Willie Mack III came up all aces with a clutch 18th hole birdie to win the 2025 APGA at TPC Las Vegas, aided by a final round 64. The legend now grows as he collected his 16th APGA Tour victory. Photo by APGA.
The Flint, Michigan native and Orlando, Florida resident overcame a two-stroke deficit entering Wednesday’s final round to surge past Round 1 leader Jaime Lopez Rivarola.
“I know my game is in a good place right now, but somehow I don’t play well in Arizona and Las Vegas, so playing well the last two days definitely gave me some good confidence going into Q School in a couple weeks,” Mack III said. “It’s been a long road. I’ve been playing professional golf for a while, so every time you get a victory, it’s always special. Hopefully, I can just keep playing well and keep rolling into the next tournament.
“I have played 12 PGA tour events and I played in US Open last year and I had full Korn Ferry status in 2023, so anytime I can come out here and play well, it’s special. There are some great players out here. I know I’m going in the right direction. My dad always told me, never give up, so I always keep that in the back of my head. That’s what keeps motivating me to keep pushing to get better and better every day.”
The APGA at TPC Las Vegas is the first of three golf tournaments on the APGA Farmers Insurance© Fall Series. Mack III received 500 points toward the APGA’s Jeff Dailey Standings and a $7,500 first-place prize from a $25,000 purse.
“It’s exciting. They (Farmers Insurance) were my first big sponsor. (That) I can come out here and get the victory with their name on it is special,” Mack III said. “They’ve been supporting me through ups and downs. A lot more ups than downs. I’ve been playing well the last couple weeks so hopefully I can keep doing that the rest of the year.”
An APGA player since 2011, the same year he turned professional, Mack III tallied an overall 36-hole score of 10-under 132 at TPC Las Vegas, besting Rivarola by two strokes to become the third golfer to win multiple APGA titles in 2025, following Marcus Byrd and Kamaiu Johnson.
Mack III has won two of the last four APGA Tour events, after teaming with fellow Orlando resident Luis Gagne to win the APGA Two-Man Classic at TPC Louisiana at the end of July. At that time, Mack III was re-tooling his bag with some new clubs in preparation for the final third of the APGA season and his participation in the first stage of PGA TOUR Q-School in October.
Said Mack III: “For sure, this is a confidence booster going into Pebble (Beach for the APGA’s Cisco Invitational Oct. 13-16). After that is first stage of Q-School. I’m just going to keep doing the same things I’ve been doing and keep everything sharp, and hopefully I can keep playing well.”
Rivarola, a Buenos Aires, Argentina native and Alpharetta, Georgia resident, also was bidding for his second APGA Tour triumph this year. The University of Georgia product most recently captured the APGA at TPC San Antonio in March.
Holding two career APGA titles, Rivarola entered Wednesday’s final round as the tournament leader following a 5-under 66 in Tuesday’s first round. That earned him a one-shot lead over Brian Ohr and Kevin Hall and put him two strokes clear of Mack III. Rivarola and Mack III each registered three birdies on their front nines during Wednesday’s final round.
Rivarola began the back nine with his only bogey of the day on No. 10 and Mack III, playing in the penultimate grouping, briefly caught Rivarola at 7-under with a birdie at No. 12. Rivarola then followed suit with his own birdie on the par-3 12th to regain a one-shot lead before Mack III overtook Rivarola with consecutive birdies at the par-4 14th and par-5 15th holes to get to 9-under. He sealed the win with a closing birdie on the par-4 18th hole.
“Everything was pretty much on all cylinders,” Mack III said. “I had no bogeys. I had a couple three-putts yesterday so I just told myself if I could not three-putt and keep hitting the ball like I did yesterday, I can put up a good number.”
In Tuesday’s first round, Rivarola rebounded from his sole bogey on the first hole with an eagle on the par-5 fourth hole and birdies on Nos. 6, 8 and 9. He concluded the opening round with his fourth birdie of the day.
Hall traded a birdie with a bogey on his first two holes and then again after the turn, but he made his first-round move with four consecutive birdies on holes 4-7. Ohr recorded a bogey-free first round with three birdies in a four-hole stretch – on Nos. 3, 4, 6 – and a final birdie on the par-4 13th hole.
Cincinnati native and seven-time APGA winner Hall (6-under 136), who has played on the APGA Tour since it was established in 2010, and Wheeling, Illinois resident Ohr (5-under 137) wound up finishing third and fourth, respectively.
Las Vegas native Marcus Mullins carded an overall score of 9-over 151 (75-76) and placed 36th in his home event. The second-year APGA golfer was the only Nevada player in the 39-man field.
The APGA Tour moves to St. Louis, Missouri for its 13th tournament of the year, and its second of three stops along the APGA Farmers Insurance Fall Series circuit, at the 36-hole APGA Daugherty Foundation Championship Sept. 30-Oct. 2 at Glen Echo Country Club. The 2025 APGA season runs through November with 16 tournaments from coast to coast.
About the APGA Tour
The APGA Tour was established in 2010 as a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring an inclusive future through the game of golf. The APGA Tour Board of Directors works diligently to accomplish this by hosting and operating professional golf tournaments, player development programs, mentoring programs, and by introducing the game to inner city young people. In addition to conducting 16 tournaments awarding more than $1 million in prize and bonus money, the APGA has organized a Player Development Program to aid golfers as they work to chase their professional golf goals.