Fifth annual event set for Jan. 27-28 at Torrey Pines Golf Course; will take place in conjunction with the PGA TOUR’s Farmers Insurance Open® and set to air on Golf Channel
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Officials with the Advocates Professional Golf Association (APGA) Tour, a non-profit organization with the mission to prepare African Americans and other minority golfers to compete and win at the highest level of professional golf, today announced the 18-player field for the exclusive APGA Tour Farmers Insurance Invitational. This 36-hole event will kick-off the APGA Tour’s 2024 season, with a field of 18 of golf’s top minority players competing on the Torrey Pines North Course on Saturday, January 27 and the South Course on Sunday, January 28. The event will take place in conjunction with the PGA TOUR’s Farmers Insurance Open, with Sunday’s play broadcast live on Golf Channel for the third consecutive year.
Helping remove financial constraints and providing opportunities in golf are priorities for both Farmers® and the APGA Tour. The organizations are also focused on providing players access to the tools and support they need, allowing them to better focus on their career paths and development in the game. The purse will again pay $100,000, with $30,000 to the tournament winner.
“We’re thrilled to celebrate five great years of competing at Torrey Pines in the APGA Farmers Insurance Invitational,” said APGA Tour Co-Founder Ken Bentley. “The experience of competing on a world-class golf course in PGA TOUR conditions is invaluable for our players, along with the learning opportunities that come with interacting with TOUR players throughout the week. We look forward to showcasing our product once again and bringing to light the amazing stories of the players in this year’s field.”
The field of 18 includes the following players along with how they qualified:
Per APGA Tour regulations, players in APGA Tour Farmers Insurance Invitational field must be full-time members of the 2023 APGA Tour unless otherwise stated below.
Top player in the season-ending 2022-23 Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking (May 17, 2023)
- Troy Taylor II
Top six (6) eligible players from the final 2023 Lexus Cup points list (Aug. 15, 2023)
- Kevin Hall
- Quinn Riley
- Wyatt Worthington II
- Salvador Rocha Gomez
- Ryan Ellerbrock
- Aaron Beverly
Top three (3) eligible players from the final 2023 Farmers Fall Series standings* (Nov. 9, 2023)
- Chase Johnson
- Daniel Augustus
- Gabe Lench
Top player in the 2023-2024 Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking as of Nov. 17, 2023**
- Kristopher Stiles (a)
Top player from the 2023 APGA Cisco Junior Series presented by APGA Tour and Cameron Champ Foundation final ranking (Nov. 17, 2023)
- Jayden Lizama (a)
Six (6) APGA Tour players as nominated by APGA Tour and approved by the APGA Tour Farmers Insurance Invitational exemption committee (Nov. 17, 2023)
- Kamaiu Johnson
- John-Baptiste Hakizimana
- Michael Herrera
- Christian Heavens
- Andrew Walker
- Jarred Garcia
Additional Criteria:
*not otherwise qualified through the above Lexus Cup standings
**players are eligible to receive this exemption one time during their college career
- – player is an amateur
Player Profiles
Chase Johnson enjoyed one of the best seasons in APGA Tour history in 2023, collecting three wins and logging six runner-up finishes. Johnson also earned exemptions into three PGA TOUR events this season, making the cut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and World Wide Technology Championship. He qualified for the Farmers Insurance Invitational field by finishing first in the Farmers Fall Series standings thanks to victories at the APGA Farmers Insurance Cincinnati and APGA Farmers Insurance Austin.
Kamaiu Johnson is well acquainted with Torrey Pines Golf Course having earned an exemption into the 2022 Farmers Insurance Open (one of five PGA TOUR events he’s played during his career) and finishing T4 at the 2023 Farmers Insurance Invitational. Johnson spent most of this year competing on PGA TOUR Latinoamerica but performed well in limited starts on the APGA Tour, including a victory at APGA Scottsdale.
APGA Tour veteran Kevin Hall enjoyed one of the finest seasons of his career, with wins at the APGA Black History Month Classic and APGA at PGA Golf Club lifting him to a second-place finish in the Lexus Cup standings. The inspirational Hall was diagnosed as profoundly deaf at age two after surviving H-flu meningitis. He learned to play golf at age nine and later became the first black golfer to play at Ohio State University, where he won the 2004 Big Ten championship by 11 shots.
In 2023, Wyatt Worthington II qualified for the PGA Championship as a PGA professional for the second straight year and third time in his career. He earned a place in the Farmers Insurance Invitational field with a fourth-place finish in the Lexus Cup Standings, highlighted by wins at the APGA at Las Vegas and APGA Cisco Invitational at Pebble Beach Resorts.
The son of Ohio State Basketball player Troy Taylor, Sr., Troy Taylor II recently graduated from Michigan State and earned a spot in the 2024 Farmers Insurance Invitational by finishing on top of the 2022-2023 Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking. Taylor II enjoyed a solid rookie season with six top-10s and no finishes worse than 20th in ninestarts. He also earned an exemption into the Korn Ferry Tour’s UNC Health Championship presented by STITCH.
Quinn Riley qualified for the 2023 Farmers Insurance Invitational by finishing first in the 2021-22 Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking. He will be returning in 2024 thanks to a third-place finish in the Lexus Cup Standings. His win at the APGA Two Man Classic with partner Christian Heavens was one of four top-5 finishes this season. Riley also competed in the PGA TOUR’s Shriners Children’s Open and Wells Fargo Championship in 2023.
San Jose State University’s Kristopher Stiles has earned an exemption to compete as an amateur in the 2024 APGA Farmers Insurance Invitational as the top-ranked player in the Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking as of November 17, 2023, who has not previously competed in the event. Howard University’s Gregory Odom Jr. earned this honor for the 2023 event and logged an impressive third-place finish in difficult weather conditions at Torrey Pines.
The support of the APGA Tour and its players are part of an ongoing effort from Farmers Insurance to help advance its commitment to growth in the game of golf. The national insurer provides support for APGA Tour and the APGA Foundation to help provide assistance for players at all stages of their journey.
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About APGA Tour
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 of Directors 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 awarding close to $1 million in prize and bonus money in 2024, the APGA has organized a Player Development Program to aid young minority golfers as they work to chase their goals in professional golf.
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