Over the years many of our readers and friends have asked why haven’t there been more minorities entering the professional ranks of golf since the Tiger Woods era. Good question. Many organizations and individuals have endeavored to answer this question with their actions in support of promoting golf for people of color. Minority Golf Magazine will devote one of its pages to organizations, institutions, and individuals who have played a significant role in the development of golf among people of color.
One such organization has taken the quest of elevating minority participation in professional golf to the next level is The Advocates Golf Association (APGA). The leadership of this young organization has made great strides toward the development of professional golf for young African Americans. Ed.
Tim O’Neal continues his outstanding and dominant play on the Advocates Tour with a win and two top ten finishes this year. Arguably, O’Neal is the best player of color who is not a regular on the PGA Tour alongside Harold Varner, III, Tiger Woods, Tony Finau and yes, VJ Singh. If “close” were meaningful in sports other than Horseshoes, Tim would be a legitimate contender on the PGA Tour.
The depth of talent represented by the members of the APGA is a testament to the hard work and unrecognized ability of players of color whose play is more than worthy of watching whenever the opportunity arises.
Upcoming tour stops for the APGA are APGA Tampa at one of the premier PGA Tour venue. Innisbrook-Copperhead Resort which hosts the annual Valspar Championship will play host to APGA on May 21-22, 2019. The tour heads west in June for the APGA Dallas, hosted by TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, June 24-25, 2019. The tour stops in the Windy City of Chicago at Harborside/Starboard on July 22-23, 2019. The APGA Tour Championship Atlanta on August 19-20, 2019. This year-end event is hosted by White Columns, Alpharetta, Georgia.
For a complete synopsis of the year, the APGA mission and more go to APGATour.org.
