A four-shot deficit turns into a first Champions title
On October 25, 2026, Rory Sabbatini won the Stifel Charity Classic at Norwood Hills Country Club in St. Louis, Missouri. The 50-year-old Slovakian representative finished the opening Charles Schwab Cup playoff event with a nine-under 62 and a 54-hole total of 199, 14 under par. It was his first PGA TOUR Champions victory.
Sabbatini began the final round at five under, four shots behind co-leaders Henrik Stenson and Mario Tiziani. He responded with eight birdies, two eagles and three bogeys, covering the back nine in 29 strokes. He played his final six holes in six under par to overturn the leaderboard.
The eagle was a putt, not a chip
At the par-five 15th, Sabbatini holed an eagle putt of about 25 feet (7.6 metres) from the fringe. He then birdied each of the final three holes, finishing with an uphill putt from about 40 feet (12.2 metres) at the 18th. His closing sequence completed the winning 14-under total. Importantly, the shot at 15 was a putt from the fringe, not a chip-in from the rough as incorrectly described in an earlier version.
Darren Clarke finished runner-up on 200 (13 under) after a final-round 65. Steven Alker (66), Stenson (68) and Tiziani (68) tied for third at 201 (12 under). Stenson played a bogey-free 68 but was unable to match Sabbatini's charge.
Why it matters in the playoffs
The result lifted Sabbatini from 23rd to seventh in the Charles Schwab Cup standings. Only the top 54 advanced to the Simmons Bank Championship: Stenson and Tim Petrovic made it through, while J.J. Henry and Chad Campbell dropped outside the qualifying places. The remaining field will later be reduced to 36 for the season finale.
Born in South Africa and now playing for Slovakia, Sabbatini won six times on the main PGA TOUR and earned Olympic silver in Tokyo. His previous main-tour victory was in 2011; he became eligible for PGA TOUR Champions on turning 50 in April 2026.
Verification: the PGA TOUR Champions official final leaderboard lists Sabbatini first (68–69–62, 14 under) and Clarke second (64–71–65, 13 under). The PGA TOUR's October 25 final report independently describes the decisive holes. This is an update to an existing article, not a duplicate.
Sources: https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions/article/news/daily-wrapup/2026/10/25/round-3-stifel-charity-classic-charles-schwab-cup-playoffs-scores-leaderboard-results ; https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions/leaderboard.
Archival photo of Sabbatini practicing at the 2008 US Open, not from the 2026 Stifel Charity Classic. Jeffrey Gordon / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.
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