United States PGA Cup Team and Captain Suzy Whaley was graciously accepted the winning trophy, as the USA team captured the 30th PGA Cup for their first overseas victory since 2009; won a second consecutive Llandudno International Trophy; and earned their 19th win in the series against Great Britain & Ireland, dating back to 1973.

Making history as the first woman to both Captain in the men’s PGA Cup and win it, too, PGA Honorary President Whaley of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida was all smiles on this beautiful day. Whaley was also Captain of the victorious United States Women’s PGA Cup Team in its inaugural event in 2019. 

“I have been able to do a lot of amazing things in my career, and this ranks right at the very top,” said Whaley. In the opening Singles match of the final day of the 30th PGA Cup at Foxhills Resort & Club in Surrey, England, both the United States and Great Britain and Ireland’s teams wanted to set a winning tone. With the U.S. up 9.5-6.5 entering Sunday Singles, GB&I’s Ashley Mansell raced out to a seemingly insurmountable 4-up lead over America’s Michael Block after 12 holes.

“I have been able to do a lot of amazing things in my career, and this ranks right at the very top,” said Whaley. In the opening Singles match of the final day of the 30th PGA Cup at Foxhills Resort & Club in Surrey, England, both the United States and Great Britain & Ireland’s teams wanted to set a winning tone. With the U.S. up 9.5-6.5 entering Sunday Singles, GB&I’s Ashley Mansell raced out to a seemingly insurmountable 4-up lead over America’s Michael Block after 12 holes.

17 Students at Coastal Carolina, Eastern Kentucky, Methodist, Mississippi State, Nebraska-Lincoln, N.C. State, Penn State and UNLV earn $8,000 Scholarships

17 students at eight colleges have been awarded scholarships through the PGA REACH PGA WORKS Golf Management University Scholarship Program for the 2022-2023 academic school year. The $8,000 scholarships were presented to talented and motivated students from diverse backgrounds who are working toward PGA Membership through one of the 18 accredited PGA Golf Management University Programs across the nation. However, no African Americans are among the recipients.

Designed as an initiative to evolve the demographic composition of the golf industry’s workforce and the PGA of America’s Membership, PGA Works to leverage fellowships, scholarships, career exploration events and the PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship to inspire and engage talent from diverse backgrounds to pursue key employment positions across the golf industry.

The selected students pursue bachelor’s degrees in a golf industry-compatible major, with the ultimate goal of obtaining PGA Membership.

Since its inception in 2018, a total of 47 individuals have earned PGA WORKS Golf Management University scholarships, with a total of $376,000 of overall scholarship support delivered to date. 5 African American students have received the scholarship out of a the total 47 recipients overall, according to Michael Abramowitz, Director of Public Relations for Membership & Inclusion for the PGA of America.

“PGA REACH is proud to award these outstanding students with a PGA WORKS Golf Management University Scholarship, as they pursue their dream of attaining PGA Membership,” said PGA President Jim Richerson. “These 17 aspiring PGA Members represent the next generation of golf industry leaders, and we are delighted to support their journey.”

Scholarship recipients were selected on the basis of academic record, leadership demonstrated through participation in school and community activities, honors and work experience, a statement of goals and aspirations, unique personal or family circumstances, an outside appraisal, active participation in the game of golf and playing ability.

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 2022-2023 PGA WORKS Golf Management University Scholarship Program Recipients

Abigail Brooks
Kings Mountain, N.C.
North Carolina State University
PGA Golf Management University Program Class of 2025

Natalie Brosig
Erie, Pa.
Methodist University
PGA Golf Management University Program Class of 2025

Alexandra Carr
Vermillion, S.D.
Mississippi State University
PGA Golf Management University Program Class of 2024

Emily Gustafson
Holdrege, Neb.
University of Nebraska – Lincoln
PGA Golf Management University Program Class of 2024

Mark Howard
Lexington, Ky.
Eastern Kentucky University
PGA Golf Management University Program Class of 2023

Leah Im
Las Vegas
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
PGA Golf Management University Program Class of 2023 

Wei Li Loo
Singapore
Penn State
PGA Golf Management University Program Class of 2024

Mason McKenna
Olathe, Kan.
University of Nebraska – Lincoln
PGA Golf Management University Program Class of 2026

Addyson Meadows
Troy, Ala.
University of Nebraska – Lincoln
PGA Golf Management University Program Class of 2026

Willow Merry
Michie, Tenn.
Mississippi State University
PGA Golf Management University Program Class of 2026

Emily Nelson
Brentwood, Tenn.
Mississippi State University
PGA Golf Management University Program Class of 2026

Lydia Pils
Gainesville, Ga.
Eastern Kentucky University
PGA Golf Management University Program Class of 2026

Nikolas Pitris
Cyprus
Mississippi State University
PGA Golf Management University Program Class of 2025

Teagan Richards
Baton Rouge, La.
Coastal Carolina University
PGA Golf Management University Program Class of 2025

Jamie Rush
Canonsburg, Pa.
Methodist University
PGA Golf Management University Program Class of 2025

Ingrid Steingrimsen
Norway
Methodist University
PGA Golf Management University Program Class of 2024

Daniel Tuma
Marriottsville, Md.
Mississippi State University
PGA Golf Management University Program Class of 2026

To ensure success and perpetuity of the program, as well as objectivity in the selection process, PGA REACH retained Scholarship America as a third-party administrator. Scholarship America is the nation’s largest designer and manager of scholarship, tuition assistance and other education support programs for corporations, foundations, associations and individuals to help students achieve their college dreams.

Marcus Byrd Cruises to 2nd Pro Victory with Hot Putter at APGA Tour Valley Forge, Blue Bell, PA

(September 22, 2022) – APGA Tour rising star Marcus Byrd captured his second title in 15 months,  winning the APGA Tour Valley Forge Championship, the second of four events in the APGA Tour Farmers Insurance Fall Series, on Wednesday at Bluestone Country Club in Montgomery County, just west of Philadelphia.

Byrd’s triumph, in only his second year on the tour, included three putts of over 40 feet during Tuesday’s first round as he forged a four-stroke lead.  He played mistake-free golf over the final 18 holes to pocket the $7,500 first prize from the $25,000 purse.

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The fifth-place finisher in the regular-season Lexus Cup Point Standings, Byrd is now a top contender for bonus pool prize money in the Farmers Insurance Fall Series, which concludes with events in Houston (October 25-26) and Los Angeles (November 9-10).

His first-round heroics included nine birdies enroute to a six-under 65 and a four-shot lead over Andrew Walker of Holt, Michigan.  He shot a nine-under, 65-68-133, five shots better than Gabe Lench of Lake Mary, Florida, who finished 71-67-138.  Joseph Hooks of Farmington Hills, Michigan, took third at 70-71-141 on the par 71, 6,372-yard layout in Montgomery County.

The 25-year-old resident of Washington D.C. starred at Middle Tennessee St. and competed in the 2020 U.S. Amateur at Bandon Dunes.  He started in golf with First Tee of Greater Washington D.C. playing at Langston Golf Course at the age of seven and carved out a distinguished junior career, winning the Georgia State Junior Championship in 2013 before earning Conference USA Player of the Year plaudits as a college senior.

“My putter was hot and that helped with the long putts yesterday and a bunch of one-putt greens today,” stated Byrd, who protected his lead with a mistake-free, three-birdie round. “My game is moving in the right direction.  I’m a pro golfer who is just not there yet.” Byrd has multiple runner-up finishes in recent months, including a tie for second at the Mastercard APGA Tour Championship in San Antonio last month.  He is just back from Portugal, where he competed at the DP World Tour Q-School, shooting a 28 on the front nine in the third round but failing to move to the next stage over the four-round tournament.

In the APGA Tour’s new Cisco Junior Series presented by the Champ Foundation, Philadelphia-area amateur Matt Vital of Bethlehem defeated K.J. Ofahengaue of Utah on the first playoff hole by sinking a 12-foot birdie putt.  It was his second victory in the Cisco Junior Series this year and he is in the driver’s seat to secure a berth in the APGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Invitational at Torrey Pines in January, when the APGA Tour plays a tandem event during the PGA TOUR’s Farmers Insurance Open.

Among the other Philadelphia-area players, Zach Juhasz of Bethlehem shot 72-70-142, good for fourth  place; Louis Kelly of Sewell, New Jersey, shot 72-71-143, finishing sixth;  and Jeff Cunningham of Philadelphia, who played golf at Drexel, shot a 72-81-153 for 39th place.

APGA Tour Valley Forge was hosted by the Valley Forge Tourism & Convention Board, which promotes the Montgomery County region’s 50-plus golf courses as part of its MontoGolf initiative. APGA Tour Valley Forge week kicked off Sunday with the Advocates Foundation Youth Clinic at The Club at Shannondell in Audubon, PA, where young people from The First Tee of Greater Philadelphia and other community organizations interacted with experts in the fields of health/wellness, mental health, career options and golf, including APGA Tour players and officials.  The program included the awarding of $2,000 in educational grants to essay contest winners.
APGA Tour competition continues with the series’ first international tournament, the Butterfield Bermuda APGA Championship October 11-12 at Port Royal Course in Southampton, Bermuda.

The APGA Tour was established in 2010 with the mission to bring greater diversity to the game of golf by hosting and operating professional golf tournaments, player development programs, mentoring programs, and introducing the game to inner-city young people. The tour has grown from seven events with $200,000 in prize money in 2020 and 14 events with over $400,000 in prize money in 2021, to 18 events with over $900,000 in prize and bonus money in 2022.

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.

Sponsoring the APGA Tour Farmers Insurance Fall Series is part of several actions and initiatives that Farmers(r) has taken to help advance its commitment to diversity and growth in the game of golf. The national insurer has provided funding for APGA TOUR events and the organization’s athletes, sponsored players including Kamaiu Johnson and Willie Mack III, hosted the first-ever APGA event at a PGA TOUR tournament at the 2020 Farmers Insurance Open, provided Mack with a sponsor’s exemption into the 2021 Farmers Insurance Open, and provided Johnson and Ryan Alford with sponsor’s exemptions into the 2022 Farmers Insurance Open. This support led to a landmark moment for the APGA Tour as the 2022 APGA Tour Farmers Insurance Invitational was the first-ever APGA Tour event to be broadcast on national television with the final round airing on Golf Channel.

Tiger Woods was a playing captain during the 2019 Presidents Cup and his participation helped lead the U.S. team to victory at Royal Melbourne. But it’s a different story this week. The former world number one is not with the U.S. team at Quail Hollow Club, rather, still recovering from the roll-over car crash he sustained in 2021.

Although the iconic golfer is not physically at Quail Hollow does not mean that he has abandoned the team altogether. According to U.S. Captain Davis Love III on Thursday,

“I was standing on the sixth tee for a long time watching every group come through and I called him and we talked for a while…I said, ‘at least you’re watching. You can call if you see anything.’”

Love confirmed that Woods continues to be involved with the U.S. Team, if even at a distance. And, we have all seen Wood continuously involved with American teams in recent years as a captain, vice captain or player and Love acknowledged he remains engaged even from afar.

“He’s having fun. He obviously misses it,” Love said. “The other night on a Zoom call, [Fred Couples] asked him, ‘When are you getting in?’ Tiger laughed, ‘What’d you say?’ I know he wishes he were here.”

Full match scoring from the Presidents Cup

Woods, who only played just three events this year, has shared with the public his schedule limitations while also admitting that a grueling week climbing the North Carolina hills wasn’t an option.

“It’s not easy. We’re banging around in a cart and walking up and down hills. I get it,” Love said. “We’re including him, as usual.”