Hard Work Pays Off for Ex-APGC Bonallack Trophy Star

Orlando, Florida, United States: Enrique Dimayuga was the next man up when he got the call to join the Advocates Professional Golf Association (APGA) Tour’s exclusive 21-player field at last week’s Billy Horschel Invitational Presented by Cisco.

“I was over the moon,” Dimayuga said. “I really didn’t have anything planned for the week. I said: ‘I’m going to book my flight straight away and get on over here’.”

The APGA Tour rookie made the most of an offer he couldn’t refuse. The Filipino golfer who was born and raised in London captured his first professional tournament title with a 36-hole score of nine-under-par 135 (68-67) and a three-stroke victory at the Evermore Resort’s Grand Cypress Course.

Dimayuga said: “It feels great. Trying to win is a skill. Having done that at different levels, and the competition just keeps going up and up and up as you go into the professional ranks. To start here is great.

“There was a lot of nerves overnight, sleeping on the lead and being in a position where there was lots of people behind me. I’m very glad to be able to get the job done. Proud of the way I played. A really grateful moment.”

Dimayuga was a member of the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) team that defeated Europe to retain the Ryder Cup-style Bonallack Trophy in the United Arab Emirates at the start of last year, contributing 2½ points from four matches including a crucial final-day singles success.

Before turning pro, Dimayuga represented the Philippines at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. In 2024, he led the Philippine national team to victory in the Southeast Asian Amateur Team Championship for the Putra Cup, winning the individual title for good measure.

For his maiden APGA triumph, Dimayuga earned a US$30,000 prize from the tournament’s US$100,000 purse and 700 points toward the APGA’s Jeff Dailey Player of the Year standings.

Dimayuga, who completed his college golf career in 2025 at Southern Methodist University as the last of four collegiate stops, was an alternate last week and earned a spot in the field when Orlando resident Joey Stills withdrew because he was scheduled to play in the first stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School.

Dimayuga said: “It means everything – opportunities to get in high-level golf tournaments. It’s also a great learning experience to play in an invitational as well where it’s only the best players on this Tour to be playing.”

Texan Xavier Bighaus, the 2026 APGA Daugherty Foundation Championship winner, and Gregory Odom, a Memphis, Tennessee native splitting time between the APGA Tour and PGA Tour Americas in 2026, shared second place at six-under 138.

Bighaus was two shots back of the lead after recording a two-under 70 in the first round. He pulled within one shot of Dimayuga upon completing the front nine in the final round in 31 strokes.

Dimayuga responded with a birdie at the ninth to move to eight-under, completing his front nine in 32 and taking back a multiple-shot lead that he would not relinquish. Dimayuga padded his lead with birdies on 14 and 16.

“It’s down to all the hard work I’ve been doing on my short game,” Dimayuga said. “It was definitely my putting today. I converted a lot of chances, ones that necessarily weren’t tap-ins. I was driving the ball well and flighting it well the last two days. I always work a lot on my putting. So to see it come through, especially in the final round of the tournament, is super satisfying.”

Founded in 2010, the Advocates Professional Golf Association is a non-profit organisation dedicated to inspiring an inclusive future through golf. The APGA Tour tees up its 14th of 15 tournaments in the 2026 season, the APGA at Cedar Crest, from October 25-27 at Cedar Crest Golf Course in Dallas.