The 2026 Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs roll on this week with the Simmons Bank Championship at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock, Arkansas ― the second of three postseason tournaments.What was supposed to be a field of 54 is actually 51, as three players who qualified for the event are not in the field.
But the big story surrounds those who are in the field, as the top three in the standings, all of whom all took last week off, are back at it and ready to roll. Newcomer Zach Johnson leads the senior circuit with six wins but he trails five-time winner Stewart Cink in the points race.
"I don't have expectations if I'm going to be blunt," Johnson said Tuesday. "I expect every week I'm trying to get better, I'm trying to improve, I'm trying to avoid
the mentality of maintenance and stick to the mentality of improving. I work, and the more I can eliminate what the scorecard shows, usually the better my scorecard looks. You've got the best of the best at 50 and older playing this week, so I love the challenge of that. At the same time, the way I approach it is I'm not competing against them, I'm competing against Pleasant Valley. That's my opponent. I hope she's ready, because I'm ready."
Johnson and Cink two have a significant lead on everyone else, but Steven Alker is a solid third right now. He has four wins in 2026 and after those three, no one has more than one win this season. Padraig Harrington and Retief Goosen round out the top 5.
Other notables include Rory Sabbatini, winner of the first playoff event last weekend, Vijay Singh, a recent PGA Tour Champions winner and the seventh-oldest golfer to win (63) on the circuit, and Michael Block, a Champions rookie who has feasted on a string of sponsor invites to get into the 43rd spot in the points.
Field for the 2026 Simmons Bank Championship
Who's not in the field for the Simmons Bank Championship?
There are three top-54 players who advanced out of last week's Stifel Charity Classic but will not play in the Simmons Bank Championship. Matt Gogel (28th), Angel Cabrera (39th) and Bernhard Langer (44th) are not in the field.
Gogel would seem to be safe to stay inside the top 36. Cabrera is on the cusp but on the outside looking in.
As for Langer, he has the most Charles Schwab Cups all-time with six but will need some help this week if he's to advance. He's qualified for the season finale every season since joining the senior tour full-time in 2008. Only the top 36 head to Phoenix Country Club in two weeks for the Charles Schwab Cup Championship and with Langer in 44th and not playing, he'd need a lot of assistance to climb eight spots.
Todd Kelly is an assistant managing editor at Golfweek.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: 'Big 3' are in Charles Schwab Cup playoff event but 1 notable name isn't
