Stenson and Tiziani share Stifel Charity Classic lead with 18 holes left

Mario Tiziani and Henrik Stenson will start the final round of the Stifel Charity Classic tied for the lead after Saturday's second round in St. Louis on October 24. Both stand at nine under par, 133 strokes through 36 holes. With only 18 holes left, the top seven players are separated by just two shots — and the event carries consequences far beyond the weekly trophy because it opens the PGA TOUR Champions' Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs.

Tiziani produced the biggest move of the day. After opening with a 70, he fired an eight-under 63 at Norwood Hills Country Club to reach the top of the leaderboard. Stenson followed a first-round 69 with a seven-under 64, matching Tiziani's two-round total. Their different scoring paths led to the same starting point for Sunday's title race.

The challengers have little ground to make up. Shane Bertsch and Scott Parel share third at eight under (134), only one behind the leaders. Steven Alker, Darren Clarke and Mark Hensby are tied on seven under (135). A single birdie or a costly mistake early on Sunday could reorder the entire leading group.

Clarke's position illustrates how quickly this particular contest has shifted. The Northern Irishman set the early pace with a seven-under 64 on Friday. An even-par 71 in the second round left him two strokes behind the new leaders, moving from first to a share of fifth despite remaining very much in contention.

The stakes are unusually high for a 54-hole event. Stifel Charity Classic is the first of three tournaments in the 2026 Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs. Seventy-two players began the week at Norwood Hills, playing for a $2.3 million purse. After this event, only the top 54 players in the season points standings advance to the Simmons Bank Championship; that field is subsequently reduced to 36 for the season finale. The final round in St. Louis therefore matters both to the winner and to players trying to keep their postseason alive.

No final result had been decided as of the second-round standings on October 24. Tiziani and Stenson are level heading into Sunday, October 25, but the compact leaderboard gives their pursuers every reason to believe the tournament is still open. The deciding 18 holes will reveal which player can convert Saturday's momentum into a victory.

Source: PGA TOUR Champions official Stifel Charity Classic leaderboard, second round, October 24, 2026. Photo: Henrik Stenson practicing at the 2022 Scottish Open, Don Maclean / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0. Archival photo; not taken at the 2026 Stifel Charity Classic.