- Stewart Cink leads the Charles Schwab Cup Championship by three stroke.
- Zach Johnson and Scott Hend share second place after rounds of 64 and 62 respectively.
- Cink and Johnson are the only players who can win the season-long Charles Schwab Cup.
Stewart Cink retained the lead at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship on Saturday, but Zach Johnson moved closer with both the tournament and season-long title at stake. Cink’s 3-under 68 left the defending champion on 17-under 196 at Phoenix Country Club, three strokes ahead of Johnson and Scott Hend.
Cink had built a record six-shot halfway lead with opening rounds of 63 and 65. That advantage is now halved after Johnson shot a 7-under 64 and Hend returned the lowest round of the week, a 9-under 62, to reach 14-under 199.
“All I know is I can control my own self … to finish on top is something I would be really proud of.” Stewart Cink is looking to become the third player on PGA Tour Champions to win back-to-back Charles Schwab Cups and he knows it isn’t going to be easy as he heads into Sunday @SchwabCupFinale.
— PGA Tour Champions (@ChampionsTour) November 15, 2026
What It Means for the Charles Schwab Cup
Cink remains projected to finish first in the season-long standings, with Johnson second. The finale awards double Cup points, and Johnson must earn $93,002 more than Cink in Phoenix to overtake him. Cink guarantees the Cup with victory. The season-long winner receives $1 million, with $500,000 for second place.
Cink has led the standings for all 27 weeks of the 2026 season and is seeking to become the first player to finish a Cup-winning campaign without spending a week behind. Tom Lehman in 2011 and Bernhard Langer in 2014 each trailed for just one week.
The 53-year-old won the Cup last year. Retaining it would complete the fourth successful defence in the competition’s history, following Lehman in 2012 and Langer in 2015 and 2016, and make Cink its eighth multiple winner.
Cink is also chasing his sixth tournament victory of 2026, which would draw him level with Johnson’s season-leading tally, and his 10th PGA Tour Champions title in 57 starts. His five wins this year include the Senior PGA Championship and Regions Tradition.
Cink has converted four of his previous 11 final-round leads or co-leads on the circuit, including one of three in 72-hole events. Victory would make him the fourth player to win this championship in successive years and its fourth wire-to-wire champion.
Johnson Chases Rookie Records
Johnson, 50, is seeking a seventh victory in his 19th PGA Tour Champions start. He moved ahead of Cink’s win total when he claimed his sixth title at the PURE Insurance Championship in September.
A seventh win would equal the rookie record shared by Bruce Crampton, Lee Trevino and Bruce Fleisher. Johnson would also become the first player to win seven times in a season since Langer in 2017. Taking the Cup would make him its first rookie champion.
Six birdies for the Charles Schwab Cup No. 2 👏 Zach Johnson is eyeing the final pairing on Sunday @SchwabCupFinale. 📺 Golf Channel https://t.co/7NpOH2Dl0w
— PGA Tour Champions (@ChampionsTour) November 14, 2026
Hend Shoots 62
Hend’s 62 gives the 53-year-old a chance of his second PGA Tour Champions victory in his 26th start, following his win at the Trophy Hassan II earlier this season. He shares second place with Johnson, although only Johnson can challenge Cink for the Cup.
Scottsdale resident Steve Allan, tied fifth, remains the only player without a bogey or worse through 54 holes. Tommy Gainey, tied 15th, made a hole-in-one at the 2nd with a pitching wedge from 155 yards.
Related: Trace Crowe Leads by One with Wire-to-Wire Win in Sight
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Charles Schwab Cup Championship
| Pos. | Player | To Par | R1 | R2 | R3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stewart Cink | -17 | 63 | 65 | 68 | 196 |
| T2 | Scott Hend | -14 | 67 | 70 | 62 | 199 |
| T2 | Zach Johnson | -14 | 69 | 66 | 64 | 199 |
| 4 | Freddie Jacobson | -11 | 67 | 69 | 66 | 202 |
| T5 | Tim O'Neal | -10 | 68 | 69 | 66 | 203 |
| T5 | Søren Kjeldsen | -10 | 66 | 70 | 67 | 203 |
| T5 | Retief Goosen | -10 | 69 | 67 | 67 | 203 |
| T5 | Darren Clarke | -10 | 69 | 66 | 68 | 203 |
| T5 | Alex Cejka | -10 | 67 | 68 | 68 | 203 |
| T5 | Steve Allan | -10 | 65 | 69 | 69 | 203 |
| T11 | Ricardo Gonzalez | -9 | 67 | 70 | 67 | 204 |
| T11 | Jerry Kelly | -9 | 66 | 70 | 68 | 204 |
| T11 | Darren Fichardt | -9 | 67 | 69 | 68 | 204 |
| T11 | Boo Weekley | -9 | 69 | 67 | 68 | 204 |
| T15 | Tommy Gainey | -8 | 68 | 71 | 66 | 205 |
| T15 | Ernie Els | -8 | 64 | 72 | 69 | 205 |
| T17 | Richard Green | -7 | 66 | 74 | 66 | 206 |
| T17 | David Toms | -7 | 67 | 70 | 69 | 206 |
| T17 | Padraig Harrington | -7 | 71 | 66 | 69 | 206 |
| T17 | Rory Sabbatini | -7 | 68 | 68 | 70 | 206 |
| T21 | George McNeill | -6 | 71 | 69 | 67 | 207 |
| T21 | Cameron Percy | -6 | 69 | 69 | 69 | 207 |
| T23 | Michael Wright | -5 | 70 | 68 | 70 | 208 |
| T23 | Steven Alker | -5 | 69 | 66 | 73 | 208 |
| 25 | Vijay Singh | -4 | 69 | 69 | 71 | 209 |
| T26 | Thongchai Jaidee | -3 | 73 | 66 | 71 | 210 |
| T26 | Vaughn Taylor | -3 | 69 | 68 | 73 | 210 |
| T28 | Ben Crane | -2 | 68 | 72 | 71 | 211 |
| T28 | Dicky Pride | -2 | 67 | 73 | 71 | 211 |
| T28 | Charlie Wi | -2 | 71 | 68 | 72 | 211 |
| T28 | Y.E. Yang | -2 | 68 | 69 | 74 | 211 |
| 32 | Bo Van Pelt | -1 | 71 | 73 | 68 | 212 |
| 33 | Miguel Angel Jiménez | +1 | 71 | 71 | 72 | 214 |
| 34 | Tag Ridings | +3 | 71 | 73 | 72 | 216 |
| W/D | Stephen Ames | - | 68 | - | - | 68 |
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.