PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – Through their play in the first 14 events on PGA Tour Americas this season, the top four players on the points list – Thomas Ponder, Corey Pereira, Étienne Papineau and Patrick Flavin – have secured their position in the top 10 of the final standings and earned Korn Ferry Tour membership for 2027, PGA Tour Americas officials announced Tuesday.
Ponder leads the tour with eight top-10s this season and will be a Korn Ferry Tour member for the first time, while 2027 will mark a return to the Korn Ferry Tour for Pereira, Papineau and Flavin. The remaining six Korn Ferry Tour cards will be decided this week at the Dominican Republic Tour Championship presented by Scotiabank, as the top 10 players on the final PGA Tour Americas Points List will be determined after Sunday’s final round.
The top 60 players on the points list qualified for this week’s season finale – a 72-hole, no-cut event at PGA Ocean’s 4 in Playa Nueva Romana, Dominican Republic. A finish in “The 10” is possible for all tournament entrants, as the tournament winner earns 600 points (compared to 500 points in the regular season). Drew Doyle currently holds the 10th and final position in “The 10” with 742 points, and Mesa Falleur enters the week No. 60 with 238 points.
Finishing No. 1 on the PGA Tour Americas Points List has been a strong indicator of success in the tour’s first two seasons. Johnny Keefer topped the standings in 2024, and one year later finished No. 1 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List to earn PGA Tour membership for 2026. Last year, Michael Brennan won three times en route to finishing No. 1 on PGA Tour Americas, and he has since won three times on the PGA Tour, including last week’s Baycurrent Classic, and is now No. 20 in OWGR.
Additionally, five PGA Tour Americas alumni earned their 2027 PGA Tour cards Sunday at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by Virginia’s Richmond Region. Davis Lamb (No. 3/2025), Sandy Scott (No. 8/2024) and Ian Holt (No. 10/2024) earned Korn Ferry Tour membership by finishing in “The 10” on PGA Tour Americas, while Dylan Menante and Jeremy Gandon played full PGA Tour Americas schedules in 2024.
Mathematically assured to finish in “The 10”
1. Thomas Ponder (Dothan, Alabama)
A third-year pro out of the University of Alabama, Ponder opened the season with seven straight top-20 finishes, including five top-10s, before breaking through with a victory at the Explore NB Open. He has topped the points list each week since his victory in July, and he added third-place finishes at the Commissionaires Ottawa Open presented by Lépine Apartments and Osprey Valley Open.
2. Corey Pereira (Sacramento, California)
Pereira has earned a return to the Korn Ferry Tour after previously holding membership in 2022 and 2019. In June, the 31-year-old won the Mexico Championship presented by Scotia Wealth Management in just his sixth Tour-sanctioned start since his wife, Leah, died from a rare and highly aggressive sarcoma. He has maintained his position in the top 10 since that win, and his season record includes six top-five finishes and the tour’s second-best scoring average (67.42).
3. Étienne Papineau (Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec)
Papineau won the Osprey Valley Open in July and the Digital Commerce Group Open three events later to become the season’s only two-time winner. The fifth-year pro opened the year with five consecutive missed cuts and extended his season with a T2 finish at the Inter Rapidisimo Golf Championship in June, the final event before the first eligibility reorder for conditional members. Papineau previously earned Korn Ferry Tour membership by finishing No. 4 on the PGA Tour Canada Order of Merit in 2023; he retained his card by finishing No. 70 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List as a rookie in 2024, and lost membership after finishing No. 121 in 2025.
4. Patrick Flavin (Highwood, Illinois)
Flavin topped the points list for five weeks this spring, bolstered by his win in Argentina at the Abierto del Centro Zurich presentado por Personal and a runner-up finish at the Diners Club Peru Open. A four-time All-MAC First Team selection (2014-18) at Miami (Ohio), Flavin previously earned Korn Ferry Tour membership in 2023 (via Korn Ferry Tour Q-School) but lost his card after finishing No. 106 on the points list as a rookie. He has made 39 starts on PGA Tour Americas the last three seasons, finishing 33rd (2024) and 51st (2025) on the points list before his top-10 season this year.