PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – APGA Tour and PGA TOUR officials today announced the initial Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking for the 2023-2024 season with Howard University’s Gregory Odom Jr. holding the top spot. Odom’s Howard University teammate Everett Whitten Jr. is in second place while San Jose State University’s Kristopher Stiles sits in third.

The APGA Collegiate Ranking was initially announced in October 2020 through a partnership between the PGA TOUR and the APGA Tour.  Last month, it was announced Bridgestone Americas (Bridgestone) will be the presenting sponsor of the Bridgestone Collegiate Development Program (including the Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking), a part of the PGA TOUR’s Pathway to Progression player development programming. The Bridgestone APGA Collegiate ranking aims to create a developmental pathway for a historically underrepresented group of golfers.

Eligible players are Black golfers from NCCA and NAIA Division I, II, or III programs (including HBCUs) who exhaust a minimum of four years of college eligibility. For the 2023-2024 Collegiate Season, the Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking will rank players based on their World Amateur Golf Ranking Points Average. The 2023-2024 Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking will run through the completion of the PGA Works Collegiate Championships (May 8, 2024).

The top-5 eligible players in the final Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking will earn the following:

• Scholarship access to APGA TOUR events through the duration of the APGA Tour season (i.e., The 2024 Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking class will gain access to remaining full-field events in 2024).
• Scholarship access into the pre-qualifying round of PGA TOUR Qualifying School presented by Korn Ferry for the following season.
• The #1 player in the final Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking will receive a sponsor exemption into the 2024 UNC Health Championship.
• Monetary support in the following areas related to the development of the top five’s professional careers:
  • Travel to eligible APGA Tour events
  • Home course membership
  • Instruction
  • Equipment/fitting

Additionally, the top-ranked player as of November 17, 2023, who has not previously been awarded the benefit will receive an exemption into the 2024 APGA Farmers Insurance Invitational as an amateur. Current Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking leader Gregory Odom earned this honor in 2023 and logged a third-place finish in challenging weather conditions at Torrey Pines Golf Course.

Rankings as of October 20, 2023: 

• Any player who wants to be removed from the list because they have decided to return to college and complete their last year of eligibility needs to inform the PGA TOUR Pathways to Progression team no later than April 15, 2024.
• Players interested in opting into the program can register here: https://registrations.pgatourhq.com/forms/apga/
• Full rankings will be updated monthly at https://www.apgatour.org/apga-collegiate-ranking.

ABOUT THE 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, and mentoring programs, and by introducing the game to inner city young people. In addition to conducting up to 18 tournaments awarding more than $800,000 in prize money and nearly $100,000 in bonus money in 2022, the APGA has organized a Player Development Program to aid young minority golfers as they work to chase their goals in professional golf.

ABOUT PGA TOUR PATHWAY TO PROGRESSION

Formerly announced in March of 2023, the PGA TOUR Pathway to Progression player development program is a comprehensive effort to achieve greater diversity in golf through an increased focus on developing talent from diverse and historically underrepresented groups in the junior and collegiate golf spaces.

The Bridgestone Collegiate Development Program– aligning the PGA TOUR’s Pathway to Progression collegiate activities and the Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking’s goal to provide top Black collegiate players with transitional support in the professional ranks – will elevate the level of awareness and competitive opportunities for diverse college golfers while providing tangible career development opportunities.

The post PRESS ROOM: Howard University’s Gregory Odom Jr. leads initial Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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