Defending champion Richard Green eagled his final hole to join Rob Labritz atop the Rogers Charity Classic leaderboard after both opened with bogey-free 63s on Friday.
The co-leaders reached seven under at Canyon Meadows, one stroke ahead of Miguel Ángel Jiménez. Six players sit another shot back after rounds of 65.
Green produced five birdies before closing with an eagle at the par-5 18th. The 55-year-old Australian came home in 30 for a 7-under round split across nines of 33 and 30.
His record at Canyon Meadows now includes a win in 2025 and a runner-up finish in 2024. Green won last year at 18-under 192, closing with a 65 to beat Ricardo González by one stroke.
A successful defence would make Green the second player to win the tournament in consecutive years, following Scott McCarron in 2017 and 2018. Green entered the week 24th in the Charles Schwab Cup standings and was projected to rise to 11th after the opening round.
A member's bounce ➡️ an eagle finish 🦅
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) August 21, 2026
Richard Green catches a break and finishes at the top of the leaderboard @RogersClassic. pic.twitter.com/A0mSzRqFKj
Labritz Sets Career Low
Labritz matched Green with seven birdies and no bogeys after beginning on the 10th tee. He completed his round by making a 12-foot birdie putt at the par-three ninth.
The PGA of America club professional also holed shots from off the green for birdies at the 7th and 15th. He hit 14 of 18 greens, went four-for-four in scrambling and required 25 putts.
The 63 lowered Labritz’s previous best PGA Tour Champions round by three strokes. His earlier low was a 66 at the 2026 Chubb Classic.
Labritz, the longtime director of golf at GlenArbor Golf Club in Bedford Hills, New York, is playing on a sponsor exemption in his seventh start of the season. He is seeking his first PGA Tour Champions victory, with a tie for fourth at the 2022 US Senior Open remaining his best career finish.
"I’m ready to go one shot at a time and see where it ends."@RobLabritzGolf lost his PGA TOUR Champions status two years ago and has been grinding his way back ever since.
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) August 22, 2026
After an opening round 63 @RogersClassic, the club professional at Glen Arbor Golf Club in New York has… pic.twitter.com/GgRT5YEpdY
Jiménez Leads the Chasing Group
Jiménez made seven birdies and one bogey in a six-under 64. It was his second successive 64 after he posted the same score in the final round of the Boeing Classic, where Stewart Cink beat him on the first playoff hole.
Michael Allen, Jason Caron, Thongchai Jaidee, Ryan Armour, Jerry Kelly and Michael Block share fourth at 5-under. Kelly made a field-high eight birdies, while Jaidee and Block completed bogey-free rounds.
Retief Goosen opened with a bogey-free 66 that included an eagle at the par-5 11th. Canadian Mike Weir shot 67, while Charles Schwab Cup No. 2 Zach Johnson and Steven Alker each returned 68.
Cameron Beckman also made a hole-in-one at the 174-yard fifth. It was the ninth ace in Rogers Charity Classic history.
An ace @RogersClassic!
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) August 21, 2026
Courtesy of Cameron Beckman on No. 5 😎 pic.twitter.com/vQ7uG8T43X
Related: The crazy calendar
| Pos | Player | To Par | R1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Richard Green | -7 | 63 |
| T1 | Rob Labritz | -7 | 63 |
| 3 | Miguel Angel Jiménez | -6 | 64 |
| T4 | Michael Allen | -5 | 65 |
| T4 | Jason Caron | -5 | 65 |
| T4 | Thongchai Jaidee | -5 | 65 |
| T4 | Ryan Armour | -5 | 65 |
| T4 | Jerry Kelly | -5 | 65 |
| T4 | Michael Block | -5 | 65 |
| T10 | Brian Gay | -4 | 66 |
| T10 | Michael Wright | -4 | 66 |
| T10 | Tim Petrovic | -4 | 66 |
| T10 | John Rollins | -4 | 66 |
| T10 | Tag Ridings | -4 | 66 |
| T10 | Retief Goosen | -4 | 66 |
| T10 | Mathew Goggin | -4 | 66 |
| T17 | Chris DiMarco | -3 | 67 |
| T17 | Harrison Frazar | -3 | 67 |
| T17 | Jason Bohn | -3 | 67 |
| T17 | Ricardo Gonzalez | -3 | 67 |
| T17 | Vaughn Taylor | -3 | 67 |
| T17 | Mark Hensby | -3 | 67 |
| T17 | Y.E. Yang | -3 | 67 |
| T17 | Søren Kjeldsen | -3 | 67 |
| T17 | Mike Weir | -3 | 67 |
| T17 | Warren Pineo | -3 | 67 |
| T27 | J.J. Henry | -2 | 68 |
| T27 | Scott Parel | -2 | 68 |
| T27 | Greg Chalmers | -2 | 68 |
| T27 | Tom Pernice Jr. | -2 | 68 |
| T27 | Matt Gogel | -2 | 68 |
| T27 | Bo Van Pelt | -2 | 68 |
| T27 | David Bransdon | -2 | 68 |
| T27 | Mario Tiziani | -2 | 68 |
| T27 | Steven Alker | -2 | 68 |
| T27 | Zach Johnson | -2 | 68 |
| T27 | Scott McCarron | -2 | 68 |
| T38 | Tom Lehman | -1 | 69 |
| T38 | Steve Flesch | -1 | 69 |
| T38 | Tim O'Neal | -1 | 69 |
| T38 | Tim Herron | -1 | 69 |
| T38 | Tommy Gainey | -1 | 69 |
| T38 | Bernhard Langer | -1 | 69 |
| T38 | Robert Karlsson | -1 | 69 |
| T38 | Vijay Singh | -1 | 69 |
| T38 | Ken Duke | -1 | 69 |
| T38 | Ken Tanigawa | -1 | 69 |
| T48 | Olin Browne | Par | 70 |
| T48 | Shane Bertsch | Par | 70 |
| T48 | Kirk Triplett | Par | 70 |
| T48 | Rod Pampling | Par | 70 |
| T48 | Stuart Appleby | Par | 70 |
| T48 | Charlie Wi | Par | 70 |
| T48 | Paul Goydos | Par | 70 |
| T48 | Kevin Sutherland | Par | 70 |
| T48 | Steve Allan | Par | 70 |
| T48 | Cameron Beckman | Par | 70 |
| T48 | Boo Weekley | Par | 70 |
| T48 | Stephen Ames | Par | 70 |
| T60 | Carlos Franco | 1 | 71 |
| T60 | Brandt Jobe | 1 | 71 |
| T60 | Mark Wilson | 1 | 71 |
| T60 | Paul Stankowski | 1 | 71 |
| T60 | Heath Slocum | 1 | 71 |
| T60 | John Senden | 1 | 71 |
| T60 | David Duval | 1 | 71 |
| T60 | K.J. Choi | 1 | 71 |
| T60 | Woody Austin | 1 | 71 |
| T60 | Chris Devlin | 1 | 71 |
| T60 | Jamie Donaldson | 1 | 71 |
| 71 | Wes Martin | 2 | 72 |
| T72 | Jeff Maggert | 3 | 73 |
| T72 | Brett Quigley | 3 | 73 |
| T72 | Corey Pavin | 3 | 73 |
| T75 | Esteban Toledo | 6 | 76 |
| T75 | Steve Pate | 6 | 76 |
| T75 | Duffy Waldorf | 6 | 76 |
| T75 | Michael Brown | 6 | 76 |
Simon Bale
Simon Bale is the publisher of Golf Today. A low single-figure handicap golfer, he was previously a major shareholder and course reviewer for Top100GolfCourses.com for over a decade, starting in 2010. Through this role, he developed extensive knowledge of golf course design and architecture while playing more than 300 courses worldwide.