The 2026 Korn Ferry Tour season continues with The Panama Championship, the third tournament of the 25-event schedule and the first of five events to be contested in Latin America. This marks the 22nd playing of The Panama Championship, with Club de Golf de Panama having hosted every iteration of the event since its inaugural playing in 2004.

The year's field includes 15 PGA TOUR winners with 30 total victories, led by five-time winner Jonathan Byrd. Additionally, the field features 61 Korn Ferry Tour winners — including past champions Josh Teater and Carson Young (2022) — with 91 career victories, led by Ben Kohles and Robby Shelton with four wins each. Four players in the field stand inside the top 200 of the Official World Golf Ranking: Taylor Dickson (No. 142), Young (No. 177), Barend Botha (No. 194) and Taylor Montgomery (No. 197).

Panamanians Lucca Gonzalez and Juan Pablo Motta will represent their home country this week as sponsor exemptions. Motta, a 26-year-old amateur, will make his first career start in a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event. Both Motta and Gonzalez finished T31 at the Latin America Amateur Championship in Lima, Peru, earlier this month.

Last season, Teater captured his second career Korn Ferry Tour victory at the 2025 The Panama Championship, claiming a two-stroke victory over a trio of runners-up (Nick Gabrelcik, Johnny Keefer, Dylan Wu). Teater carded a 5-under 65 in the final round to overcome a six-stroke deficit to 54-hole leader Keefer.

Field notes

• Ian Holt captured his first career Korn Ferry Tour victory in his most recent start at The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club. Holt stands atop the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour Points List off the strength of his victory and a T22 finish at the season-opening The Bahamas Golf Classic at Atlantis Paradise Island. Holt finished No. 42 on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, and previously earned Korn Ferry Tour membership with a No. No. 10 finish on the 2024 PGA TOUR Americas Points List.
• Defending champion Josh Teater is one of two past champions in this week's field. Teater's victory last season marked the second of his career on the Korn Ferry Tour (first since the 2009 Utah Championship) and propelled him to a No. 25 finish on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List (top 20 earned PGA TOUR membership).
• Eighteen-year-old Blades Brown finished T18 as a sponsor exemption last week at The American Express, which marked his best finish in 10 career starts on the PGA TOUR. Brown set the tournament 18-hole scoring record at the Nicklaus Tournament Course with a second-round 12-under 60, becoming the youngest player in TOUR history to card a round of 60 or better, and shared the 36-hole lead with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
• Maxwell Moldovan, who finished No. 20 in in the 2024 PGA TOUR University Ranking, will make his second career Korn Ferry Tour start. Moldovan, who holds conditional membership for 2026, earned a spot in this week's field with his top five finish from 2025 PGA TOUR Americas Segment I, highlighted by his first career victory at the 70th ECP Brazil Open.
• Nick Gabrelcik logged his career-high finish on the Korn Ferry Tour at the 2025 Panamá Championship, finishing T2 alongside Johnny Keefer and Dylan Wu. Gabrelcik, who finished No. 54 on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List for full status this season, has made cuts in both of his starts to begin 2026, highlighted by a T23 finish at The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club.

Tournament facts

• Course: Club de Golf de Panamá; par 70, 7,534 yards
• Field: 144 players
• Defending champion: Josh Teater
• Purse: $1 million ($180,000 to winner)

*Note: Using player performance data from ShotLink powered by CDW, the PGA TOUR has created this story using AWS Gen AI technology. While we strive for accuracy and quality, please note that the information provided may not be entirely error-free.*