Six-time PGA Tour winner Billy Horschel of Ponte Vedra Beach already hosts an American Junior Golf tournament in the fall.
He’s now hosting a professional event at the TPC Sawgrass Players Stadium Course.
The Advocates Professional Golf Association Tour will play the inaugural Billy Horschel Invitational July 29-31 at the Stadium Course, with 18 players competing in 36 holes, after a pro-am. Cisco is a presenting sponsor.
The tournament week also will include a roundtable, seminars and other development opportunities for the players with golf industry leaders. The APGA was established in 2008 to bring more diversity to professional golf through a series of tournaments for minority players.
The PGA Tour began assisting the APGA last year and it currently offers 13 tournaments this year for more than $350,000 in purses.
The field will include nine players from the APGA Player Development Program, led by Kamaiu Johnson and Willie Mack III, who have played in multiple PGA Tour events this season, plus Jarred Garcia of Jacksonville, Ryan Alford, Marcus Byrd, Michael Herrera, Joey Stills, Davin White and Rovonta Young.
Mack has won 65 pro events, including six on the APGA, and won 11 college tournaments at Bethune-Cookman.
Also playing will be the five graduates of the APGA Collegiate Rankings, including Prince Cunningham of Jacksonville. There will be three sponsor invitations and the next-highest ranked APGA Collegiate player.
Horschel said his modest background could have prevented him from having more professional opportunities, had he not been an All-American at the University of Florida.
“Growing up in a blue-collar family, I did not always have the same opportunities in golf as some of my fellow competitors,” he said in a statement. “Without some of the success that I had in college, I would have struggled to find the financial backing, resources and industry connections to continue my dream of making it on the PGA Tour.
“Through the APGA Tour and the Player Development Program, I want to help support each players’ journey, provide them with some resources, and gain an experience that I hope will benefit each player as they chase their dreams in professional golf,” he added.
Cisco senior vice-president Mark Patterson, whose company already sponsors Johnson, said being involved with the tournament fits into its goal of “powering a more inclusive future.”
“We are proud to step up and provide support for promising golfers, just as we did earlier this year when we welcomed Kamaiu Johnson to Team Cisco,” Patterson said. “We’re thrilled to be part of this event and look forward to helping more aspiring golfers reach their full potential.”
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