The Advocates PGA Tour has crossed the $1 million mark in total season purse for the first time since it began in 2010, marking another indicator of the tour's remarkable rise in recent years.
The Advocates Professional Golf Association (APGA) Tour is a non-profit organization founded in 2010 with the mission to prepare African Americans and other minority golfers to compete and win at the highest level of professional golf. The organization has vastly expanded its schedule, partnerships and exposure in recent years, including earning exemptions for top players into events on the PGA Tour, Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour Champions.
Now, with an additional commiment of $25,000 to the purse for the tour's season-ending event from Farmers Insurance, the first APGA Tour sponsor, the total prize money for the season will reach seven figures for the first time.
“We launched the APGA Tour in 2010 thanks to a $10,000 contribution that came from Farmers Insurance. It’s fitting that we hit this truly remarkable milestone with a contribution from Farmers 12 years later,” said APGA Tour CEO Ken Bentley.
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At season's conclusion, the APGA Tour will have staged 18 tournaments, many at PGA Tour-owned venues in the TPC Network, thanks to a partnership with the PGA Tour. Corporate sponsors, including Farmers Insurance, Lexus, Cisco, World Wide Technology, Mastercard, Ascension and ADP, have both helped increase APGA Tour purses and playing opportunities in PGA Tour-sanctioned events.
Tim O’Neal, who debuted on the PGA Tour Champions this year and contended in the Pure Insurance Championship, was part of the first season on the APGA Tour.
“It’s amazing to witness how the APGA Tour impacted the careers of many young minority golfers,” O’Neal said. “For young players of all backgrounds, golf is such a difficult profession as the costs of equipment, travel, and tournament entries often far exceed the amount of money a golfer can earn on mini-tours. With the resources the APGA Tour is now providing, along with the purses and prize money associated with APGA Tour events, minority players are going to have a lot more opportunities to play top-level venues while earning an income that can better support their ability to improve their game and achieve their dreams.”