Davin White rally tops Tim O'Neal on APGA Tour at Farmers Insurance Fall Series 2nd tourney

NEWNAN, Ga. – Davin White swept into the lead with birdies on his first three holes and then closed with a back-nine 33 to seize his second APGA Tour victory, edging decorated veteran Tim O’Neal by one stroke in the Farmers Insurance Atlanta Championship at White Oak Golf Club at the Clubs of Peachtree City Tuesday.

The former All-Sun Belt Conference golfer at Georgia State and winner of the 2015 Georgia Open outdueled O’Neal and first round leader Marcus Manley in the final group. White’s birdie on 16 pulled him even with O’Neal, who bogeyed 17 after an errant tee shot to fall one shot behind. On 18, O’Neal missed a birdie putt from 30 feet giving White two putts from 20 feet to capture the victory and pocket the $7,500 first prize from the $25,000 purse.

“I’ve been practicing well at home (Locust Grove, Georgia, 75 miles south of Atlanta), so it feels good,” stated White, 28, whose previous APGA Tour victory came in the 2018 event at Wolf Creek Golf Course in Atlanta. “Been working hard, focusing on goals other than winning. I gained confidence yesterday and this is the first time all year that I’ve shot consecutive rounds in the 60s. The first time I thought about winning today was on 17.” White’s longest made putt was a 25-footer to save par on the fifth hole and he finished at eight-under with a 68-68-136..

White and Manley, winner of the Farmers Insurance Fall Series opener, APGA Tour Valley Forge, last month, now lead the way in the competition for the Fall Series Bonus Pool of $15,000. The top performer in the three-event competition that culminates Nov. 7-9, with the APGA Tour Farmers Insurance Fall Series Finale ($30,000 purse) at Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles will win $7,500.

O’Neal, the 49 year-old former Korn Ferry Tour regular with multiple PGA TOUR starts, finished 67-70-137 and has designs on the PGA TOUR Champions circuit following his 50th birthday next year. Marcus Byrd of Knoxville, Tennessee, winner of APGA Tour New Orleans in May, finished another stroke back at 70-68-138 and Derrick Williams of Riverside, California, shot the low round of the day, a five-under 67, to finish alone in fourth place, three strokes back. Kevin Hall of Cincinnati (70-70), Kamaiu Johnson of Oviedo, Florida (70-70), and Tommy Schaff of Ridgeland, South Carolina (69-71), tied for fifth place at 140.

The Advocates Professional Golf Association (APGA) was established in 2010 with the mission to bring greater diversity to the game of golf by hosting and operating professional golf tournaments, player development programs, mentoring programs, and introducing the game to inner-city young people.

The APGA Tour Farmers Insurance Atlanta Championship was conducted under health/safety guidelines in conjunction with regional authorities.