APGA, Farmers Insurance committed to growing golf for all walks of life at Torrey Pines

23/01/2024 14:00

The Advocates Professional Golf Association (APGA) aims to bring greater diversity to golf with a helping hand from Farmers Insurance.

Golf has a diversity problem, and there is no way to argue against it.

Consider this: zero African American golfers were in last year's U.S. Open field at the Los Angeles Country Club. And yet, golf is a game played by all. This great game has talented players from all walks of life, regardless of race, religion, citizenship, or socioeconomic status.

Hence, the Advocates Professional Golf Association (APGA) was established as a non-profit organization in 2010 to promote diversity in golf. It continues to do great work today.

The APGA gives professional playing opportunities to minority players, with 18 tournaments annually. The organization has partnered with numerous inner-city youth organizations to promote the game among children. It also provides young golfers free clinics, mentors, equipment, and complimentary entry fees.

So, this week, the APGA's 2024 season kicks off at Torrey Pines at the Farmers Insurance Invitational.

Sound familiar?

It should. The PGA Tour returns to the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines this week, which should help give the APGA more notoriety.

APGA at Torrey Pines

Unlike the 72-hole Farmers Insurance Open, the APGA's Farmers Insurance Invitational is a 36-hole event with golfers playing two rounds on Saturday and Sunday.

With the final round of the PGA Tour event takes place on Torrey Pines' South Course Saturday, those in the APGA's Farmers Insurance Invitational Field will tee it up on the North Course for their first round. Then, the APGA shifts to the South Course for the final round on Sunday, when Golf Channel will air live coverage from 5 to 7:30 p.m. ET.

"It's really cool how [the APGA is] helping push diversity in golf and helping us get that break because golf is a grind, and it's kind of about getting those opportunities and then making the most of it," said Troy Taylor II, a 2023 graduate of Michigan State University and a current APGA professional golfer, in an interview with Playing Through.

"But also it's about feeling comfortable out there when playing... It's a great opportunity not just for us to expose our talents but also to learn what things we need to work on to get to that next level. So when we get [to the PGA Tour], things are not surprising to us."

Taylor grew up as a multi-sport athlete outside of Columbus, Ohio. His father played college basketball at Ohio State in the early 1980s. While there, he developed a great relationship with Clark Kellogg, the CBS Sports analyst. Since then, Taylor's father has been a basketball coach and teacher in Columbus.

But like many top PGA Tour professionals nowadays, Taylor grew up with a golf club in his hand.

"I was three years old, and [my parents] just gave me a plastic club because my dad played basketball, and all of his buddies began to migrate towards golf as their other hobby outside their sport," Taylor explained.

"So all those guys started picking up golf, and he had the bug when I was a kid, so he passed that bug onto me. My mom gave me a plastic club, and I had a natural swing. I was hitting a ball in the backyard and put a hole through [the plastic club]. I hit it in the sweet spot. So I guess that was when they gave me my first set of real clubs."

Taylor grew up playing basketball and golf, but golf was his true love despite his father's impressive basketball resume.

Plus, Taylor was only 5-foot-2 when he entered high school. Grabbing rebounds at that height certainly proved difficult. Making birdies, however, was a different story.

Alas, he put the basketball down for good and focused on golf, a move that has paid off for him. Taylor went on to play for five years at Michigan State, as he even qualified for the 2022 U.S. Amateur.

Now, Taylor aspires to be one of the best golfers in the world, and he is confident he will get there thanks to the opportunities provided by the APGA. But he has even greater aspirations than that.

"For me, it's not just about me trying to be the best player I can be. It's about trying to get a golf club in another kid's hands that is of some color or ethnicity and just growing the game," Taylor said.

"I think that's huge for me when I get to go to tournaments, and I have kids come up to me that are African American or some minority. They will come up and ask me to sign something, and honestly, that makes my day more than anything. That right there could change kids' lives and make them play golf. Maybe they become college or professional golfers, or maybe become normal golfers who go out and play."

"That means a lot to me."

Creating better opportunities for young children should be the number one goal for anyone in the golfing industry.

But so, too, should promoting diversity and giving opportunities to those less fortunate.

"Throughout the years, the landscape of the fantastic APGA has helped get young men and the next generation up and coming to not only compete at the highest level but just help with what I call the three pillars," said Wyatt Worthington, another APGA player who doubles as a PGA of America teaching professional.

"Those three pillars, in no particular order, are opportunity, access, and resources."

Without a doubt, any aspiring professional golfer needs opportunities, access, and resources to not only learn the game but work their way up through the ranks.

Worthington worked his way to doing so, so much so that he qualified for the 2016 PGA Championship at Baltusrol. He also played in the 2022 PGA Championship won by Justin Thomas and made it back to Oak Hill for the 2023 edition won by Brooks Koepka.

"I was the first African American in 25 years [to qualify as a club pro]," Worthington explained.

"I'm very blessed and fortunate to have my name in the history books, but I'll be lying to you right now if I said I wasn't torn because it's like a double-edged sword. It's sad in my eyes because that's an amazing accomplishment to have. But at the end of the day, it's like, wow, why is it that I'm the only one?"

The PGA of America currently has over 30,000 members who help golfers become better players. Those professionals also help grow the game in their respective communities and courses.

And yet, roughly 100 of those members are African American.

That is a problem.

"I defy the odds in this astronomical, mathematical way. There is no way I should be doing the things that I have accomplished, which, you know, is unbelievable that I've done that," Worthington said.

"But still, it's like, okay, I am blessed to do that and have my name on the board. But how do we create more exposure and break this cycle? How do we get more participation and more involvement along the way? I know Farmers is doing a great job of that. So, definitely, hats off to them and the APGA for trying to get more exposure in that regard because you are a product of your own environment, and you can't do what you can't see...

"I know I was definitely impacted by Tiger Woods and just even watching golf on TV, seeing someone that looks like me and doing the crazy celebrations and, and having that charisma on screen and not just a person who's having a little bit of success but who's actually dominating and doing things that we haven't seen before."

Indeed, no single person has impacted the sport like Woods did. His tenacity, hard work, and unmatched success are a few reasons why he went on to win 15 major championships and 82 events on the PGA Tour.

But Woods also had opportunity, access, and resources, pillars that many young golfers who look like him do not have.

Luckily for Worthington, however, Woods hosted a clinic at a First Tee facility in Ohio when he was 14. Worthington went and was immediately enamored with Woods and everything he had to say.

He has not stopped playing since.

Through stories like these, it is clear that young individuals of all backgrounds are interested in golf. But they can only get involved if an opportunity presents itself.

Luckily, for younger generations today, the APGA and Farmers Insurance are working hard to provide more opportunities for individuals like Taylor and Worthington.

"It's all about those three pillars: resources, opportunity, and access," Worthington said.

"But without the APGA and Farmers' support, I wouldn't be able to play a great course such as Torrey Pines. For them to help offset costs associated with traveling and competing in professional golf events definitely impacts the ability of minority golfers like me to get to the next level... So I cannot speak highly enough about Farmers and the APGA for trying to help young minorities to live out their dreams."

The work that the APGA and Farmers have done is admirable, but plenty more needs to be done. Everyone deserves to have an opportunity to learn—and eventually succeed at—this great sport. Hopefully, that dream will become a reality soon.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThroughfor more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.