Rory Sabbatini Cards 62 to Win Stifel Charity Classic for First PGA Tour Champions Title

• Rory Sabbatini closed with a 62 to win the Stifel Charity Classic at 14-under 199.
• He finished one stroke ahead of Darren Clarke, with Henrik Stenson, Steven Alker and Mario Tiziani tied for third.
• The win lifts Sabbatini from 23rd to seventh in the Charles Schwab Cup standings.

Rory Sabbatini closed with an eagle and three straight birdies at Norwood Hills Country Club on Sunday. His 9-under 62 won the Stifel Charity Classic, the first event of the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs, and gave him his first PGA Tour Champions title.

The South African-born Slovakian began the final round tied ninth, four shots behind 36-hole co-leaders Henrik Stenson and Mario Tiziani. He played his last six holes in 6-under and finished at 14-under 199, one clear of Darren Clarke.

No one had come from that far back to win this event. The previous largest final-round comeback was three strokes, by David Toms in 2021.

How Sabbatini closed it out

The charge started at the par-5 15th, where Sabbatini holed a 25-foot eagle putt from the fringe. He then birdied the 16th and 17th and finished with a 40-footer up the hill on the 18th. He came home in 6-under 29.

“Just one of those days when you’re trying to stay out of your own way,” Sabbatini said.

The 62 ties the tournament’s 18-hole scoring record, set by Steve Flesch in the final round in 2023. His total of 199 ties Padraig Harrington’s 2022 total as the second-lowest in tournament history. Flesch holds the record at 194, also from 2023.

The par-5 15th set up his week. Sabbatini eagled it in all three rounds, and he also eagled the par-5 2nd on Sunday, giving him four eagles in total. Over 54 holes he made 13 birdies against seven bogeys after opening rounds of 68 and 69.

The finish recalled the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, where a final-round 61 won him the silver medal for Slovakia.

A first win in more than 15 years

Sabbatini won six times on the PGA Tour, at the 2000 Air Canada Championship, 2003 FBR Capital Open, 2006 Nissan Open, 2007 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, 2009 HP Byron Nelson Championship and 2011 Honda Classic. His last win on a PGA Tour-sanctioned tour before Sunday was that Honda Classic on March 6, 2011, 15 years, seven months and 19 days ago.

He turned 50 on April 2 and was making his 15th senior start and his first appearance at the Stifel Charity Classic. He was third at the Kaulig Companies Championship and tied third in the American Family Insurance Championship team event. At Pebble Beach in September he shot a bogey-free 63 to tie for second behind Zach Johnson at the PURE Insurance Championship.

The win came a week after his worst finish of the season. At the SAS Championship he shot 13-over 229 and tied for 70th.

He is the seventh first-time winner on PGA Tour Champions this season. The others are Zach Johnson, Boo Weekley, Scott Hend, Ben Crane, Dicky Pride and Vaughn Taylor. Sabbatini is also the fourth rookie to win in 2026, after Johnson, Crane and Taylor. The $350,000 first prize takes his season earnings to $1,179,026, and he now has four top-10 finishes.

Clarke second, Stenson stalls

Until Sabbatini’s late run, the title looked like a contest between Clarke and Stenson, with Tiziani close behind.

Clarke, who led after the first round with a 64, closed with a 65 that contained seven birdies and one bogey. It is his best finish in five appearances at the event, improving on a tie for eighth in 2024. It is also his third runner-up finish on PGA Tour Champions.

Stenson shot a bogey-free 68 but made only three birdies and parred his last 12 holes. Twice on the back nine he missed birdie putts from inside five feet. The 2016 Open champion tied third with Alker and Tiziani. That is his second top-three finish in nine senior starts, after his share of second at Pebble Beach.

Tiziani closed with a 68. The 56-year-old’s second-round 63 set the tournament’s second-round record and matched his career-best. He has now finished in the top-5 in three of his last four starts while still chasing a first win in his 98th start.

Alker shot a bogey-free 66 for his 11th top-10 in 19 starts this season. As the best finisher among the three finalists, he also collected the $200,000 Sprint to St. Louis prize. The other two finalists were Zach Johnson and Tag Ridings.

Boo Weekley shot a bogey-free 64, the second-lowest round of the day, and tied for sixth. Vijay Singh, last week’s SAS Championship winner, closed with a bogey-free 65 that included an eagle at the 15th and tied for 17th.

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