- Stewart Cink opened with a 63 to lead the Charles Schwab Cup Championship by one shot.
- Ernie Els is alone in second place, with Steve Allan third.
- Zach Johnson, the only one who can still overtake Cink in the Charles Schwab Cup, is T20.
Stewart Cink began the defence of his Charles Schwab Cup Championship title by playing his first seven holes in 6-under. The defending champion turned in 30, came home in 33 and signed for an 8-under 63 in Phoenix. That gives him a one-shot lead over World Golf Hall of Fame member Ernie Els after the opening round of the PGA Tour Champions season finale.
Cink has held the solo first-round lead at this event for three years running. In 2024 he still led after 36 holes but fell back and finished tied for sixth. Last year he dropped to second after the second round and stayed there going into Sunday before winning. Across the circuit, this is the ninth time he has led or co-led after 18 holes, and he has converted three of the previous eight.
Cink chasing a clean sweep of the standings
The 53-year-old arrived top of the Charles Schwab Cup standings. He has led them for all 27 weeks of 2026 and for 28 consecutive weeks dating back to last year’s finale. No player has led every week of a season since the season-long points race began in 2001. The closest were Tom Lehman in 2011 and Bernhard Langer in 2014, who each spent a single week behind.
Cink won the Cup in 2025. Retaining it would make him only the third to defend it successfully, after Lehman in 2012 and Langer in 2015 and 2016. The winner collects $1 million from a $2.1 million bonus pool shared among the top five players.
A victory this week would also be Cink’s 10th on PGA Tour Champions in his 57th start. It would be his sixth of 2026, matching Zach Johnson’s season-leading tally. His five titles so far are the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, the Hoag Classic, the Senior PGA Championship, the Regions Tradition and the Boeing Classic, which he won in a playoff against Miguel Ángel Jiménez. Only Jim Thorpe, John Cook and Mike Hill have won this championship in successive years.
Johnson loses ground
Johnson came to Phoenix second in the standings after finishing one shot behind Darren Fichardt at the Simmons Bank Championship. He and Cink are the only two players who can still win the Cup.
Johnson matched Cink’s pace early, playing his first seven holes in 4-under. He then went 2-over for his final 11 holes and finished with a 2-under 69, tied for 20th. To have any chance of the Cup, he must finish eighth or better and needs Cink to slip.
35 players. 35 swings 🏌️♂️ Every opening tee shot @SchwabCupFinale. https://t.co/4HjOrk4DgZ
— PGA Tour Champions (@ChampionsTour) November 12, 2026
Els matches his season low
Els went out in 32 and back in 32 for a 7-under 64. That equals his lowest round of 2026, which he set with a bogey-free closing 64 at the Boeing Classic. The 57-year-old has finished runner-up three times this season, at the Hoag Classic, The Insperity and the SAS Championship. He is still looking for his first win of the year and his eighth on the circuit, in his 151st start.
He has never won this event, and his best finish here is a tie for second in 2023. Els started the week eighth in the standings and is projected to move up to fourth.
Steve Allan, who lives in Scottsdale, is alone in third after a 65, matching his lowest score of the season. The 53-year-old won three times in 2025, most recently at the Boeing Classic, and is seeking his fourth PGA Tour Champions title. His best finish this year is a tie for third at the Senior PGA Championship.
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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.