Stewart Cink holds lead over Zach Johnson with Charles Schwab Cup, sixth win of 2026 at stake

Defending champion and reigning Charles Schwab Cup winner Stewart Cink remained atop the leaderboard entering the final round of the Charles Schwab Cup Championship. Rookie Zach Johnson (T2), who is No. 2 in the season-long standings, trails by three strokes at Phoenix Country Club.

Cink and Johnson are the only two players who have a mathematical chance to win the Charles Schwab Cup.

Stewart Cink, 63-65-68 – 196 (-17)

Charles Schwab Cup standings: Start: first, Projected: first

Career

• The 53-year-old seeks his 10th win on PGA Tour Champions (57th start)
• This is his 12th time leading/co-leading entering the final round on PGA Tour Champions
  • Is 4-for-11 converting those into victories (1-for-3 in 72-hole events)

2026 season

• Seeks his sixth win of the 2026 season (21st start)
  • Previous wins in 2026 (chronologically): Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, Hoag Classic, Senior PGA Championship, Regions Tradition, Boeing Classic
  • Would match Zach Johnson (six) for the most wins by a player this season on PGA Tour Champions
• Will play in the last group of the final round for the sixth time this season (3-for-5)
  • Previous instances: Steven Alker (Cologuard Classic), Darren Clarke (American Family Insurance Championship – team event with partner Ben Crane), Padraig Harrington (U.S. Senior Open)
• Looks to achieve the fourth successful title defense of the 2026 season on PGA Tour Champions
  • Cink is $128,735 shy of that mark, meaning a two-way T6 or better gets him to $4 million
  • Note: Zach Johnson can also reach $4 million this season but needs a victory to do so

Most single-season money earned (PGA Tour Champions history)

Charles Schwab Cup leader

• Cink entered the week atop the 2026 Charles Schwab Cup standings, controlling his own destiny in the race for the Charles Schwab Cup
  • Cink won the Charles Schwab Cup in 2025
• Looks to become the eighth multi-time winner of the Charles Schwab Cup
  • Would join Bernhard Langer (six), Steven Alker (two), Tom Lehman (two), Loren Roberts (two), Jay Haas (two), Tom Watson (two), Hale Irwin (two)
• Looks to complete the fourth successful defense of the Charles Schwab Cup
  • Would join Tom Lehman (2012), Bernhard Langer (2015), Bernhard Langer (2016)
• Looks to become the first player to lead the Charles Schwab Cup standings for every week of the season
  • Has led for all 27 weeks of the 2026 season, and a streak of 28 consecutive weeks at No. 1, dating back to the 2025 Charles Schwab Cup Championship
  • Fewest weeks trailing in the standings a season by the winner of the Charles Schwab Cup:
    • 2011: Tom Lehman trailed for one week (led 23 of 24 weeks)
    • 2014: Bernhard Langer trailed for one week (led 25 of 26 weeks)

Cink at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship

• Seeks his second win at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship (third start)
  • Previous finishes: T6 (2024), won (2025)
• Looks to become the seventh multi-time winner of the Charles Schwab Cup Championship
  • Would join Jim Thorpe (three), Tom Watson (three), John Cook (two), Raymond Floyd (two), Mike Hill (two), Kevin Sutherland (two)
• Looks to become the fourth player to win back-to-back Charles Schwab Cup Championships
  • Would join Jim Thorpe (2006, 2007), John Cook (2009, 2010), Mike Hill (1990, 1991)
• This is his seventh time in 11 rounds at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship that he has had the solo lead (including event finishes)
  • Position by round (chronologically) at this event: first-first-sixth-T6; first-second-second-won; first-first-first
• Looks to become the fifth player to win the Charles Schwab Cup Championship and Charles Schwab Cup in the same year
  • Previous instances: Tom Watson (2005), Tom Lehman (2012), Kevin Sutherland (2017), Stewart Cink (2025)
• Looks to become the fourth wire-to-wire winner in Charles Schwab Cup Championship history
  • Would join Jim Colbert (1995), Jim Thorpe (2003), Paul Goydos (2016)
• Looks to become the first wire-to-wire winner on PGA Tour Champions since the 2025 Simmons Bank Championship (Steven Alker)
  • Last wire-to-wire winner in a 72-hole event: 2022 Regions Tradition (Steve Stricker)

Zach Johnson, 69-66-64 – 199 (-14)

Charles Schwab Cup standings – Start: second, Projected: second

• The 50-year-old rookie seeks his seventh win on PGA Tour Champions (19th start)
  • Previous wins in 2026 (chronologically): James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational, Principal Charity Classic, Kaulig Companies Championship, Portugal Invitational, Sanford International, PURE Insurance Championship
• A seventh win in 2026 would move him into T3 on the PGA Tour Champions single-season wins list
• A seventh win would match the record for PGA Tour Champions wins by a rookie
  • Rookies to win seven times: Bruce Crampton (1986), Lee Trevino (1990), Bruce Fleisher (1999)
• With a win, he would become the first player with seven wins in a season since Bernhard Langer (seven) in 2017
• With a win, he would reach $4 million in a season. Johnson is $463,902 shy of that mark, and a victory earns $528,000
• Entered the week ranked No. 2 in the 2026 Charles Schwab Cup standings
  • Johnson needs a minimum eighth-place finish (and help from Cink) to have a chance to win the Charles Schwab Cup; They are the only two players with a mathematical chance to win the Cup
• Looks to become the fifth player to win the Charles Schwab Cup Championship and Charles Schwab Cup in the same year
  • Previous instances: Tom Watson (2005), Tom Lehman (2012), Kevin Sutherland (2017), Stewart Cink (2025)
• Looks to become the 14th different player to win the Charles Schwab Cup
• Looks to match the fewest weeks leading the Charles Schwab Cup standings by a player to go on to win the Charles Schwab Cup that season (one week)
  • Previous instances: Tom Watson (2005), Bernhard Langer (2015), Kevin Sutherland (2017), Stewart Cink (2025)
• Looks to become the first rookie to win the Charles Schwab Cup
  • Best finish by a rookie: No. 2 (four times):
    • Loren Roberts (2006), Fred Couples (2010), Jim Furyk (2020-21), Padraig Harrington (2022)

Most single-season wins by a rookie on PGA Tour Champions

Other notes

• Scott Hend (T2) carded the low round of the week with a 9-under 62 on Saturday. He enters the final round at 14 under. The 53-year-old seeks his second win on PGA Tour Champions (26th start).
  • Previous win: 2026 Trophy Hassan II
• Scottsdale, Arizona, resident Steve Allan (T5) is the lone player in the field without a bogey or worse after 54 holes.
• Tommy Gainey (T15) made a hole-in-one on No. 2 with a pitching wedge from 155 yards.

Race for the Charles Schwab Cup

The Charles Schwab Cup offers $2.1 million in prize money to the top-five finishers at season’s end. The winner of the season-long Charles Schwab Cup will be awarded $1 million and the second to fifth-place finishers will receive prize money of $500,000, $300,000, $200,000 and $100,000, respectively.

Projected Charles Schwab Cup standings after Round 3