Josh Teater wins The Panama Championship for first victory since 2009

Josh Teater earned his second Korn Ferry Tour title at The Panama Championship, carding a final-round, 5-under 65 at Club de Golf de Panama for a 9-under total, two strokes clear of Dylan Wu, Nick Gabrelcik and Johnny Keefer.

It’s his first PGA TOUR-sanctioned victory since 2009, snapping a streak of 402 starts without a victory between the TOUR and Korn Ferry Tour, and it could kick-start a late-career renaissance.

Teater began the final round in a tie for 20th place, six strokes behind Keefer, a Korn Ferry Tour rookie who finished atop the 2024 PGA TOUR Americas’ season-long Fortinet Cup. Teater, 45, made up ground with three birdies in his first five holes, and he rallied from a bogey at No. 9 with four birdies in a six-hole stretch (Nos. 11, 12, 14 and 16) that allowed him to withstand a bogey on No. 18.

It was an emotional victory for Teater, whose lone previous TOUR-sanctioned title came at the Korn Ferry Tour’s 2009 Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank and Intermountain Health. After regaining his PGA TOUR card via the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour’s season-long standings, Teater finished a distant No. 214 on the 2024 FedExCup Fall standings and failed to secure either TOUR status or full Korn Ferry Tour status for 2025 after failing to advance through Second Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry. Teater began the season on conditional status and qualified for The Panama Championship with a tie for seventh at The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club, which he played on a sponsor exemption.

Now the affable veteran is fully exempt on the Korn Ferry Tour through 2026 at minimum, and he moves to No. 2 on the season-long Korn Ferry Tour Points List through three of 26 events. The top 20 after the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance will earn 2026 PGA TOUR membership.

Sometimes a week can change a career, and Teater is living proof.

Josh Teater (first/-9)

• Earns second career Korn Ferry Tour win in what marked his 180th career start on Tour
• Previous Korn Ferry Tour win came at the 2009 Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank and Intermountain Health, marking the second-longest gap between wins in Korn Ferry Tour history (15 years, 4 months, 20 days)
• At 45 years, 9 months, 27 days of age, becomes the oldest Korn Ferry Tour winner since Scott Gutschewski (46 years, 6 months, 22 days/2023 LECOM Suncoast Classic)
• Closes in 5-under 65, the low round of Sunday’s final round by two strokes, and one of only nine sub-par rounds recorded in the final round
• Began the final round six strokes behind 54-hole leader Johnny Keefer, marking the fourth victory by player who began the final round six-plus strokes behind the 54-hole leader since the start of the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour season (Taylor Dickson/seven strokes/2024 Astara Chile Classic presented by Scotiabank; Mason Andersen/six strokes/117th Visa Argentina Open presented by Macro; Braden Thornberry/six strokes/2024 Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance)
• Totals 9-under 271 for the tournament, marking the fifth time in the last seven playings of The Panama Championship the winner finished fewer than 10 strokes under par
• Highest finish in six previous appearances at The Panama Championship was T13/2018
• Began the 2025 season in the “Veteran Member” category, earns fully exempt status for the remainder of the 2025 and 2026 Korn Ferry Tour seasons with his victory
• Relegated to the Korn Ferry Tour for the 2025 season following a No. 214 finish in the 2024 FedExCup Fall
• Three-time Korn Ferry Tour graduate (2009, 2018, 2023) and four-time FedExCup Playoffs qualifier (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013)
• Played four seasons at Morehead State University (1996-2000) and led the program to an Ohio Valley Conference title in 1999; he was inducted into the Morehead State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011

Additional player notes

• First-year member Johnny Keefer (T2/-7), who finished No. 1 in the 2024 Fortinet Cup standings on PGA TOUR Americas, posts his first top-10 in his third career start on the Korn Ferry Tour.
• Nick Gabrelcik (T2/-7), who finished No. 5 in the 2024 PGA TOUR University Ranking, records his second top-10 in what was his 16th career start on the Korn Ferry Tour (T7/2024 Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Hiland Dairy Foods); his even-par 70 in the final round was the only score of 70 or lower in the final four groups Sunday.
• Korn Ferry Tour winner Dylan Wu (T2/-7), who has conditional status for the 2025 PGA TOUR season (No. 132 from 2024 FedExCup Fall), records his first top-10 in a Korn Ferry Tour event since his victory at the 2021 Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Hiland Dairy Foods, which helped him secure PGA TOUR membership for the first time upon conclusion of the 2020-21 Korn Ferry Tour season.
• Korn Ferry Tour winner Hank Lebioda (5th/-6), who won the season-opening The Bahamas Golf Classic at Atlantis Paradise Island, strengthens his hold on the No. 1 position on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List with a third consecutive top-10; he entered the 2025 season with five career top-10s in 61 career starts on the Korn Ferry Tour.
• Brandon Berry (T6/-5) and Neal Shipley (T9/-4) record their first top-10s in their fourth and third career Korn Ferry Tour starts, respectively.