Things to know

Steven Alker cards his low round on PGA TOUR Champions with 11-under 61 and takes a five-stroke advantage, matching the largest 18-hole lead in Champions Tour history, at the Simmons Bank Championship presented by Stephens.

Steven Alker, 32-29 – 61 (-11)

Charles Schwab Cup standings – Start: 4th / Projected: 1st

• The 54-year-old seeks his 10th win on PGA TOUR Champions (97th start)
  • Last win: 2025 Cologuard Classic
• Seeks his second win of the 2025 season (22nd start)
  • Previous win: Cologuard Classic
• Has 16 top-10 finishes, most among all players this season on PGA TOUR Champions
• This is his low 18-hole score on PGA TOUR Champions (307th round)
  • Previous low: 62 (2022 Rapiscan Systems Classic/R2, 2024 Simmons Bank Championship/R1)
• This is the low 18-hole score of the 2025 season by any player on PGA TOUR Champions
• Previous low: 62 (four times)
  • Last round of 61 or better: Ken Tanigawa (61/2024 Rogers Charity Classic/R2)
• Set the course record at Pleasant Valley Country Club (61), bettering his own record-setting mark of 62 from last year’s Simmons Bank Championship
• Matched the largest 18-hole lead in PGA TOUR Champions history (5 strokes)
  • Seventh time, most recent instance: Nick Price (2011 Hoag Classic)
• Matched the low 9-hole score of the 2025 season with his back-nine 29
  • Previous instances of 29: Bo Van Pelt (front nine/R2/Sanford International), Mark Hensby (front nine/R1/ISPS HANDA Senior Open), Jerry Kelly (back nine/R1/Mitsubishi Electric Classic)
• This is his 16th time leading/co-leading after the first round on PGA TOUR Champions (4-for-15)
  • Is 0-for-3 in 2025
  • Led at the 2025 ISPS HANDA Senior Open (finished 7th)
  • Co-led at the 2025 Rogers Charity Classic (finished T5)
  • Co-led at the 2025 Trophy Hassan II (finished 2nd)
• Is projected to move to No. 1 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings after starting the week No. 4
  • Has won the Charles Schwab Cup in two of the last three seasons (2022, 2024)
• Making his fifth appearance at the Simmons Bank Championship, he won in 2021 in Boca Raton, Florida
• Finished T12 in the tournament’s debut in Little Rock, Arkansas in 2024
• Alker was the solo 18-hole leader last year after opening with 62

Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs implications

After Sunday’s final round, the top 36 players in the standings will qualify for the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.

After the first round of the Simmons Bank Championship, no players outside of the top 36 are projected to move inside that number.

Other notes

• Former University of Arkansas golfer Tag Ridings (T2) opened with 6-under 66. The 51-year-old seeks his first win on PGA TOUR Champions (15th start).
  • Best finish: 2nd (The Galleri Classic)
• Greg Chalmers (T2) closed with three consecutive birdies to shoot 6-under 66. The 52-year-old seeks his first win on PGA TOUR Champions (45th start).
  • Best finish: 3rd/T3 (three times)
• Justin Leonard, who won last week’s Dominion Energy Charity Classic, sits T2 after eagling No. 18 en route to 66. He looks to become the first player to win back-to-back weeks since Ángel Cabrera (2025 Regions Tradition, 2025 Senior PGA Championship).
• Charles Schwab No. 2 Stewart Cink (T2) carded 6-under 66. The 52-year-old seeks his third win of the 2025 season (20th start).
  • Previous wins in 2025: Insperity Invitational, The Ally Challenge
• Two-time defending champion Padraig Harrington (T18) posted 2-under 70.
• Charles Schwab Cup leader Miguel Angel Jiménez (T37) opened with 1-over 73.