APGA Tour returns to TPC Deere Run, Silvis

The APGA Tour returns to TPC Deere Run for the third consecutive year May 28-30 with a field of top-tier golfers from minority backgrounds, including HBCU college golf competition, a news release says.

In its pursuit to drive greater diversity in the sport of golf, the tour has made great strides over the past several years, growing from seven events in 2020, to 14 in 2021 and 18 last year with over $1 million in prize money. Another 18 events are on tap this year with another one million dollars in prize money expected to be awarded to the increasingly competitive group of players.

This year, APGA at TPC Deere Run will feature an APGA Foundation Youth Clinic set for Saturday, May 27, at South Shore Golf Course in Chicago. The APGA Foundation Youth Clinic is a longstanding component of APGA Tour events and will be more prevalent this year now that the global pandemic is mostly behind us. The clinic is targeted at youths from under-served communities and it includes a career development program, health and wellness sessions, plus a golf clinic featuring APGA Tour players. It also includes an essay contest featuring cash prizes and educational scholarships. For more information, visit here.

TPC Deere Run is one of six TPC courses on this year’s schedule, reflecting the tour’s partnership with PGA Tour, which owns and operates the prestigious venues.

Last year at TPC Deere Run,Landon Lyons of Austin, Texas, won the tournament with Toks Pedro of Bowie, Maryland, taking second. So far this year, Marcus Byrd of Washington D.C. and Kevin Hall of Cincinnati have each won twice. Byrd emerged victorious in the APGA Tour Farmers Insurance Invitational at Torrey Pines Golf Course and APGA Tour Florida at St. John’s Country Club. Hall won the APGA Black History Month Classic at Indian Canyons Golf Resort in Palm Springs and APGA at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie.

After five full-field APGA Tour events,  Kevin Hall leads the Lexus Cup standings with a total of 1,608 points. Marcus Byrd currently resides in second place with 1,180 points.

APGA competitorWyatt Worthington will play in the PGA Championship, one of four professional golf majors, this week at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York. Worthington, who won at TPC Las Vegas earlier this year on the APGA Tour, qualified by finishing in the top 10 in the PGA Professional Championship tournament for PGA of America teaching pros in New Mexico. This is the third time Worthington has qualified for the professional golf major.

The TPC Deere Run event will be the seventh of the season. Kamaiu Johnson won the most recent event at TPC Scottsdale, setting a record by posting a 61 in the final round, the lowest in the history of the APGA Tour.

The Advocates Professional Golf Association was established in 2010 as a non-profit organization with the mission to bring greater diversity to the game of golf. For ore information, visit here.