Stifel Charity Classic: How to watch, pre-tournament notes, storylines, more

The Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs begin this week at the Stifel Charity Classic, the sixth playing of the event at Norwood Hills Country Club in St. Louis, Missouri, and the first time the Playoffs have opened in St. Louis. The top 72 players in the Charles Schwab Cup standings after last week's SAS Championship were eligible for the 68-player field. The top 54 after this week advance to the Simmons Bank Championship in Little Rock, Arkansas, and the top 36 after Little Rock reach the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Phoenix.

Stewart Cink, the defending Charles Schwab Cup champion, enters the Playoffs at No. 1 in the standings with a $484,332 lead over rookie Zach Johnson. Johnson has a season-high six victories, Cink has five and Steven Alker has four, and the three have combined to win 15 of the 25 events played in 2026. World Golf Hall of Fame member Vijay Singh, 63, became the seventh-oldest winner in PGA Tour Champions history at the SAS Championship on Sunday, climbing from No. 57 to No. 33 in the standings with his sixth win on the Tour.

Defending champion Thomas Bjørn, who defeated Cameron Percy on the first playoff hole a year ago, finished the regular season outside the top 72 and is not in the field. Four past champions are: Y.E. Yang (2024), Steve Flesch (2023), Padraig Harrington (2022) and David Toms (2021). Three of the five previous editions at Norwood Hills were decided in a playoff.

The Sprint to St. Louis presented by Compliance Solutions concludes this week. Zach Johnson (708,755 points), Steven Alker (539,755) and Tag Ridings (449,460) earned the three finalist spots as the top Charles Schwab Cup points earners across the final five regular-season events, with Ridings clinching the third spot with a T3 finish at the SAS Championship. The finalist with the best finish at the Stifel Charity Classic claims the $200,000 winner-takes-all prize..

How to follow (all times ET)

Television:

• Friday-Sunday: 4-6 p.m., Golf Channel

Tournament facts

• Course: Norwood Hills Country Club; par 71, 6,992 yards
• Defending champion: Thomas Bjørn
• Purse: $2.3 million
• Winner's share: $345,000
• Scoring records:
  • Low 18-hole score: 62, Steve Flesch (2023, Round 3)
  • Low 36-hole score: 130, Kevin Sutherland and Y.E. Yang (2023)
  • Low 54-hole score: 194, Steve Flesch (2023)

Note: Using player performance data from ShotLink powered by CDW, the PGA Tour has created this story using AWS Gen AI technology. While we strive for accuracy and quality, please note that the information provided may not be entirely error-free.