2027 APT Omni Homestead Pre-Event

The Amateur Players Tour returned to The Homestead’s Cascades Course on Sunday, October 18, 2026 in Hot Springs, Virginia for a premier amateur golf tournament, and for players hunting competitive golf tournaments near me on a stage worth the drive, the APT Omni Homestead Pre-Event delivered one. A sold-out field of 44 players competed across five divisions, with players flighted into divisions based on their APT Tournament Index, plus a pair of net games running alongside. The Elevated Event put over $2,000 in prize money on the line.

Sam Snead launched his career on the fabled Virginia mountain layout, which carries the honor of being ranked among “America’s 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses” by Golf Digest, and the Cascades plays to a par of 71. The par-4 9th was the toughest hole of the day by a comfortable margin, playing nearly a shot and three-quarters over par and surrendering not a single birdie from the 43 players who logged it, with only four pars made all day. The par-5 12th was the one genuine opportunity, giving up four birdies and sixteen pars and playing the closest to par of anything on the card.

In Division 1, Nicholas Heller of Lexington, Illinois took the title with a 7-over 78, and he had to earn it over the closing stretch. Mark Ballew led him by a stroke through six holes, and both Ballew and Neil Master were still level with Heller after twelve. Heller’s answer came late: after opening his round with a birdie at the par-4 1st, he picked up two more in short order at the par-3 15th and the par-5 16th, played his final six holes in 1-over and his last three in even par. He went out in 4-over 39 and came home in 3-over 39 for a three-shot win. Ballew, of Hampstead, North Carolina, took runner-up honors at 10-over 81. Matt Minder of Mechanicsburg, Illinois and Master of Nashville, Tennessee shared third at 11-over 82.

Division 2 produced the low round of the day. Sean Newsom of Fredericksburg, Virginia posted a 6-over 77, the best number anyone returned at the Cascades, and he built it on patience rather than fireworks — ten pars, a lone birdie at the par-4 10th, and a back nine of 2-over 38 after turning in 4-over 39. Newsom led after six, after twelve and after fifteen, and nobody ever got closer than a couple of shots. William Marlowe of Rockville, Maryland claimed second at 10-over 81: no birdies, but eleven pars, out in 6-over 41, home in 4-over 40, and the last three holes played in even par. Christopher Denz of Alexandria, Virginia was a stroke off the pace after six before finishing third at 12-over 83. Four players finished within seven shots of Newsom.

Division 3 was the tightest contest of the day and the lead changed hands down the stretch. Chad Hertzog of Lebanon, Pennsylvania won it with a 15-over 86 by a single stroke, but he was chasing for most of the afternoon — Chris Huge of Mt Pleasant, South Carolina led by one after six holes and still led by one after twelve, and Donald Dawson of Reynoldsburg, Ohio had also edged a shot clear of Hertzog by the twelfth. Hertzog moved in front over the last few holes and stayed there. Huge and Dawson tied for second at 16-over 87, and four players in the division finished within two shots of the winning number.

Division 4 came down to the same margin. Catherine Malehorn of Rockville, Maryland took the win with a 20-over 91, holding off William Favinger of Fredericksburg, Pennsylvania by one. Favinger had been a stroke ahead of her through six holes, fell four behind by the twelfth, and had cut it back to a single shot with three to play before Malehorn closed it out. Favinger finished second at 21-over 92, and Robert Jackson of Richmond, Virginia, who was also within a stroke of Malehorn with three holes left, took third at 22-over 93. Three players finished within two of the lead.

Division 5 went to Edward Harlow of Earlysville, Virginia, whose 24-over 95 was good for a five-shot win. Adam Hodge of Bentonville, Arkansas had the early running, two clear of Harlow after six holes, but Harlow had the lead back by the twelfth and extended it from there, playing either side of the turn at the same pace — 12-over 47 out, 12-over 48 in. Hodge finished second at 29-over 100, and Terry Bollenbecker of Harrisburg, North Carolina finished in 3rd.

Hertzog was not finished after Division 3. He completed the double-dip in the Mid-Am Net, posting a net 5-over 76 to win by three, and that one also turned late. Minder held a two-shot edge over Hertzog after twelve holes and was still a stroke in front with three to play, while Mick Correll of Parkton, North Carolina was level with the eventual winner at both checkpoints. Hertzog’s finish settled it. Correll and Minder shared second at net 8-over 79.

In the Senior Net, Newsom made it two titles out of two, signing for a net even-par 71 to win by a single shot. Huge, level with Newsom through six holes before the leader pulled away on the inward half, took second at net 1-over 72. Harlow added a third-place finish at net 2-over 73 to go with his Division 5 win, and Jim Baugher of Huddleston, Virginia came in at net 4-over 75 to round out the money positions. Three players finished within two of Newsom.

Newsom and Hertzog were the two players to win on both cards — Newsom in Division 2 and the Senior Net, Hertzog in Division 3 and the Mid-Am Net — and between them they accounted for four of the seven titles contested at the Cascades. Huge came close to joining them, finishing second in both Division 3 and the Senior Net.

That is the first stop in the books for the 2027 season, with a sold-out field and three contests settled by a single stroke. The Amateur Players Tour’s schedule rolls on from Hot Springs for the Fall Kickoff here at the Omni Homestead.