Tag: Willie Mack III

Willie Mack III shoots 66 at Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School, one step closer to PGA Tour

“My dream is to win three times and go right to the PGA Tour.”

Willie Mack III is one step closer to his dream of playing regularly on the PGA Tour.

The 34-year-old APGA Tour Player of the Year and mini-tour legend made an eagle and three birdies in his first seven holes of the final round of Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School to guarantee starts in the first eight events this season.

“It’s been a long time coming,” he said speaking on Sirius/XM PGA Tour Radio’s “Hitting the Green with Sobel and the Caddie.”

Mack, who started the day T-41 and already had secured conditional status by advancing through the second stage of Q-School for the first, needed to go low on Monday as Nos. 11-40 (and ties) lock-up starts in the first eight events while Nos. 41 and above likely will get some starts depending on one’s final number.

Mack charged out of the gate hot and parred in the final 11 holes at The Marshwood Course to shoot 5-under 66 and a 72-hole total of 7-under 277 at The Landings in Savannah, Georgia.

There are currently just three Black golfers on the PGA Tour: Tiger Woods, Cameron Champ and Joseph Bramlett.

Mack, who played at Bethune-Cookman, a historically Black college in Daytona Beach, Florida, has played in six career PGA Tour events on sponsorship exemptions and made four previous Korn Ferry Tour starts (with one made cut, a T-62 at the 2021 BMW Charity Pro-Am).

Along the way, the family’s house twice went into foreclosure (although they never lost it) and Mack resorted to sleeping in his car for a year and a half to save money. Photos of his car on fire on Interstate 95 went viral and while he saved his clubs, he lost the rest of his belongings.

“I know all the sacrifices my dad and my mom made for me,” he said. “I knew I didn’t want to give up for them so I just kept going and I’m glad it worked out.”

“The journey has been long but worth it,” Mack’s father, Willie Jr., wrote on Facebook. “Son, you never gave up and pressed forward. You reached your goal (and) now you have new goals to achieve.”

On August 2, 2018, the PGA Tour invited eight members of the APGA Tour, including Mack to TPC Sawgrass and a visit to the PGA Tour Academy, where director of golf Todd Anderson, whose pupils have included Billy Horschel and Brandt Snedeker, held court. That experience changed the course of Mack’s professional career.

“(Anderson) said I have the game to play on the Tour,” Mack recalled. “He said I hit the ball just like them. That meant everything to me.”

Mack gives the APGA Tour credit for helping his progression as a player, and knows his success will rub off on future players.

“Just me being able to get out there and play well I think that gives them a lot of confidence to do the same in the near future,” he said.

Eight starts is a start for Mack but the journey has a long way to go – he knows that a shortcut is to win three times next season and earn a “Battlefield Promotion” to the big leagues or finish in the top 30 and be awarded a PGA Tour card for 2024.

“My dream is to win three times and go right to the PGA Tour,” he said. “That’s my goal and if not, for sure, get into the top 30 on the money list and get on the PGA Tour.”

He’s one step closer to making that a reality.

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Willie Mack III wins Butterfield Bermuda APGA Championship in three-way playoff

Next up for Mack is the second stage of Korn Ferry Tour Q-School.

Willie Mack III won the inaugural Butterfield Bermuda APGA Championship on Wednesday after outlasting Joseph Hooks and Marcus Byrd in a three-way playoff.

In the first international competition for the Advocates Professional Golf Association Tour, Mack needed just a tap-in par on the first playoff to clinch the title at Port Royal Golf Course.

Hooks led after 18 holes and after 36, the three were tied at 4-under (138). Replaying the 18th hole, Mack made his par while Byrd and Hooks couldn’t match. Mack takes the $15,000 first-place prize from the purse of $60,000, which was the fourth-largest in the history of the APGA Tour.

“I tried not to make mistakes today,” said Mack. “My putting was there today when I needed it. Hopefully, I can bring what I accomplished this week into next week. It was good to play a PGA Tour-level course these last two days.”

Next up for Mack is the second stage of Korn Ferry Tour Q-School at Plantation Preserve Golf Club in Plantation, Florida.

The APGA Tour’s first-ever Farmers Insurance Fall Series continues at the APGA Tour Charlie Sifford Centennial at Kingswood Forest Golf Club, in Houston, Oct 25-26.

The PGA Tour’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship will also be played at Port Royal, Oct. 27-30.

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Former PGA Tour pro Brad Adamonis wins APGA’s Ascension Classic event in St. Louis

The APGA event was played in tandem with the PGA Tour Champion’s Ascension Charity Classic.

Former PGA Tour pro Brad Adamonis sank a 35-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win the APGA Tour’s inaugural Ascension Classic at Glen Echo Country Club in St. Louis on Friday afternoon.

Adamonis’s 11-under 131 was just enough to top Willie Mack III, who birdied three of his final five holes to finish at 10 under. Landon Lyons and Quinn Riley tied for third at 9 under.

Glen Echo Country Club played as a 6,382-yard, par-71 layout.

The APGA event was played in tandem with the Champions tour’s second annual Ascension Charity Classic at nearby Norwood Hills Country Club.  

Adamonis shot a final-round 65, which tied for the best round of the day. St. Louis native Christian Heavens also matched Adamonis with a 6-under round. 

“It broke about 12 feet,” Adamonis said of his winning putt. “I’ve been putting better. I stayed calm after a couple of bad shots. I’ve worked hard, and I wanted to trust my game.” 

With the victory, Adamonis earned a sponsor exemption into the PGA Tour’s World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba, Nov. 3-6 at El Camaleon Golf Course at Mayakoba in Riviera Maya, Mexico. Adamonis also pocketed the top prize of $10,000.

It’s his second APGA win this season. He also captured the title at Valhalla in July. The victory puts Adamonis in the driver’s seat for the top prize in the Farmers Insurance Fall Series bonus pool of $20,000 with payouts to be determined via points earned over the course of the four-event series.

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Back-to-back: Willie Mack III captures second APGA Tour Billy Horschel Invitational

“I enjoy this course and it is never easy winning against the competition out here on the APGA Tour.”

It took Willie Mack III 29 holes to make a bogey at the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass this week.

Four holes later, he potentially faced a lot worse.

However, the 33-year-old veteran of the Advocates Professional Golf Association minimized the effect of driving into an unplayable lie at the par-4 15th hole and went on to play the final three holes at 1-under on Friday to win his second Billy Horschel APGA Invitational, his third APGA event on the First Coast and his 71st professional victory.

Mack (70) beat Marcus Byrd (74) by four shots at 5-under-par 139 and earned an APGA record first-place check of $40,000, from a total purse of $150,000. Joseph Stills (72) finished solo third and PGA club professional Wyatt Worthington (76) and Aaron Beverly (68, the low round of the tournament) tied for fourth at 1-over.

In addition to the prize money, Mack gets a sponsor invitation to the Korn Ferry Tour’s BMW Charity Pro-Am in June.

“Don’t get me wrong, the purse and the winner’s check are amazing,” he said. “But the Korn Ferry exemption means more than money. It’s an opportunity for me to go out and play well and work my way on to that tour this year.”

Mack has made two cuts on the PGA Tour playing on sponsor invitations, and he played on the weekend at last year’s BMW.

Mack was in a three-way tie with Byrd and Worthington to start the day and had a solid start, with birdies at Nos. 4 and 7 to take a four-shot lead through 10 holes.

But he made his first bogey of the week at the par-5 11th hole and Byrd birdied it to cut the lead to one shot. Mack rallied with a birdie at No. 12 but when his drive at the 15th hole went right and landed in a bush, the door was open for Byrd, a former Middle Tennessee player from Washington D.C.

However, Mack showed a veteran’s guile. He was unable to drop anywhere near the bush and instead had to drop back and take line-of-sight relief. He hit his third shot into the left bunker and blasted out to a pin cut tight to the trap.

Mack drained the putt, allowing himself a brief fist pump, and Byrd failed to get up-and-down from the left side to leave the margin at three shots.

The two traded birdies at No. 16 and pars at No. 17 but Mack sealed the deal when he hit a hybrid stinger off the 18th tee that split the fairway, and Byrd tugged his tee shot into the water. Mack reached the green and two-putted for par, while Byrd made a bogey putt to hold onto solo second.

Mack said he got the idea of what to hit off the 18th tee with the tournament in balance by watching Justin Thomas hit a similar shot with a 5-wood in the final round of the 2021 Players Championship.

“I enjoy this course and it is never easy winning against the competition out here on the APGA Tour,” Mack said.

Tournament host Billy Horschel of Ponte Vedra Beach, a six-time PGA Tour winner, said winning twice at the Stadium Course, under any format or conditions of competition, is no small feat.

“Any time you get a chance to play here is one thing, but to say you’re a champion at TPC Sawgrass is special, now that he’s done it twice,” Horschel said of Mack. “He played absolutely beautifully. I told him I better not see him here again because he’s going to start the day with a four-shot deficit.”

Mack said Horschel has been a mentor to him since Horschel and the PGA Tour began their involvement with the APGA, which provides playing opportunities to minority golfers.

“Billy and I have had a great relationship over the last year or two,” Mack said. “Personally, it means a lot to be able to count on him for advice. I think his name on this event and the support he has shown our Tour and our guys opens up opportunities for all the other players to get sponsorships and gain experience on a PGA Tour course like TPC Sawgrass.”

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Worthington, Mack, Byrd set the first-round pace at APGA Horschel Invitational

The purse this week is a record $125,000, with $40,000 going to the winner.

Willie Mack III is from Flint, Michigan, and his golf base is in Orlando.

But the 33-year-old mini-tour legend loves playing — and winning — on Florida’s First Coast.

Mack took a step towards capturing an APGA Tour event in the area for a third time in nine months when he carved out a bogey-free 3-under 69 on a sultry, calm Thursday to finish in a three-way tie for the lead with club professional Wyatt Worthington and former Middle Tennessee State golfer Marcus Byrd in the first round of the Billy Horschel Invitational, at the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.

Mack birdied Nos. 4, 8, and 16 and made a couple of tough 5-foot putts for par to close out the round, the last to convert from the left bunker at No. 18. Worthington, who qualified for the PGA Championship in two weeks at Southern Hills, caught Mack with a two-putt birdie at No. 16 and a tap-in at No. 17 after he cozied a 9-iron to within a foot of the hole.

Wyatt Worthington watches his tee shot sail down the 18th fairway of the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass during Thursday’s first round of the APGA Billy Horschel Invitational.

Unlike Mack, Worthington had two stumbles, with bogeys at Nos. 7 and 13.

”It’s Pete Dye,” said Worthington, the head pro at the Golf Depot in Columbus, Ohio. “He makes you think on every tee.”

Byrd, from Washington D.C., who won the Georgia State Junior in 2013 after moving to Atlanta, had the only eagle of the day among the 18-man field, at No. 11.

Mack won at Queen’s Harbour in March and at the Stadium Course last July, in the inaugural Horschel Invitational.  He won $25,000 in that event but thanks to sponsors such as Cisco Systems, the purse this week is a record $125,000, with $40,000 going to the winner.

”I’ve won a lot in Florida, mostly in the winter months,” he said. “Yeah … I like Florida.”

Mack fired his third consecutive 69 at the Stadium Course. He shot 69-69–138 to win the Horschel Invitational last summer.

Mack said he plays his best golf on the toughest courses, where finding the fairway is at a premium, and the Stadium always qualifies, regardless of the time of year.

”Last year it was a lot firmer,” Mack said of the Stadium Course. “The greens are softer this year but a bogey-free round out here is great. It’s one of the hardest courses on the PGA Tour and if you keep it in the fairway, it makes the rounds a little less stressful.”

Mack won his sixth APGA tournament and his 70th professional title at Queen’s Harbour. He also has received sponsor invitations to PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour events and has made two PGA Tour cuts — including the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, near his hometown.

He said winning never gets old.

“And in this one, the money is really good,” he said.

APGA Tour Billy Horschel Invitational

At Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass

First round

Willie Mack III 34-35–69

Marcus Byrd 34-35–69

Wyatt Worthington 35-34–69

Rovonta Young 36-35–71

Kamaiu Johnson 36-36–72

Everett Whitten 33-39–72

Ryan Alford 37-35–72

Davin White 37-35–72

Joseph Stills 36-36–72

Troy Taylor II 35-39–74

Mahindra Lutchman 38-36–74

Michael Herrera 35-40–75

Trey Valentine 37-38–75

Mulbe Dillard IV 41-34–75

Kevin Hall 40-36–76

Aaron Beverly 41-36–77

Andrew Walker 39-41–80

Olajuwon Ajanaku 40-41–81

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Willie Mack III will go for third Florida win at 2022 Billy Horschel Invitational

The 18-player field is set for the Billy Horschel APGA Tour Invitational at TPC Sawgrass.

The 18-player field is set for the Billy Horschel APGA Tour Invitational May 4-6 at the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.

Leading the field will be defending champion and six-time APGA winner Willie Mack III. Mack, who won an APGA event at Queen’s Harbour last month, is one of 12 players in the field from the APGA player development program. The others are Ryan Alford, Aaron Beverly, Marcus Byrd, Mulbe Dillard IV, Michael Herrera, Kamaiu Johnson, Mahindra Lutchman, Trey Valentine, Davin White, Rovonta Young and Andrew Walker.

Johnson, Mack and Alford took a trip this week to the Masters to take in Friday’s second round at Augusta National along with Kenyatta Ramsey, the PGA Tour VP of Player Development.

The other six players in the Horschel event are exempt players Olajuwon Ajanaku, Kevin Hall, Joey Stills, Wyatt Worthington and Gregory Odom Jr. and amateur Troy Taylor II.

The tournament is sponsored by Horschel, a Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, resident and six-time PGA Tour winner, and Cisco. The field will compete for an APGA record purse of $125,000 and the winner will receive an exemption into the Korn Ferry Tour’s BMW Charity Pro-Am in June.

The pro-am will be May 4 and the competitive rounds May 5-6. The pro-am day also includes seminars, development opportunities with industry leaders and a trip to the PGA Tour Superstore to help players with equipment fitting.

“Our Tour prides itself in providing a pathway for professional golfers to achieve their dreams and reach the PGA Tour, and we’re honored to work alongside Billy Horschel and the APGA Tour in an effort to provide meaningful playing opportunities to help diversify the golf landscape,” Korn Ferry president Alex Baldwin said in a statement.

Six of the players in the field, Mack, Johnson, Alford, Byrd, Hall and Beverly, have played in PGA Tour events over the past 18 months and Mack made back-to-back cuts last year.

The APGA Tour was established in 2010 as a non-profit organization with the mission to bring greater diversity to the game of golf. The APGA Tour board works 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 up to 17 tournaments awarding more than $500,000 in prize money and nearly $100,000 in bonus money in 2022, the APGA has organized a Player Development Program to aid young minority golfers as they work to chase their goals in professional golf.

With his mom in the gallery, Willie Mack III wins APGA Tour at Queen’s Harbour Championship in a playoff

“Last time she came, I won, so maybe she needs to be out here more often.”

Willie Mack III is a winner again on the Advocates Professional Golf Association Tour.

Mack poured in a 40-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole to hold off Tommy Schaff at the APGA Tour at Queen’s Harbour Championship in Jacksonville.

Mack could’ve won in regulation but he bogeyed the 18th. He got the job done two holes later.

“It’s always good to win. There’s some great players out here and Tommy’s one of them,” said Mack, whose mom was in the gallery.

“It was nice having her here, for sure. Last time she came, I won, so maybe she needs to be out here more often.”

Brad Adamonis finished third, three shots back. Kamaiu Johnson fourth, five back. Five players tied for fifth, including Jarred Garcia and Tim O’Neal, who won APGA Tour at TPC Harding Park in February.

Mack won $7,500 from the $25,000 purse.

The APGA Tour returns April 2-3 with the APGA Tour at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

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Tim O’Neal wins APGA Tour event at TPC Harding Park in dominating fashion

The 49-year-old hopes to one day play on the PGA Tour Champions.

Tim O’Neal has been playing on the Advocates Professional Golf Association Tour since its inception in 2010 and has long been one of the better players on the circuit. On Tuesday, O’Neal added to his lengthy resume with his win at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. This is his first APGA win of 2022.

O’Neal carded five birdies on his front nine, ultimately pulling away from the rest of the field winning with a final score of 9 under.

The 49-year-old hopes to one day play on the PGA Tour Champions, as his 50th birthday is approaching August 3.

“I was in a good spot confidence-wise coming in,” O’Neal said after his round. “At the end of the day, if I can make putts, I’m in good shape.”

He was the runner-up at the APGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open Invitational a few weeks ago played at Torrey Pines. However, the winner, Patrick Newcomb, passed the Korn Ferry Tour exemption he earned with the victory to O’Neal. Newcomb is already a member of the KFT.

“In my mind, I still have a way to go,” O’Neal said when asked about possibly playing on the Champions tour down the road. “I’m just trying to get better every day so I can compete.”

O’Neal won the first place prize of $7,500 from the $25,000 purse. Willie Mack III, who’s made a few appearances on the PGA Tour, came in 19th.

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Willie Mack III wins Mastercard APGA Tour Championship, earns APGA Player of the Year honors

Willie Mack III is now a three-time APGA Player of the Year.

Willie Mack III is now a three-time APGA Player of the Year.

Mack shot an 8-under 64 on Tuesday in the final round of the Advocates Professional Golf Association’s Mastercard APGA Tour Championship at TPC Sugarloaf to claim the circuit’s top prize. He opened with a 65 on Monday.

Mack have five birdies on the back nine to seize control of the 36-hole tournament. With it, he claims the season-long Lexus Cup Point Standings title. He pocketed a total of $27,500 in prize money, combining the tournament winner’s purse of $10,000 with a $17,500 bonus pool prize for performance over eight regular-season events, and he won the use of a Lexus car for a year.

Mack also earned a spot in the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School in September.

“Everything came together pretty well again today,” said Mack. “Including the PGA Tour and the Korn Ferry Tour, these are the biggest events I’ve played, so this would be one of the top stretches of my career, for sure. I’ve been able to play better with the opportunities that came along. Knowing I can play out there (on the PGA Tour) definitely helps my confidence.”

Mack played the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in January and Genesis Invitational in February on sponsor exemptions. He later made the cut at both the Rocket Mortgage Classic and the John Deere Classic.

Patrick Newcomb finished second at TPC Sugarloaf, two strokes back. Tim O’Neal and Aaron Beverly tied for third, four shots back. Landon Lyons was fifth.

Mastercard joined as title sponsor of the APGA Tour Championship on Monday.

The APGA Tour next has an event Sept. 20-22 at Bluestone Country Club in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, called the APGA Tour Valley Forge.

The APGA Tour’s core mission is to bring greater diversity to golf.

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Willie Mack’s Rocket Mortgage Classic marathon included 21 holes on 3 hours of sleep

Willie Mack III came to the Rocket Mortgage Classic to play a golf tournament, but the first two rounds became an endurance test.

DETROIT – Willie Mack III came to the Rocket Mortgage Classic to play a golf tournament, but the first two rounds at Detroit Golf Club turned into more of an endurance test for the Flint, Michigan, native.

Working on about three hours of sleep, Mack returned to the course at 6 a.m. to resume his first round and played 21 holes Friday. He was at 3-under 141 after the second round, having followed a 68 with a 73.

“I’m tired,” he said, “but I think adrenaline kept me going and hopefully it can hold up for the next two days.”

The craziness started for Mack on Thursday, when a 3-hour, 15-minute weather delay pushed his tee time back from 1:50 p.m. to 5:05 p.m. The round was suspended at 9 p.m. because of darkness, forcing Mack to return Friday to resume the final three holes of his first round at 7:15 a.m. He started the second round at 8:35 a.m.

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“I think I had like 25, maybe 30 minutes,” he said of his break between rounds Friday.

“I had three holes left, I played 1 under, played pretty solid,” he said. “I played good all day actually. I missed a lot of putts, so if those went in, it would have kind of been a different story.”

After an excellent first round, the second round was a different story for Mack. Even though he has extensive experience at Detroit Golf Club, the wind wreaked havoc on his game and a few missed putts cost him a much better score.

“Yeah, I played here a million times and I’ve never seen the wind so consistent for two days all day long,” he said. “Yeah, the back nine was kind of rough, but held it together a little bit and came in with an OK score.”

Thanks to saving par with a 4-footer on his last hole Friday, Mack gave himself a chance to play on the weekend. He was on the projected cut line when he finished his second round in the early afternoon.

Mack has had a large contingent following him and cheering him on this week with cheers of “let’s go, Willie Mack” ringing out regularly from the gallery.

“Yeah, I heard some of my friends,” he said with a smile. “I wasn’t looking, but I know their voices, so I heard them. It’s exciting to just be able to play in your hometown amongst friends and family. It was a fun two days.”

Contact Carlos Monarrez at cmonarrez@freepress.com and follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez.

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