ATB Classic presented by Building Trades of Alberta: Pre-tournament storylines, players to watch, more

The PGA Tour Americas regular season concludes this week in Edmonton, Alberta, at the ATB Classic presented by Building Trades of Alberta. After Sunday’s final round, the top 60 players on the PGA Tour Americas Points List will qualify for the season-ending Dominican Republic Tour Championship presented by Scotiabank, Oct. 15-18.

Last week, Étienne Papineau became the season's first two-time winner when he won by four at the Digital Commerce Group Open on his 30th birthday. With the win in Victoria, British Columbia, Papineau moved to No. 2 on the season-long points list, only trailing Thomas Ponder. Two events remain this season, and the top 10 players on the final points list will earn Korn Ferry Tour membership for 2027.

Player notes

Corey Pereira (Sacramento, California) is coming off back-to-back fifth-place finishes at the CRMC Championship and Digital Commerce Group Open to solidify his No. 3 position on the season-long points list. In 2018, as a 23-year-old in his second season on PGA Tour Canada, Pereira won the ATB Classic at Country Hills Golf Club in Calgary for his first professional victory. He went on to earn Korn Ferry Tour membership for the 2019 season and did so again for 2022, and he’s looking to return in 2027 by finishing in the top 10 of this season’s points list.

Riley Lewis (Prescott, Arizona) finished T3 last week in Victoria, his third top-10 finish of the season, to improve five spots to No. 8 on the points list. A second-year member out of Loyola Marymount University, Lewis finished T3 at last year’s ATB Classic (played at Northern Bear Golf Club) en route to finishing No. 18 on the season-long points list.

Charlie Nikitas (Glenview, Illinois) finished runner-up last week to improve 20 spots to No. 11 on the points list, one spot behind 10th-ranked Joey Savoie (Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec). Nikitas has five top 10s this season, including three in his last four starts, and trails Savoie by less than 19 points with two events remaining.

Three players moved into the top 60 on the points list after top-15 finishes at last week’s Digital Commerce Group Open:

• Thomas Longbella (Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin) finished T3 and is No. 49 on the points list.
• Chuan-Tai Lin (New Taipei City, Chinese Taipei) finished T5 and is No. 58 on the points list.
• Mesa Falleur (Muskogee, Oklahoma) finished T13 and is No. 55 on the points list.

Kyle Cottam (Knoxville, Tennessee) carded a 12-under 58 at Uplands Golf Club in the third round last week, the lowest 18-hole score and the sixth sub-60 score on PGA Tour Americas since 2024. Cottam went on to finish T5 and is No. 36 on the points list.

Wil Bateman (Edmonton, Alberta), winner of the 2022 ATB Classic at Edmonton Petroleum Golf & Country Club, is in the field on a sponsor exemption. Bateman grew up playing this week's host course, Blackhawk Golf Club, and is making his first Tour-sanctioned start since the Korn Ferry Tour’s UNC Health Championship in May.