Nearly a year after losing his wife to cancer, Corey Pereira won his first PGA Tour-sanctioned event in eight years.
Pereira carded six birdies to close in 6-under 65 and capture the PGA Tour Americas’ Mexico Championship on Sunday at La Hacienda Golf Club in Mexico City.
“If it weren’t for golf, I would just be sitting in my room all day, like pouting and crying,” said the 31-year-old Pereira, whose wife, Leah, died June 22, 2025, at age 28, after a three-year battle with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare, soft-tissue cancer of the skeletal muscles.
“Golf’s given me an excuse to get outside, something to work toward. That’s been really big for me. I do have just some horrible days where I just don’t want to play golf, so that’s also made it difficult. Honestly, I’m happy that I won, but I wish she was here to celebrate. She was my best friend.”
Leah was first diagnosed in October 2022 and went into remission on four different occasions. During Leah’s battle, Corey cut back his playing schedule, though he did qualify for the 2023 U.S. Open, which Leah attended.
Still mourning, Corey entered PGA Tour Q-School last fall with no status anywhere and earned Americas status by medaling at his first-stage site. He’s now second on the Americas points list thanks to this win, which came in just his sixth Tour-sanctioned start since Leah’s death, and three top-25s to begin the year.
After turning pro out of Washington in 2017, Pereira earned his Korn Ferry Tour card via a top-five finish in PGA Tour Canada points in 2018, the same year where he broke through for his first win, at the ATB Classic. He failed to keep his card that season on KFT and then again in 2022.
“Getting to the Korn Ferry, that’s the goal,” Pereira said. “I didn’t have my best year last time on Korn Ferry, and I want revenge. I want to get out there and do the same thing, get a win.”
Pereira shot 22 under this week and held off runner-up Riley Lewis, who didn’t make a bogey over his final 29 holes and placed second, two shots behind Pereira. Mason Williams was third, followed by Thomas Ponder.
Patrick Flavin tied for eighth to remain atop the points list.
“I know that I can play at a really high level,” Pereira said. “I have a lot of confidence in my game and that’s one of those things that keeps bringing me back is I know I can compete at the next level. … It’s hard to give up when you just have those strong feelings like that.”