PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – The fifth and final PGA TOUR Americas Qualifying School event was played this past week in San Jacinto, California, where Christian Banke of Scottsdale, Arizona, claimed medalist honors.
The top eight finishers earned membership for the 2026 PGA TOUR Americas season (subject to the second reorder), while the players who finished 9th–25th and ties received conditional status (subject to each periodic reorder). Patrick Sheehan, amateur Calen Sanderson, Chris Nido and Berk Harvey medaled at the previous four Q-Schools.
The following are the highlights from the final qualifying event:
San Jacinto, California
Dates: March 31-April 3
Venue: Soboba Springs Golf Course (7,339-yard Par-72)
Christian Banke, a 29-year-old University of Arizona alum from Scottsdale, shot 16-under 272 to earn medalist honors, finishing three shots clear of Jordan Lee, amateur Cole Rueck, and Jonny Baxter. A professional since 2022, Banke advanced to the Final Stage of the 2023 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry, earning conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour, where he made four starts in 2024. He also made two starts on PGA TOUR Americas in 2024, including a missed cut at the tour’s inaugural event in Tulum, Mexico.
Top eight finishers:
| Pos. | Player | Scores |
| 1 | Christian Banke, United States | 70-68-68-66—272 (-16) |
| T2 | Jordan Lee, United States | 69-67-69-70—275 (-13) |
| T2 | Cole Rueck (a), United States | 70-69-67-69—275 (-13) |
| T2 | Jonny Baxter, United States | 68-70-67-70—275 (-13) |
| 5 | Justin Biwer, United States | 69-68-71-68—276 (-12) |
| T6 | Josh Anderson, United States * | 68-68-71-70—277 (-11) |
| T6 | Leo Oyo, Japan * | 73-66-65-73—277 (-11) |
| T6 | Mason Greene, United States * | 69-69-65-74—277 (-11) |
*Winners of a four-for-three playoff to secure top-eight spots
Who earned conditional status: 18 players
T6. (-11/277) Zack Missigman (lost a four-for-three playoff to make the top eight)
T10. (-10/278) Finigan Tilly, Marcelo Garza, Ben Lorenz
T13. (-9/279) Cade Anderson, Joey Moore, Jack Avrit, José de Jesús Rodríguez
T17. (-8/280) Max Sekulic, Calder Overfelt (a), Johnny Travale, Angus Flanagan, Zac Jones, Noah Woolsey, Patrick Cover, Gavin Aurilia, Gabriel Salvanera, Bryce Barker
Notables to miss: Devon Bling, the 2018 U.S. Amateur runner-up and three-time collegiate winner at UCLA, finished T104 at 6-over… Michael McGowan, a 34-year-old from Pinehurst, North Carolina, with 85 career starts across the PGA TOUR, Korn Ferry Tour, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica and PGA TOUR Canada, placed T39 at 5-under… Canadian Thomas Giroux, who played 30 PGA TOUR Americas events over the past two seasons, finished T91 at 3-over.
With the PGA TOUR Americas Q-School played before the start of the season, membership and eligibility categories will apply to the Tour’s full 15-event schedule, which begins in April with back-to-back events in South America: the 71st ECP Brazil Open at the Olympic Golf Course in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (April 16-19), and the 94th Abierto del Centro Zurich presented by Telecom at the Cordoba Golf Club in Villa Allende, Argentina (April 23-26).
