Thomas Ponder (Dothan, Alabama) carded five back-nine birdies to shoot a final-round 65 and pull away for a three-stroke victory at the Explore NB Open, his first victory on PGA TOUR Americas. With the win at Mactaquac Golf Course, Ponder moves to No. 1 on the season-long points list with seven events remaining before the top 10 players earn Korn Ferry Tour membership for 2027.
Leading by as many as three on the front nine, Ponder’s lead was cut to one when Evan Knight (Novato, California) birdied the par-5 12th. Ponder regained a two-shot edge with a birdie on No. 13, just the seventh birdie on the 247-yard par 3 in the final round. He added birdies on Nos. 15 and 16 to get to 28-under and establish a new 72-hole scoring record (in relation to par) on PGA TOUR Americas.
Ponder earned membership by medaling at PGA TOUR Americas Q-School in March 2024 before turning pro after five seasons at Alabama (2019-24). Since then, he finished No. 36 (2024) and No. 35 (2025) on the points list, and tallied nine top-10s in his first 33 starts on PGA TOUR Americas.
And now, he has his first TOUR-sanctioned win and is No. 1 on the points list.
“I think the biggest thing for me was just to keep playing well, just keep playing my type of golf and I was confident enough that sooner or later that I would be lifting a trophy, and here we are,” Ponder said.
Ponder outlasted Knight, who played the last 47 holes bogey-free en route to the runner-up finish, his best result in his 30th start on tour. The 31-year-old closed with a 67 and finished at 25-under, and he improved 59 spots to No. 16 on the points list.
Cooper Smith (Tampa, Florida) carded the low round of the tournament Sunday, a 10-under 61, and finished T8 at 20-under, his best result in eight starts this season. Brady McKinlay (Lacombe, Alberta) closed with a bogey-free 63 and improved 14 spots to finish T11.
Next week, PGA TOUR Americas travels to Ottawa, Ontario, for the ninth event of the season – the Commissionaires Ottawa Open presented by Lépine Apartments.
