TUSTIN, Calif.- Michael Bradham shot rounds of 68-69 to finish at 7-under-par and capture his first career APGA Tour victory at the APGA Tour Farmers Insurance Fall Series Finale at Tustin Ranch Golf Club, the culminating event of the four-tournament APGA Tour Farmers Insurance® Fall Series. Thanks to a win and a runner-up finish earlier in APGA Tour Farmers Insurance Fall Series events, Marcus Byrd topped the APGA Tour Farmers Insurance® Fall Series standings and collected $10,000 of the $30,000 bonus pool.
Bradham 33, played in 10 professional events from his pro debut in 2013 until 2016. In 2016, he started a family with his wife and golf began to take a backseat to other responsibilities. In January of 2017, he took a full-time position with an architecture firm in West Palm Beach, FL. He didn’t touch a golf club again until 2019 when his firm relocated to Jacksonville, FL. He then began playing golf again, but this time, as an amateur on the Golfweek Amateur Tour. He finished with four wins and three second-place finishes out of 10 events that first season. In 2021, he played in the Jacksonville City Amateur Championship and finished in third place.
“After a few years, my wife pushed me to get back out and chase my dreams,” Bradham said. “I started playing again in March of this year and it’s really been a difficult season. My mother battled cancer most of this year and we lost her back in September. My father kept telling me to just put one foot in front of the other and keep working hard and I’m so proud that it has paid off to get a victory today.”
Bradham’s second round started quickly with an eagle on the second hole. After getting to 8-under, he made it to the 17th hole with a three-shot lead and was able to hold on for the $15,000 winner’s check. Additionally, thanks to the victory and a T9 finish earlier at the APGA Tour Valley Forge, Bradham finished second in the APGA Tour Farmers Fall Series Standings, earning another $7,500.
“A good friend of mine, Montrele Wells, plays on the APGA Tour and told me to come out and play again,” Bradham added. “The APGA Tour has made this possible for me. To have a Tour like this to come back and play, on incredible golf courses, with companies like Farmers providing opportunities to earn a living and support playing this game, is truly a blessing. The financial reward will help give me the tools and confidence to set me up to continue chasing this dream next year. I know my mom was looking down on me today.”
Final APGA Tour Farmers Insurance Fall Series Standings and bonus money earned:
1 – Marcus Byrd $10,000
2 – Michael Bradham $7500
3 – Kamaiu Johnson $5000
4 – Brad Adamonis $4000
5 – Wyatt Worthington II $3500
Byrd won the second Fall Series event at APGA Tour Valley Forge for his first win of the season and followed with a runner-up finish at the APGA Charlie Sifford Centennial. After finishing 5th in the 2022 Lexus Cup Standings, he now wins the Fall Series standings. He also finished T2 at the invite-only Butterfield Bermuda APGA Championship. On the year, Byrd has played in 14 APGA Tour events and has 11 top-10 finishes including 8 top-3s and five runner-up finishes to go along with his victory in September. In his last six starts on the APGA Tour, he has finished T2, T2, T5, 1st, T2 and 2nd.
“This has been a great year as I have seen my game improve a lot. I played really consistent golf, putting myself in contention. It’s great to have that experience coming down the stretch in multiple events,” Byrd offered. “The more I put myself in those situations, the more prepared I’ll be when they come again. To win the Farmers Fall Series not only gets my confidence ready for next year but gives me the financial backing to focus on golf and on getting better one day at a time.”
Kamaiu Johnson finished third in the Fall Series Standings. Johnson won his third event of the season at last month’s APGA Charlie Sifford Centennial at the Clubs of Kingwood just two months after winning the APGA Mastercard Tour Championship and the season-long Lexus Cup Points race. The Tour Championship win also earned Johnson an exemption into 12 events of the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica series. Johnson now has five APGA Tour wins in the last three years, having also won the Tour Championship in 2020 and the APGA Tour’s Las Vegas stop each of the past two years.