Charles Schwab No. 2 Zach Johnson opened with a bogey-free 64 Friday and holds a one-stroke lead over fellow rookie and The Open Championship winner Henrik Stenson after the first round of the Simmons Bank Championship presented by Stephens.
Zach Johnson, 33-31 – 64 (-8)
Charles Schwab Cup standings – Start: second, Projected: first
- The 50-year-old seeks his seventh win on PGA Tour Champions (18th 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
- Turned 50 on Feb. 24
- His six wins are the most by a player on PGA Tour Champions this season
- With a win, he would move into T3 on the PGA Tour Champions single-season wins list
- Would match seven-time single-season winners Bruce Crampton (1986), Chi Chi Rodriguez (1987), Lee Trevino (1990), Hale Irwin (1998), Bruce Fleisher (1999) and Bernhard Langer (2017)
- Would trail only Peter Thomson (nine wins in 1985) and Hale Irwin (nine wins in 1997) on the single-season wins list
- With a win, he would match the most wins by a rookie in PGA Tour Champions history
- Most wins by a rookie: seven (three times: Bruce Crampton/1986, Lee Trevino/1990, Bruce Fleisher/1999)
- Entered the week ranked No. 2 in the 2026 Charles Schwab Cup standings and is projected to move to No. 1
- This is his third time leading/co-leading after the first round on PGA Tour Champions (1-for-2 in converting into victory)
- Led at the 2026 Mitsubishi Electric Classic (Modified Stableford scoring) – finished third
- Led at the 2026 Portugal Invitational – won
Henrik Stenson, 32-33 – 65 (-7)
Charles Schwab Cup standings – Start: 41st, Projected: 20th
- The 50-year-old seeks his first win on PGA Tour Champions (ninth start)
- Best finish: T2 (2026 PURE Insurance Championship)
- Turned 50 on April 5
- Looks to snap a winless streak of 3,360 days (or 9 years, 2 months, 12 days) in PGA Tour-sanctioned events, dating back to the 2017 Wyndham Championship
- Won six times on the PGA Tour, including the 2016 The Open; also captured the 2013 FedExCup
- Looks to become the seventh first-time winner of the 2026 season
- Looks to become the second player from Sweden to win on PGA Tour Champions
- Previous instance: Jesper Parnevik (2016 Insperity)
Steven Alker, 34-32 – 66 (-6)
Charles Schwab Cup standings – Start: third, Projected: third
- The 55-year-old seeks his 15th win on PGA Tour Champions (118th start)
- Seeks his fifth win of the 2026 season (20th start) and fourth in his last seven starts
- Previous wins in 2026 (chronologically): Cologuard Classic, Rogers Charity Classic, The Ally Challenge, Jefferson Lehigh Valley Classic
- Looks to become the third five-time winner of the 2026 season on PGA Tour Champions, joining Zach Johnson (six) and Stewart Cink (five)
- Looks to become the third multi-time winner of the Simmons Bank Championship (Bernhard Langer/2010, 2019, 2022; Padraig Harrington/2023, 2024), as well as the second player to win the event in back-to-back years
- Since the Simmons Bank Championship moved to Little Rock in 2024, he has finished T12 (2024) and won (2025)
- Ranks second in most wins in Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs events (four)
- With a win, he would match Bernhard Langer (five) for the most since the Playoffs began in 2016
Other notes
- Rookie Michael Block (T3) opened with 6-under 66. Block, who turned 50 on June 15, seeks his first win on PGA Tour Champions (11th start).
- Best finish: third/T3 (twice)
- In addition to leader Johnson, Richard Green (T3) and Jerry Kelly (T8) were the only players without a bogey or worse in the first round.
- Charles Schwab Cup leader Cink (T16), who has led the standings for all 26 weeks of the 2026 season, is projected to move to No. 2.
