Year two of the Simmons Bank Championship another success
November 3-9, 2025
By Jay Edwards
The legends of the game of golf were back in Little Rock again for the second leg of the Charles Schwab Cup, October 24-26, at beautiful Pleasant Valley Country Club.
Last year’s event won the weather competition but this year caught up with the play of the guys and a dominating performance from Steven Alker, who in round one posted a 61, breaking his own course record from last year by one shot and giving him a substantial five-shot lead after the first day over Greg Chalmers, Stewart Cink, Justin Leonard and Tag Ridings, who played for the Razorbacks and is in his first Champions Tour season.
“You never think you’re going to shoot 61,” Alker said. “You just don’t see it coming.”
While he was making the tough test that is Pleasant Valley Country Club looks easy that first day, his daughter Skye was finishing up requirements for her commercial pilot’s license.
“I was thinking about her on the way around a couple of times,” Alker said.
“I wasn’t really concerned about my score. That probably helped me.”
The weather moved in on Saturday as tee time started at 8:00 on holes one and 10. Alker didn’t falter, as can often happen after a special round, and he kept his five-shot lead going into Sunday with Ridings alone in second place.
The rain held off Sunday morning but a thick fog caused a two-hour delay. Alker was steady on the front with birdies on 3 and 8. Then, as Paul Azinger reminded us again that the leader was the only player in the field without a bogey in the tournament, he bogeyed nine, only to respond Scheffler-like with an eagle on the par four tenth, and birdies on 11 and 12. And everyone paying attention pretty much knew it was over, including Ridings who would finish tied for second with Richard Green.
Now it’s off to Phoenix November 13-16 to determine this year’s Charles Schwab Cup champion. Alker is the defending champ and the way he looked at PV he looks like a solid bet to repeat. This was his 10th win on the senior circuit. From New Zealand, he turned professional in 1995 and began playing on different tours around the world. In 2000 he won the Canadian Tour Order of Merit. From there it was off to the U.S. and the Buy.com Tour from where he earned his PGA Tour card in 2003. He lost his card after one year and played again on developmental U.S. tours as well as in Europe. In 2014 he won the Web.com Cleveland Open, where he defeated Dawie van der Walt in a playoff that lasted 11 holes, a tour record for the longest playoff, also regaining his PGA card that year after finishing 20th on the Web.com money list.
This was the second year of five that the legends of the game were in Little Rock and Pleasant Valley, which promises to bring a lot more to central Arkansas than an entertaining sports event. In markets where PGA Tour Champions events are held, tournaments generate upwards of $15 million dollars in local economic impact. Net proceeds from the Simmons Bank Championship will benefit several qualified 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations in the state of Arkansas. To date, tournaments across all tours have generated more than $3.64 billion in charitable donations. “Since our inception 120 years ago, Simmons Bank has had a long-standing commitment to being a strong community partner and making life better in the communities we serve,” said Simmons Bank Executive Chairman George Makris, Jr. in 2024. “In addition to bringing hall-of-fame caliber golf to Little Rock featuring some of the greatest ambassadors of the game, the Simmons Bank Championship will serve as a catalyst for supporting local nonprofits while also providing an economic benefit to businesses throughout the area.”
So now 36 head to the Phoenix Country Club to determine this years champ. The top five going in are Alker, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Stewart Cink, Ernie Els and Thomas Bjorn. Ridings is 22nd. After Phoenix two champions will be crowned: the winner of the tournament itself and the winner of the season-long race for the Charles Schwab Cup.
Photo Captions:
2. 2025 Simmons Bank Champion Steven Alker
3. The list of 36 competitors headed to Phoenix for the final of the Charles Schwab Cup
