For the first time in its history, the road to the Charles Schwab Cup will begin in St. Louis. The Stifel Charity Classic presented by Compliance Solutions, contested on the West Course at Norwood Hills Country Club, has been elevated to the opening event of the PGA TOUR Champions playoffs, bringing the top 72 players in the season standings to the St. Louis area for a 54-hole tournament with a $2.3 million purse and far more than a trophy on the line.
The tournament runs October 19 through 25, 2026, with all three official rounds televised internationally on Golf Channel. It is operated by Tournaments for Charity, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and is designed as much to benefit local causes in North St. Louis County as to showcase the best of the over-50 tour.
The playoff promotion is new, but the event itself is not. It arrived on the PGA TOUR Champions schedule in 2021 as the Ascension Charity Classic presented by Emerson. David Toms took the inaugural title in a playoff over Dicky Pride. Padraig Harrington won in 2022, Steve Flesch in 2023, and Y.E. Yang in 2024. Last September, Thomas Bjørn rolled in a 35-foot birdie putt on the same par-4 18th to beat Cameron Percy in a playoff at 12-under 201, his first individual victory on the 50-and-over circuit.
Stifel, the St. Louis-based financial services firm, took over as title sponsor in 2025, and the tournament has built a reputation as a player favorite on a course with genuine championship pedigree. Norwood Hills has an elite history of hosting events, including the 1948 PGA Championship. The club also hosted the LPGA Tour's St. Louis Women's Invitational from 1965 to 1969. Its two 18-hole courses, the West and East, were designed by architect Wayne E. Stiles.
The charitable engine behind the event is central to its identity. Under its previous title sponsor, Ascension, the tournament donated $3.4 million to St. Louis-area nonprofits over four years. Organizers say that once expenses are paid, 90 percent of proceeds go to local charities, with three core partners each receiving more than $200,000 annually: Marygrove, part of Catholic Charities of St. Louis, which provides safety, care and mental health services for children and teens who have experienced trauma; the Boys & Girls Club of Greater St. Louis; and additional North St. Louis County organizations.
This year's playoff status comes with a new companion competition. In August, PGA TOUR Champions and Compliance Solutions Inc. announced the Sprint to St. Louis presented by Compliance Solutions, a six-event, points-based race spanning the final five events of the 2026 regular season — the Sanford International, PURE Insurance Championship, Jefferson Lehigh Valley Classic, Constellation FURYK & FRIENDS and SAS Championship — and culminating at the Stifel Charity Classic. The three highest Charles Schwab Cup points earners across those five regular-season events become finalists, and the finalist with the best finish at Norwood Hills wins a $200,000 prize.
The series also carries a charitable component through Folds of Honor, which provides educational scholarships to spouses and children of fallen or disabled military service members and first responders. One scholarship will be donated to a local recipient for each week the series is contested, six in total. Since its inception in 2007, Folds of Honor has provided scholarships nationwide.
"We are pleased to expand our partnership with Compliance Solutions and introduce this exciting down-the-stretch competition within our season," PGA TOUR Champions President Miller Brady said in announcing the series. "We appreciate Mark Lammert for helping make this new series possible for everyone involved. In addition to the golf contest, we are also excited for the impact that these Folds of Honor scholarships will have in each of these six cities."
The field is already taking shape. Reigning Charles Schwab Cup champion Stewart Cink has committed to play, and with the top 72 on the points list advancing to the first playoff event, the St. Louis stop will decide who moves on toward the Charles Schwab Cup finale. Tournament director Tim Heitman has spoken about what the new playoff designation means for the event, the players and St. Louis golf fans.
For spectators, the tournament is general-admission and walk-up friendly rather than a reserved-seat affair. Active duty service members, National Guard and military reserve members, military retirees, veterans and first responders receive two complimentary tickets for each day of the tournament, Thursday through Sunday. Beyond the golf, the week includes a community concert, a charity putting challenge, a Legends Luncheon and Folds of Honor Friday.
It is a notable first for Missouri golf fans: the postseason of the PGA TOUR Champions, the tour where the game's legends extend their careers, opening in their own backyard on a course that once crowned Ben Hogan.