East Peoria native David Perkins won his first tournament on the PGA Tour Americas on Sunday, outlasting the field at the Explore NB Open in New Brunswick, Canada.
The former Illinois State golfer earned $40,500 for the victory, shooting a combined 19-under par at Mactaquac Golf Course. He was 4-under in his final nine holes to edge Tripp Kinney by one stroke on the final hole.
Perkins, 27, is projected to take over the lead in the Fortinet Cup standings for the top golfers in PGA Tour Americas, a third-tier tour in its second season behind the PGA Tour and the Korn Ferry Tour. The top 10 golfers at the end of the PGA Tour Americas season earn cards to the Korn Ferry Tour next season.
Perkins is in his fifth year as a professional golfer. He earned a sponsor’s exemption to play in the PGA Tour’s John Deere Open in 2021. He has victories in the Illinois Open in 2022 and three victories on the Minor League Golf Tour in 2024 and 2025.
While at ISU, Perkins is an all-American and two-time Missouri Valley Conference golfer of the year. While at East Peoria, he made the IHSA state finals three times, finishing fourth as a sophomore, 28th as a junior and 12th as a senior.
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