Rookie Henrik Stenson Shares PURE Insurance Lead at Pebble Beach

• Henrik Stenson, Ryan Armour and Y.E. Yang share the 36-hole lead at 8-under at PURE Insurance Championship.
• Zach Johnson and Steven Alker enter Sunday’s final round one stroke behind.
• The field was cut to 51 professionals at 2-over or better.

Henrik Stenson shot a 5-under 67 at Pebble Beach Golf Links to join Ryan Armour and Y.E. Yang at the top of the PURE Insurance Championship leaderboard.

After 36 holes, the three leaders stood at 8-under 136, one stroke ahead of Johnson and Alker. Sunday’s final round will be played at Pebble Beach, with 51 professionals surviving the cut at 2-over or better.

Stenson matched the lowest round of the day after making five birdies across his final 13 holes. The Swede, playing the event for the first time, has held or shared a PGA Tour Champions lead for the first time.

“I think I kept it well in play for the most part. Hit a lot of fairways and greens. Gave up a very sloppy bogey on hole No. 4 but got it back with a birdie on 6 and 7,” said Stenson.

“So yeah, it was fairly solid. I saved myself pretty good on a couple of occasions. Had some birdie chances from 10 to 13, but I didn’t really make anything so it was nice to birdie 14 and then got some here on the end as well.”

Armour and Yang Take Different Routes to 136

Armour followed his opening 67 at Pebble Beach with a 3-under 69 at Spyglass Hill. The 50-year-old made four birdies against one bogey to earn his second 36-hole lead or co-lead on the senior circuit.

He previously led after two rounds of the Rogers Charity Classic, eventually finishing tied fifth. His best result from 12 starts this season is a tie for third at the Sanford International.

Armour is seeking his first PGA Tour Champions victory in his 13th appearance. His only PGA Tour title came at the 2017 Sanderson Farms Championship.

Yang began the tournament with a bogey-free 8-under 64, giving him a three-stroke overnight advantage. Back-to-back bogeys opened his second round at Spyglass Hill, but he recovered to sign for an even-par 72.

The South Korean has converted one of his previous five 36-hole leads or co-leads, winning the 2024 Stifel Charity Classic in a playoff against Bernhard Langer. He finished runner-up to Alker in a playoff at the Rogers Charity Classic in August.

Moving Day 🏎️💨 pic.twitter.com/sHkUGk1yNH

— PURE Insurance Championship (@PUREFirstTee) September 19, 2026

Johnson and Alker Stay Within One

Johnson enters Sunday in position to claim the sixth title of his rookie season. Victory would move him ahead of Stewart Cink for the most PGA Tour Champions wins in 2026, one week after Johnson secured his fifth at the Sanford International.

Alker carded a 4-under 68 at Pebble Beach. The New Zealander won consecutive August starts at the Rogers Charity Classic and The Ally Challenge, and is pursuing the 14th PGA Tour Champions title of his career.

The tournament pairs 80 professionals with 80 First Tee juniors and 160 amateurs. Ryan Joseph Lopez, partnered with Yang, shares the boys’ lead with Stenson’s partner Nakul Shrivastava at 13-under. Khloe Chao and Sadie Goodman lead the girls’ competition at 12-under.

The leading 12 boys and 12 girls advanced to Sunday, when the top junior in each division will be crowned. Angelina Booan also recorded a second-round hole-in-one, using a pitching wedge from 117 yards at Spyglass Hill’s 12th hole.

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