APGA Tour rookie turned his entry as an alternate into his first professional victory
ORLANDO, Fla. – Enrique Dimayuga was the next man up when he got the call to join the Advocates Professional Golf Association (APGA) Tour’s exclusive 21-player field this week at the Billy Horschel Invitational Presented by Cisco.
“I was over the moon,” Dimayuga said. “It was only about last week. I really didn’t have anything planned for this week. I said, ‘I’m going to book my flight straight away and get on over here.’”
Photo/video credit: APGA Tour
The APGA Tour rookie made the most of an offer he couldn’t refuse. The Filipino golfer who was raised in London captured his first professional tournament title with a 36-hole score of 9-under-par 135 (68-67) and a three-stroke victory Wednesday at the Evermore Resort’s Grand Cypress Course.
“It feels great,” Dimayuga said. “Definitely, trying to win is a skill. Having done that at different levels, and the competition just keeps going up and up and up as you go into the professional ranks. To start here is great. There was a lot of nerves overnight, sleeping on the lead and being in a position where there was lots of people behind me. I’m very, very glad to be able to get the job done. Proud of the way I played. A really grateful moment.”
Dimayuga earned a $30,000 prize from the tournament’s $100,000 purse and 700 points toward the APGA’s Jeff Dailey Player of the Year standings.
Dimayuga, who completed his college golf career in 2025 at Southern Methodist University as the last of four collegiate stops, was an alternate this week and earned a spot in the field when Orlando resident Joey Stills withdrew because he was scheduled to play in the first stage of PGA TOUR Qualifying School this week.
“It means everything, you know, opportunities to get in high-level golf tournaments. I was just very grateful,” Dimayuga said. “It’s also a great learning experience to play in an invitational as well where it’s only the best players on this tour to be playing this week.”
Texan Xavier Bighaus, the 2026 APGA Daugherty Foundation Championship winner, and Gregory Odom Jr., a Memphis, Tennessee native splitting time between the APGA Tour and PGA TOUR Americas in 2026, shared second place at 6-under par 138.
Bighaus was two shots back of the lead after recording a 2-under 70 in Tuesday’s first round. He pulled to within one shot of Dimayuga upon completing the front nine Wednesday in 31 strokes, with three of his five birdies coming on the par-4 fourth, fifth and sixth holes.
Dimayuga promptly responded with a birdie on No. 9 to move to 8-under, completing his front nine in 4-under 32 and taking back a multiple-shot lead that he would not relinquish. Dimayuga padded his lead with birdies on the par-4 14th and 16th holes.
“It’s down to all the hard work I’ve been doing on my short game,” Dimayuga said. “It was definitely my putting today. I converted a lot of chances, ones that necessarily weren’t tap-ins. I was definitely driving the ball well and flighting it down well the last two days. I always work a lot on my putting, and so to see it come through, especially in the final round of the tournament, is super satisfying.”
Joe Hooks carded the round of the tournament with a closing 8-under 64. Incredibly, he gained all of the strokes on the front nine, which he played in 28 shots. Eagles on the par-4 first hole – a hole-out from the fairway – and par-5 ninth hole served as bookends for birdies on Nos. 2, 3, 5 and 7.
Bizarrely, Hooks’ 64 was a 16-shot improvement from his first-round 8-over 80. He finished in a tie for 10th place at even-par 144.
“That was a good round to have under my belt going into (PGA TOUR) Q-School in two weeks,” said Hooks, the Detroit native who played in the PGA TOUR’s Rocket Classic in 2025 and 2026. “Yesterday was just a little bit messy in spots, and then I got some bad breaks coming down the stretch. Really, really, really bad breaks. I was just a little bit irritated and fired up this morning.
Photo/video credit: APGA Tour
“No. 9, that was probably my best hole. I had 265 (yards) into No. 9 and my ball was sitting down into a divot. I ripped it out … and it went really high and it landed 25 feet from the hole, and I made it.”
Dimayuga shot a 4-under 68 in Tuesday’s first round and held a one-shot lead over Hobe Sound, Florida resident John-Baptiste Hakizimana, Jonathan Yoshihiro and Odom Jr. at the tournament’s midpoint. Even par through the first 12 holes, Dimayuga tallied an eagle on the 13th hole and closed his round with birdies on Nos. 17 and 18.
Founded in 2010, the Advocates Professional Golf Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring an inclusive future through the game of golf.
The APGA Tour tees up its 14th of 15 tournaments in the 2026 season, the APGA at Cedar Crest, from October 25-27 at Cedar Crest Golf Course in Dallas, Texas. It is the last of three events in the APGA Farmers Insurance® Fall Series. APGA Farmers Insurance Fall Series tournaments are open to any professional men’s golfer regardless of APGA Tour membership.
About the APGA Tour
The APGA Tour was established in 2010 as a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring an inclusive future through the game of golf. The APGA Tour Board of Directors works diligently 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 15 tournaments awarding more than $1 million in prize and bonus money in 2026, the APGA has organized a Player Development Program to aid golfers as they work to chase their professional golf goals.
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BZA Public Relations
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