Canadian golfer Joey Savoie closed with a five-birdie surge to win the Dominican Republic Tour Championship at PGA Ocean's 4, the season-ending event of PGA Tour Americas, held at Playa Nueva Romana near Santo Domingo. Starting the final round two shots back, Savoie carded a 67 to finish at 14 under par (274 total) and win by one stroke — his second title of the season.
The stakes went beyond the trophy. The event settled the full PGA Tour Americas points race and handed out ten Korn Ferry Tour cards for 2027. Thomas Ponder finished the year as the tour's top-ranked player, joining Corey Pereira, Étienne Papineau, Savoie, Patrick Flavin, Charlie Crockett, Justin Biwer, Jack Lundin, Charlie Nikitas and Patrick Sheehan in earning promotion.
For the Dominican Republic, the week was about more than golf results. Deputy tourism minister Tammy Reynoso framed the tournament as a pillar of the country's sports tourism push, saying the goal is for visiting golfers to also explore Dominican culture, food and destinations beyond the fairways. PGA Tour Pathways VP Jon Krakower said both the competition and course conditions exceeded expectations for a season finale.
The venue is a big part of that pitch. PGA Ocean's 4, currently undergoing a phased renovation by architect Robert Trent Jones II, features four holes running right along the Caribbean Sea — holes Savoie himself called incredible. The complex was named the Dominican Republic's Best Golf Course at the 2025 World Golf Awards and offers 27 holes in total: an 18-hole par-72 championship layout plus a nine-hole par-27 executive course that's lit for night play, the only one of its kind in the country. There's also an on-site PGA Academy for lessons and player development.
Piñero's Real Estate & Golf division, which operates Playa Nueva Romana, will hand the tour's season finale to its sister venue PGA Riviera Maya in Mexico next year, but CEO Jaime Sitjar made clear the company intends to keep positioning its Caribbean properties among international golf's leading destinations.
For travellers, the takeaway is that the DR's golf scene keeps adding substance to match its beaches. If your holiday planning includes tee times, the east-central coast around Playa Nueva Romana now offers a championship-calibre option with sea views, night golf and pro-level pedigree — and a tournament calendar that puts the country on the international golf map each October.
