Advocates Professional Golf Association (APGA) has appointed golf industry veteran Solomon Hughes as the company’s chief operating officer.
Hughes joins the APGA from Intersport, where he served as director of Marketing and Development. He was responsible for the growth of the John Shippen golf platform, the Jackson T. Stephens Cup, and the World Champions Cup, a PGA Tour Champions event that debuted in 2023.
Previously, Hughes held various positions within the golf industry, including as a regional director for the American Junior Golf Association.
“We are eager to welcome Solomon to our team,” said APGA Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board, Ken Bentley. “The APGA has experienced considerable growth in the past few years. The COO role will be an important one as we continue to build on that success and provide more opportunities for our players.”
Hughes holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of Cincinnati.
Hughes said. “I care deeply about the APGA Tour’s mission to bring greater diversity to golf, and I have long admired the work that Ken Bentley and the rest of the APGA staff have been doing for the past 15 years to achieve that goal. I’m grateful to Ken and the rest of the board of directors for entrusting me with this opportunity. As I begin to lead this great organization, I look forward to helping the APGA increase its impact on golf and the individual athletes who make up our tour.”
The APGA opened its 2025 schedule with the APGA Farmers Insurance Invitational on January 25-26 at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, CA. The 36-hole event featured 18 APGA’s top players battling it out on the North and South Course.
In his first tournament on the Advocates Professional Golf Association (APGA) Tour, 23-year-old Kieron van Wyk — a College of Charleston senior and native of South Africa — became the first amateur golfer to win an APGA event, shown in lead photo, since the tour started in 2010.
Images courtesy APGA
