PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (October 23, 2023) – APGA Tour and PGA Tour revealed its initial 2023-24 APGA Collegiate Ranking where Howard University graduate Gregory Odom Jr. (Memphis, Tenn.) sits atop the leaderboard. The announcement came Monday.
 
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.
 
Last year, Odom earned this honor and logged a third-place finish in challenging weather conditions at Torrey Pines Golf Course.
 
This fall, the Memphis native is averaging a 73.1 per round. In his last outing at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup, Odom placed 19^th overall after shooting 211 during the three-round tourney.
 
Teammate Everett Whiten Jr. (Chesapeake, Va.) holds second place while follow classmate C.M. Mixon (Bowling Green, Ky.) sits in fourth. Senior Marcus Smith Jr. (Rockford, Ill.) rounds out the top 10, placing seventh.
 
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. The top-5 eligible players in the final 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 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 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

 
For the 2023-2024 Collegiate Season, the APGA Collegiate Ranking will rank players based on their World Amateur Golf Ranking Points Average. The 2023-2024 APGA Collegiate Ranking will run through the completion of the PGA Works Collegiate Championships (May 8, 2024).
 
The APGA Collegiate Ranking was initially announced in October 2020 through a partnership between the PGA TOUR and the APGA Tour.
 
On Oct. 27-28, Howard wraps up the fall season at the Monterrey International Intercollegiate in Mexico.
 
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at www.HUBison.com, the APGA Tour website at www.apgatour.com and/or the PGA Tour Pathway at www.pgatourhq.com.