Stewart Cink builds largest 36-hole lead on Tour since 2016 at Charles Schwab Cup Championship

Defending champion and reigning Charles Schwab Cup winner Stewart Cink played his final 10 holes in 7 under en route to a second-round 65 and leads Scottsdale resident Steve Allan by six at the midway point of the Charles Schwab Cup Championship. The six-stroke advantage is the largest 36-hole lead in tournament history and the largest on PGA Tour Champions in 10 years.

Cink is projected to remain No. 1 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings. Rookie Zach Johnson (T3), the only other player who can win the Cup at Phoenix Country Club, must earn $93,002 more than Cink this week.

Recent 36-hole leaders at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship

Stewart Cink, 63-65 –128 (-14)

Charles Schwab Cup standings – Started: first, Projected: first

• The 53-year-old seeks his 10th win on PGA Tour Champions (57th start)
• 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
• Played his final 10 holes in 7 under (birdies at Nos. 9, 10, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18) to come home in 6-under 29 after going out in even-par 36
  • Made birdies at Nos. 1 and 5 against bogeys at Nos. 2, 3 and 6 on the front nine
  • This is his low nine-hole score on PGA Tour Champions in an individual stroke play event
• His six-stroke lead is the largest after 36 holes in the history of the Charles Schwab Cup Championship
  • Previous record: five (Jay Haas, 2012; Kevin Sutherland, 2020)
  • Largest 36-hole lead on PGA Tour Champions since Bernhard Langer led by seven strokes at the 2016 Chubb Classic
  • His 36-hole total of 128 is two strokes off the tournament record (126, Jay Haas, 2012)
• This is his 12th time leading/co-leading after 36 holes on PGA Tour Champions
  • He is 4-for-11 converting those into wins (1-for-3 in 72-hole events)
• Holds the 36-hole lead at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship for the second time (2024: finished T6)
  • Position by round (chronologically) at this event: first-first-sixth-T6-first-second-second-won-first-first
• Looks to become the fourth wire-to-wire winner at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship (previous: Steven Alker 2025 Simmons Bank Championship)
  • Would join Jim Colbert (1995), Jim Thorpe (2003), Paul Goydos (2016)
• 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
  • Clinches the Cup with a victory, or if Zach Johnson finishes solo eighth or worse. If Johnson finishes solo second, Cink needs a solo fourth-place finish or better (a three-way tie for third is enough)
• 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
• 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 go back-to-back at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship
  • Would join Jim Thorpe (2006-07), John Cook (2009-10), Mike Hill (1990-91)
• Looks to achieve the fourth successful title defense of the 2026 season on PGA Tour Champions
  • Previous instances: Steven Alker (Cologuard Classic), Darren Clarke (American Family Insurance Championship – team event with partner Ben Crane), Padraig Harrington (U.S. Senior Open)

Steve Allan, 65-69 – 134 (-8)

Charles Schwab Cup standings – Started: 30th, Projected: 17th

• The 53-year-old Scottsdale resident seeks his fourth win on PGA Tour Champions (72nd start)
  • Each of his previous three wins came in 2025 (most recent: Boeing Classic)
• Seeks his first win of the 2026 season (25th start)
  • Best finish: T3 (Senior PGA Championship)
• Is the only player in the field yet to make a bogey this week (eight birdies, 28 pars through 36 holes)
  • Birdied Nos. 1 and 18 and parred the other 16 holes in the second round
• Seeks his first win at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship (second start)
  • Finished T10 in 2025

Zach Johnson, 69-66 – 135 (-7)

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

• The 50-year-old rookie seeks his seventh win on PGA Tour Champions and of the 2026 season (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 would match the PGA Tour Champions record for wins in a rookie season (Bruce Crampton, 1986; Lee Trevino, 1990; Bruce Fleisher, 1999)
  • Would become the first player with seven wins in a season since Bernhard Langer (seven) in 2017
• Opened with five consecutive birdies (Nos. 1-5) and turned in 5-under 31, reaching 9-under for the tournament through 13 holes before bogeys at Nos. 17 and 18
  • Made eight birdies against three bogeys (Nos. 7, 17, 18)
• Entered the week No. 2 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings, 186,002 points behind Stewart Cink. With Playoffs points doubled, he must earn $93,002 more than Cink this week to win the Cup; either player clinches with a victory
  • Johnson and Cink are the only two players with a mathematical chance to win the Cup
• Seeks his first win at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship (first start)
• The two-time major champion (2007 Masters Tournament, 2015 The Open Championship) won 12 times on the PGA Tour

Other notes

• Two-time Charles Schwab Cup champion Steven Alker (T3) eagled the par-5 seventh and made four birdies against one bogey in a 5-under 66. The 55-year-old, who has finished inside the top three in each of his five previous starts at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship (2nd, 3rd, Won, T2, 2nd), seeks his 15th win on PGA Tour Champions and a career-high fifth of the 2026 season. He cannot win the Cup this week but is projected to finish No. 3 in the standings.
• World Golf Hall of Fame member and 2022 champion Padraig Harrington (T15) posted 5-under 66, making six birdies against one bogey (No. 8). The 55-year-old is projected to remain No. 4 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings; fellow Hall of Famer Retief Goosen (T7) carded 4-under 67 with five birdies against a lone bogey (No. 14) and is projected to remain No. 5 in the standings.
• Thongchai Jaidee (T25) shot 5-under 66, closing with an eagle at the par-5 18th (516 yards). Y.E. Yang (T15) also eagled the 18th.
• Stephen Ames withdrew prior to the second round due to illness. The field is now 34 players.
• Cink's 6-under 65 was the low round of the day; Johnson, Alker, Darren Clarke, Harrington and Jaidee each shot 5-under 66. Three eagles were recorded in the second round: Alker (No. 7), Jaidee (No. 18) and Yang (No. 18).

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 through 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 2