David Perkins’ (pictured) unlikely journey to the top of his field is on course after he secured status on the Korn Ferry Tour (KFT) for the 2026 season. The 27-year-old collected the coveted card in his fourth full year as a pro following a breakout year on the PGA Tour Americas.
A proud Midwesterner from East Peoria who now calls Morton home — two towns few may consider fertile grounds for producing professional golfers — Perkins’ path to the PGA Tour is as clear as ever.
“It’s exciting to get here, but I don’t want to overthink anything,” he said. “If I’m playing good, I like my chances every week.”
Perkins found that out last year. He tied for 10th in his second start and nearly won a few weeks later before settling for second. In July, Perkins finally put it all together, winning the Explore NB Open in New Brunswick, Canada, e ectively locking up his promotion. He posted 10 top 25s, including four top 10s, in 16 tournaments to finish fourth on the points list (the top 10 players earned KFT cards).
“I put myself in a lot of situations to win,” said Perkins, a former Illinois Open and CDGA Amateur champion. “I played consistently well for the entire season, and I figured out a way to play well without my best stuff.”
Perkins is guaranteed starts in the first 14 tournaments of the season. The tour stops in Springfield June 25-28 for the Memorial Health Championship. Panther Creek Country Club is roughly an hour away from where he lives and an hour away from where he played college golf at Illinois State.
“I’ll have the same mindset [this season] as I’ve had in the past,” Perkins said. “What I’m doing is working.”
Meanwhile, Dylan Wu and Doug Ghim are two other pros with Illinois connections who kept PGA Tour privileges in 2026, although neither one finished inside the top 100 in the FedExCup standings (the new benchmark for membership retention).
Wu, a Northwestern alum and Lincolnshire resident who’s building a house in Lake Forest, did so in a style normally saved for movie scripts by making a 20-foot birdie putt in a playoff at Q-School for entry into full-field tournaments.
“The biggest moment of my career,” said Wu, who owns one win on the Korn Ferry Tour. “That’s a memory I can draw on for the future.”
Relegated to conditional status in 2025 after three full seasons, he posted three top 25s in 16 events. While Wu had Korn Ferry Tour exemptions for 2026, he wasn’t willing to settle.
“Pro golf is about being comfortable and executing at the right time,” he said. “I’m having a lot of fun working on my game, and I’m in a great headspace right now. I’ve never been in contention [on the PGA Tour], but I know what it takes to win. I want to put myself in a position to do that.”
Ghim, of Arlington Heights, gained high priority conditional status with a clutch performance (T7 at The RSM Classic) in the final event of the FedExCup Fall schedule.
Veteran and two-time winner Kevin Streelman, a PGA Tour member since 2007, will play 16 events on a Major Medical Extension. The Wheaton native received the Major Medical after missing five full months last season due to a torn meniscus incurred while he was rehabbing a back injury.
Northbrook’s Nick Hardy endured his worst year on the PGA Tour since becoming a member in 2021. The consequence was a demotion to the Korn Ferry Tour with conditional status, meaning he will have limited access to events.
Patrick Flavin, of Highwood, returns to the PGA Tour Americas — the third of the PGA Tour tiers — for a third year. The top 10 players earn their way onto the Korn Ferry Tour.
“If I’m getting better and love what I’m doing, then I’ll keep doing it,” Flavin said. “When I don’t feel that way I’m done.” —Matt Harness
