The ‘Tiger Effect’ was supposed to transform golf, but there are few pro Black golfers. The APGA wants to change that.

Two-time APGA Player of the Year Chase Johnson said the nonprofit gave him his confidence back.

Chase Johnson was named the 2023 and 2024 APGA Player of the Year and won last year's inaugural APGA Jefferson Health Classic.Read moreAPGA Tour

Published May 3, 2025, 5:58 a.m. ET

More than 25 years ago, Tiger Woods began cementing his place in history as one of the greatest golfers of all time. At just 21, Woods won his first Masters Tournament in 1997 to become the youngest Masters champion and the first Black golfer to win a major.

Since then, the “Tiger Effect” was supposed to take off on the professional level of golf.

It didn’t.

After Woods, the PGA Tour didn’t welcome another Black golfer until 2010, when Joseph Bramlett debuted. Seven other Black golfers have won PGA events, but Woods is still the only Black golfer to win a major.

But that isn’t stopping nonprofits like the Advocates Professional Golf Association and We Golf Now from advocating for diversity in the sport.

“Here at the APGA, we are all about inspiring an inclusive future through the game of golf,” said Solomon Hughes, the chief operating officer of the APGA Tour. “That’s our mission. We do so through professional golf tournaments, youth clinics, and scholarships.”

These efforts start by offering opportunities to players from diverse backgrounds, such as Chase Johnson.

In three seasons with the APGA Tour, Johnson, 29, has earned seven wins. He also has played in eight PGA Tour events since 2021, making three cuts.

The former Kent State golfer has won the APGA’s Jeff Dailey Player of the Year the last two years.

His favorite APGA memory so far came in September 2023 during the APGA’s Farmers Insurance Fall Series event near Cincinnati. On the last hole, Johnson needed to sink a clutch putt to win. With his parents in attendance, Johnson was looking at a 20-foot putt breaking about 2 feet on the last hole of the day.

Playing on only two hours of sleep after traveling overnight from a wedding in Asheville, N.C., the Ohio native took a deep breath and sank the putt dead center. Johnson let out a sigh of relief paired with a victorious fist pump. Later that day, he picked up his new dog, Deefer, with his fiancée, Katie Howarth.

After a successful 2023 season, which saw Johnson win the John Shippen Invitational — and earn a start in the PGA Tour — Johnson was named the recipient of the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption into The Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines in San Diego, where he got to meet his idol, Tiger Woods.

“I said my name correctly, which was nice,” Johnson said. “I didn’t say, ‘Hi, Chase. I’m Tiger,’ which I was really nervous about.”

Johnson credits the APGA for putting golfers like himself in a position to grow their game and make a name for themselves on the professional level. After a difficult 2022 season, Johnson said the APGA played a big role in helping him get back on track.

“They’ve just been a platform for me to continue to get my name out there and get my confidence back,” Johnson said of APGA. “I’ve earned several PGA exemptions through them. There’s nothing stopping any of us from getting one of these sponsored exemptions into an event and then going and winning it.

“They are giving us the tools to go out there and earn it for ourselves and the opportunities to go earn it for ourselves. And I mean, that’s huge. That’s what they do: create opportunities for us.”

“I said my name correctly, which was nice,” Johnson said. “I didn’t say, ‘Hi, Chase. I’m Tiger,’ which I was really nervous about.”

Johnson learned to love the sport of golf at a young age. His first words were “that ball” as he pointed at the golf ball he had hit into his yard. But some of his favorite early memories came from the Tiger Woods PGA Tour video games.

“He was my idol 100%,” Johnson said. “I remember when we first got the PlayStation 2 and ‘Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2002′ had been released and we finally got like a big 40- or 50-inch-screen TV. I remember playing the game and I was like, ‘Oh my God, Tiger is right here in my living room.’ And then I would go and watch them every year at Firestone.”

Johnson is fresh off a monster 2024 season, winning three times on the APGA Tour and tying for second at the season-opening 2025 APGA Farmers Insurance Invitational at Torrey Pines. With help from the APGA, Johnson has been given a platform to compete on prestigious courses.

Said Hughes: “We noticed so many of our players have the ability to compete at the highest levels of professional golf, and we’re all about providing opportunities for them to continue to inspire future generations beyond them. We just want to be able to provide them the platform to do so. So you know, our guys are really, really talented, tremendous people of high character.”

The nonprofit organization was founded in 2010 with a goal to inspire an inclusive future through golf. Its core values include: courage to improve the world; achievement and the pursuit of excellence; advocate for cultural heritage and diversity; and inspiration in every swing.

To achieve its goal, the APGA offers scholarships for players, youth clinics, and professional golf tournaments — including the second annual APGA Jefferson Classic, set for Aug. 3-5 at The 1912 Club in Plymouth Meeting.

“Twenty-five years ago, Tiger Woods won one of the most amazing victories in the history of sports, and it was assumed there would be a boom in making golf at the junior and pro ranks more diverse,” said Nick Ragone, the executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Jefferson Health. “At the professional level, it hasn’t really happened. You have to create programs like the APGA to invest in that.

“There needs to be a real kind of opportunity there. And that’s where I think the gap is and that’s where I think companies like Jefferson need to be supportive and sponsor the APGA Tour. We need to advocate for that type of real opportunity.”