It didn’t take Chase Johnson long to be on the precipice of the highest level of professional golf.
In just his second start on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2020, Johnson held a late lead in the final round before ultimately being outdone by future star Will Zalitoris. The rest of the 2020-2021 season was a struggle for Johnson as he made only nine cuts in his 32 starts.
While going through the struggles that many pro golfers face, the African American golfer has found a home on the Advocates Professional Golf Association (APGA) Tour as he looks to one day be a name stay on the PGA Tour.
The APGA Tour is “a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring an inclusive future through the game of golf.” The Tour was founded in 2010 by executive Ken Bentley and former PGA Tour Professional Adrain Stills.
In the last couple of years, the tour has seen an influx of sponsorship money and gained opportunities to host tournaments at some of the finest courses in the country including TPC Sawgrass and Torrey Pines.
This attracted higher quality players including Johnson – who took the opportunity to join the tour 2023.
“The APGA has started to put bonus pools and stuff in and we play more elite courses – it has 100 percent evolved since I’ve been out there,” Johnson said. “The biggest I think is the dedication they put into the player development program.”
Starting this past year, The APGA Tour implemented its player development program sponsored by World Wide Technology. Eight of the top players on the tour – including Johnson – were chosen for the opportunity.
According to the APGA Tour website, “Each of the players in the program receives a Full Swing launch monitor, a golf course membership, golf instructions, mental coaching, mentorship, fees for Monday qualifiers into Korn Ferry Tour and PGA TOUR events as well as oversight and accountability from the APGA’s Director of Player Development.”
After losing his Korn Ferry Tour card Chase Johnson struggled to find his footing before landing on the APGA Tour.
“I went into a pretty dark hole in 2022 and had to figure out a lot of swing stuff,” Johnson said. “In 2023 I finally started to understand my game a little bit more and it developed on the APGA Tour – I learned how to win.”
The winning came quick for Johnson as he won three times in 2023, taking home player of the year honors in his first year on the tour. Johnson followed up the outstanding start with another three win season in 2024, once again being named the tour’s player of the year.
Johnson was able to parlay his success on the APGA Tour into opportunities on both the PGA and Korn Ferry Tours – Johnson made four cuts across the two tours in 2023.
As the APGA aims to increase diversity to the professional golf world, there is still a glaring lack of African American representation on the PGA Tour. Despite the overwhelming popularity of Tiger Woods, there have not been many black men to make it to the pinnacle of the sport.
Johnson has felt what it is like to compete at that highest level and he believes that it is time for himself or another talented African American golfer to grab hold of the opportunity.
“You are seeing players kind of break the barrier, at this point we just got to do it,” Johnson said. “The flood gates will start to open.”
The 29-year-old qualified for the 2025 U.S Open at Oakmont – one of golf’s four major championships. While he missed the cut on a very difficult track, Johnson’s play on the APGA Tour and beyond has given him a platform to inspire a younger generation of minority golfers.
“I feel like it’s our responsibility to carry yourself in the right manner to try to inspire,” Johnson said. “Tiger inspired all of us, regardless of race.”
Chase Johnson had a below average year for his recent standards in 2025. He won one APGA event and was unable to make the cut in either of his two starts on the PGA Tour.
Johnson believes that the competition level on the APGA Tour has risen each year that he has been out there.
“The talent is getting deeper,” Johnson said. “This year we only had two or three repeat winners.”
The APGA Tour has made a major impact in the career of Chase Johnson as he continues to pursue his ultimate goal. Applications for the 2026 season just closed and the Tour will hope to continue to grow and add diversity to the professional golf world.
Johnson has made some swing changes recently and will look to have a big year as the APGA season kicks off at Torrey Pines in 2026.