California native triumphs for the second straight year; Willie Mack III earns the season-long Cisco Cup after winning three tournaments this season
SPRINGFIELD, New Jersey – Jonathan Yoshihiro appears to have a knack for playing his best when the stakes are highest.
The Yorba Linda, California native won the biggest event on the Advocates Professional Golf Association Tour schedule for the second straight year, capturing the APGA Mastercard Tour Championship this week for his second career APGA victory.
Yoshihiro shot 3-under par 67 in Wednesday’s opening round on Baltusrol Golf Club’s Lower Course, then waited out multiple weather delays during what was to be Thursday’s final round before the tournament was shortened to 18 holes and he was declared the winner. David Kim, a native of Anaheim, California, and Denmark’s Jonathan Nielsen tied for second at 2-under-par 68.
“It’s nice to go back-to-back – I came in definitely wanting to defend my title, and I’m glad I got it done,” said Yoshihiro, who won last year’s Mastercard Tour Championship at Bally’s Golf Links at Ferry Point in the Bronx as an APGA Tour rookie. “I feel like when the stakes are high, it brings out the best in me. I love the high-pressure environment, and I want to get it done.”
A product of California State University Fullerton, the 31-year-old Yoshihiro played the front nine Wednesday at one-under par. He was even on the back nine after a birdie on the 11th hole and a bogey on the 13th, then ended his round with an eagle on the par-5 18th.
Yoshihiro bombed his drive down the left edge of the fairway, then hit a 5-iron from 237 yards to 25 feet right of the pin. Facing a double-breaker that started to the left and moved back right as it approached the hole, Yoshihiro’s caddie told him he would buy dinner if his player made the putt. He drained it in the center of the cup.
“We had it read perfectly,” Yoshihiro recounted. “I was more excited about getting dinner paid for at the moment, but looking back, I’m glad I made that putt.”
Yoshihiro earned a $32,000 prize from a $100,000 purse and 1,000 points each toward the APGA’s Jeff Dailey standings and Cisco Cup Series standings. The winner’s prize and points totals are the largest of any 2026 APGA tournament.
Willie Mack III won the season-long race for the Cisco Cup, finishing atop the standings in a year that has included three tournament victories. The Flint, Michigan native won the APGA Cisco Black History Month Classic in February, the APGA at TPC Scottsdale in June and the APGA at The 1912 Club outside Philadelphia earlier this month
“It’s nice to get rewarded for playing well all year long,” said Mack III, who had won the Cisco Cup three times previously and is the APGA’s all-time wins leader among active players with 20 titles. “Hopefully I can keep it going during (PGA TOUR) Q School.”
Mack III said the APGA schedule and the top-notch courses that the tour competes on each year are critical to helping prepare players for the rigors of qualifying school.
“I’ve played in 13 PGA TOUR events and a U.S. Open – if this isn’t at the top of the list as far as the hardest golf course I have played, it’s definitely second on the list,” Mack III said of Baltusrol, which has hosted multiple major championships. “Being able to come here and test our games really makes a difference.”
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’s next event – the APGA at Mission Hills – is the 11th of the 2026 season and will be held September 14-16 at the Pete Dye Challenge Course at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. The season runs through November with 15 tournaments from coast to coast.
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