Canadian A.J. Ewart set out to win the PGA Tour Q School, so he said, though there was negligible evidence to support the optimism behind that lofty goal. Yet, there he was on Sunday afternoon, closing out the best week of his career, maybe his life, with an otherwise unlikely victory and a PGA Tour membership for 2026.

Ewart, 26, posted a four-under 66 on the Dye’s Valley Course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., for a 72-hole score of 14-under 266, and a two-stroke victory to claim one of five available tour memberships.

The other four to secure tour cards for 2026 were Canadian Adam Svensson, Argentina’s Alejandro Tosti, Colombia’s Marcelo Rozo, and American Dylan Wu in a playoff win over Canadian Ben Silverman.

“I came here with the goal to win a golf tournament,” Ewart said. “It wasn’t necessarily to finish in the top five or 25. It was to go and prepare to win a golf tournament. So to do it feels great.It’s kind of like the old saying of ‘aim small, miss small.’ I try to look at any tournament you go out and try to win. If you set your standards a little below that, you’re going to sell yourself short a little bit.”

Who can argue at this point?

Whatever his confidence level, it was not reflected in either his career record or performance in 2025. He did have four top 10s in 16 starts on the PGA Tour Americas this year, a portent of nothing that transpired over the last four days. In 2025, he also missed the cut in six of nine starts on the PGA Tour Canada. He has played only two PGA Tour events, both in the Canadian Open, in 2022 and 2025, and missed the cut in both.

Moreover, he missed earning a Korn Ferry Tour card when he lost in a playoff in the second to last PGA Tour Americas event this year.

“That playoff loss stung,” he said. “But it kind of motivated me to get back on the horse. I knew I had a chance at Q School to go get my Korn Ferry Tour card or ultimately my PGA Tour card. Things happen for a reason, and I think that’s just what it was supposed to be. It kind of pushed me a little harder and want it a little bit more. And here we are.”

The most drama on Sunday came down to the fifth and final available PGA Tour card, a playoff between Wu and Silverman. Previously, it had been the top five and ties earning PGA Tour membership via Q School. This year, it held the number of qualifiers to five, requiring in this instance a playoff for the fifth spot.

Wu won by holding a 20-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole.