The Advocates Professional Golf Association (APGA) Cisco Black History Month Classic resumes at TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley Course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, from Wednesday to Friday as the second tournament on the 2026 APGA Tour schedule. A field of 54 professional golfers will compete over 36 holes for a $25,000 purse, with the winner earning $7,500 and 500 points toward the Cisco Cup Series and Jeff Dailey Player of the Year standings. Defending champion Chase Johnson returns after posting a 5-under 135 to win by one stroke last year.
The APGA Cisco Black History Month Classic marks the first full-field event of the 2026 APGA Tour season. Tournament week begins with practice rounds on Wednesday, followed by two rounds of competition on Thursday and Friday at one of Florida’s most challenging courses.
Prior to play on Wednesday, the APGA will host an awards ceremony at TPC Sawgrass honoring PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, Chuck Robbins Scholarship recipient Joshua Mitchell, Golf Digest Senior Editor Tod Leonard, and APGA player award winners. The APGA, founded in 2010 as a non-profit organization, aims to inspire an inclusive future through the game of golf.
Chase Johnson, a West Palm Beach resident and two-time APGA Player of the Year (2023 and 2024), defends his title. The Barberton, Ohio, native won last year with rounds of 67 and 68, edging out Marcus Byrd by one stroke. Johnson has seven APGA Tour victories and was the only APGA golfer to play in the 2025 U.S. Open, qualifying via a playoff over PGA Tour players Rickie Fowler and Max Homa. He also competed in the 2024 Genesis Invitational as the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption recipient.
Marcus Byrd, the 2025 APGA Player of the Year and Cisco Cup champion, enters as a strong contender. The Washington D.C. native won the season-opening APGA Farmers Insurance Invitational in January 2026 at Torrey Pines and earned an exemption into the PGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open.
Other notable participants include Willie Mack III, the APGA’s winningest active player with 17 titles since 2011; Kamaiu Johnson, an eight-time champion; and Kevin Hall, the APGA’s only deaf golfer and a 2025 silver medalist at the Deaflympics. Rookies and veterans like Gregory Odom Jr., Jaime Lopez Rivarola, and Wyatt Worthington II round out a diverse field featuring multiple Florida-based players such as Logan Batiste and Jeffrey Cunningham.
The event highlights the APGA’s commitment to professional opportunities and recognition for diverse golfers, building on its history of exemptions into major PGA Tour starts.
