Christmas 21—All Pro Tour Tournament Manager Taylor Deike says Muskogee is a second home for him.
Deike’s hometown is Tyler, Texas, and graduated from Texas A&M. She has zero ties to Muskogee or Oklahoma, but she loves the city.
Deike has operated three tournaments at the Muskogee Golf Club, including this week’s Health & Wellness Center Real Okie Championship. She said she considers Muskogee as another home because of the people she works with at the golf course.
“Everybody knows this; this is my third time here, but Muskogee is definitely a second home for me and I don’t just say that about anywhere,” Deike said. “The people here are great, they all got a good sense of humor and quick wit. They are fun to work with and they are hard workers and they’re just having a good time.
“You’re never bored. There’s never a dull moment in Muskogee, Oklahoma. So, these people are great.”
The tournament this week featured more than 130 golfers and will conclude Saturday. Ryan Baca entered Friday’s third round leading at 12 under par. Baca is a Baylor grad, who has played on the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour.
Deike said many of the participants this week in Muskogee will compete in next week’s Texas State Open, which is a PGA-sanctioned event through the Northern Texas PGA.
The APT is able to bring high-level golf to communities such as Muskogee.
“The beauty of being a developmental tour and not the PGA or the Korn Ferry is that we can find hidden gems like Muskogee,” Deike said. “I know it’s not a star on the map, but it’s got the best people, the best character to it. The cool thing about the APT is that we’re able to put towns like this on the map and showcase these professional golfers from all over the world.”
To view the leaderboard for the Real Okie Championship, click here.