Retief Goosen Leads SAS Championship After Opening 65 in Bid for Second 2026 Win

• Retief Goosen leads the SAS Championship by one stroke after a first-round 65.
• Richard Green is second after a bogey-free 66, with Tag Ridings third on 67.
• Goosen is chasing his second win of 2026 and his sixth on PGA Tour Champions.

Retief Goosen went out in 32 and came home in 33 on Friday to post a 7-under 65 and take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the SAS Championship in Cary, North Carolina.

The 57-year-old World Golf Hall of Fame member is seeking his sixth PGA Tour Champions title in his 165th start, and his second of the season after winning the Mitsubishi Electric Classic under Modified Stableford scoring. A victory this weekend would give him his first multi-win season since he joined the over-50 circuit in 2019.

It would also make him the fourth player with more than one title in 2026, joining Zach Johnson on six, Stewart Cink on five and Steven Alker on four.

“I hit a lot of good iron shots today for a change.” Retief Goosen was locked in during the first round of @SASChampionship. The two-time major champion hit 15/18 greens in regulation en route to an opening 7-under 65. https://t.co/rKP9cSI7xq

— PGA Tour Champions (@ChampionsTour) October 16, 2026

Goosen finds his irons

This is Goosen’s 21st start of the year. He arrived fifth in the Charles Schwab Cup standings, with recent results including a closing 64 for second place at The Ally Challenge and a share of third as defending champion at the Sanford International.

“It’s been a while since I hit so many good iron shots,” he said. “Putted a few close today, which is nice for a change. Still hit a terrible one in there on 12, but I’m very happy with the round. Got off to a great start.”

He added: “I’ve been hitting everything so far away from the hole, had no chances, and today I probably hit four, five shots within five feet. That makes it a little easier. And these greens are tricky, they’re very crusty and a breeze picked up a little bit.”

This is Goosen’s sixth appearance at the SAS Championship. His best finish came in 2023, when he tied for fifth.

This is the seventh time he has led or shared the lead after the opening round on PGA Tour Champions. Of the previous six, he converted only one, at the 2024 Galleri Classic.

Green and Ridings give chase

Richard Green was bogey-free in his 6-under 66. The 55-year-old Australian is looking for his second PGA Tour Champions title in his 98th start, after winning the 2025 Rogers Charity Classic. He also shared the first-round lead at the Jefferson Lehigh Valley Classic earlier this month before finishing tied fourth.

Tag Ridings is alone in third after a 5-under 67. The 52-year-old is still seeking a first PGA Tour Champions win in his 40th start, but he arrives in form. He has been runner-up three times, most recently when he finished one stroke behind Alker at Lehigh. His other two seconds came at the 2025 Galleri Classic and in a tie at the 2025 Simmons Bank Championship. He also shot the low round of the day, an 8-under 64, on Sunday at the Constellation FURYK & FRIENDS.

Five players share fourth place at 4-under: Søren Kjeldsen, David Duval, Paul Goydos, Chad Campbell and Freddie Jacobson. Goydos has five PGA Tour Champions titles in 277 starts. The other four have no wins between them from 238 starts on the circuit.

Bernhard Langer opened with a 69 to sit tied ninth. The 69-year-old Hall of Famer has now shot his age or better 51 times on PGA Tour Champions.

Fred Funk withdrew after the first round.

The always entertaining Bernhard Langer 👏 The two-time @SASChampionship winner sinks the eagle putt from just off the green. 📺 Golf Channel https://t.co/uPFFT2vW3Z

— PGA Tour Champions (@ChampionsTour) October 16, 2026

Final stop before St. Louis

The SAS Championship is the fifth and final points-based event in the Sprint to St. Louis presented by Compliance Solutions. When play ends on Sunday, the three biggest Charles Schwab Cup points earners across the last five regular-season events will become finalists.

Those three go to next week’s Stifel Charity Classic. The best finisher among them takes the $200,000 winner-take-all prize.

Sprint to St. Louis Standings (entering SAS Championship)
Pos.	Player	Points
1	Zach Johnson	708,755
2	Steven Alker	539,755
3	Vaughn Taylor	422,245
4	Ryan Armour	367,040
5	Ben Crane	345,160
6	Tag Ridings	297,660
7	Alex Cejka	278,329
8	Michael Wright	262,473
9	Robert Karlsson	240,701
10	Henrik Stenson	210,210

 

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