overlooked because it’s not Korn Ferry (Tour) or PGA TOUR, but there are so many good players.”
Brian Ohr, a Wheeling, Illinois resident, and Byrd entered the final round tied for the lead at 6-under 136, posting identical scores of 67 and 69 through Rounds 1 and 2, respectively. However, a four-shot swing between the pair over Thursday’s first five holes – Byrd made birdies on the second and fifth holes while Ohr suffered bogeys on Nos. 3 and 4 – offered Byrd a lead he would not relinquish.
Seeking his second APGA Tour victory, Ohr registered a final-round 4-over 75 and wound up tied for sixth at 2-under 211. Kim tallied three birdies over his final six holes and headed to the clubhouse one shot back of Byrd. However, the eventual champion padded his lead with birdies at Nos. 13, 17 and 18 without making a bogey over his back nine.
Ohr was the lone Illinois resident to make the 36-hole cut (2-over-par 144) after Wednesday’s second round, whittling the 52-player roster down to 19 for Thursday’s final round. The APGA at TPC Deere Run was the second 54-hole event of the 2026 APGA Tour season.
Ranked No. 1 in the APGA’s Jeff Dailey points standings and Cisco Cup Series standings entering this week’s tournament, Flint, Michigan native Willie Mack III held a one-stroke lead over Byrd and Ohr after Tuesday’s first round. Mack III shot a 5-under 66 that included consecutive birdies on holes 6-8 and 16-17.
Uncharacteristic of Mack III, the APGA’s wins leader among active golfers (19 APGA titles), fell out of contention following rounds of 4-over 75 and 1-over 72 over the final 36 holes and placed T10 at even-par 213.
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 its eighth event of its 2026 season at the inaugural APGA Michael Eaves Classic & Celebrity Pro-Am July 27-29 at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, Louisiana, and the season runs through November 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.
