The Advocates Pro Golf Association (APGA) Tour and the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board (VFTCB) bring back three of the Phila. region’s top golfers as part of the field for the second annual APGA Tour Valley Forge.

The APGA, established in 2010, is a nonprofit organization with the mission to prepare African Americans and other minority golfers to compete and win at the highest level of professional golf, both on tour and in the golf industry.

The tournament is set for Sept. 20–21; it includes an APGA Foundation community service youth symposium with First Tee – Greater Phila. on Sept. 18 at The Club at Shannondell in Audobon. First Tee uses golf to instill lessons of character, inner strength, and self confidence in children.

The main event is the 36-hole, $25,000 competition at Bluestone Country Club, Blue Bell.

The local competitors in the APGA Tour Valley Forge are:

• Zach Juhasz (25), Bethlehem. Juhasz played in his first APGA Tour event last year at APGA Tour Valley Forge and returns this year as a full-time member of the circuit.
• Matthew Vital (16), Bethlehem. Vital played last year as a local exemption and returns this year as a competitor in the new Cisco Junior Series. This is a separate competition within the tournament among young players seeking to elevate their games for college and next-level opportunities.
• Louis Kelly (29), of Glassboro, N.J. Kelly also played last year as a sponsor exemption and is invited back in 2022 as he pursues full-time membership in the APGA Tour. He is the lead coach at First Tee – Greater Phila. and will be part of its youth event in Audubon.
• Jeff Cunningham, 22, of Phila. Cunningham, newly graduated from Drexel University, earned his spot on the APGA Tour this spring when he finished second in the APGA Collegiate Rankings of African American players across the country.

The tournament will be the 15th of the year for the APGA Tour, which has become a force in driving diversity in the sport of golf. The circuit launched with three events in 2010 and has expanded dramatically in the past three years on strength of partnerships with the PGA Tour, sponsors, and organizations like VFTCB, which arranged for the tour stop in Montgomery County last year. The APGA Tour grew to seven events with $200,000 in prize money in 2020 and will conduct 18 events with $800,000 in prize and bonus money in 2022. 

“The APGA Tour’s return to Montgomery County and the Philadelphia region was a focus when Valley Forge Tourism invited us to our first-ever tournament in the Northeastern United States last year,” state Cole Smith, APGA Tour Executive Director. “We are hopeful of a long-term relationship and an important part of that is the involvement of the area’s best young players. We have that with Zach, Matthew, Louis, and Jeff invited to compete.”