By PGATOUR.com
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.