Round one of the Rogers Charity Classic got underway on Friday as Padraig Harrington and Darren Clarke looked to continue their recent Champions Tour form at Canyon Meadows in Canada.
Harrington was teeing up in his first PGA Tour Champions event since winning the Senior Open in July and he was looking to add to his impressive 11 Champions Tour wins.
It was a steady start to the round for the Dubliner as he mixed three birdies and a bogey to see him close out the front nine at two-under-par while a birdie start on the back nine was just what 53-year-old needed to make a push up the leaderboard and he got that on the par-5 eleventh.
Momentum seemed to die down after that as Harrington bogeyed the 13th and 16th which saw end his round one at one-under-par and in a tie for 34th.
Darren Clarke meanwhile posted a two-under-par round which sees him in a tie for 22nd.
Four birdies around the parkland course showed the Northern Irishman’s class but a costly double-bogey on the par-3 16th tarnished the 57-year-old’s otherwise impressive round.
At the top of the leaderboard Steven Alker and Miguel Angel Jimenez are tied at seven-under-par after Alker closed out his round one with five birdies on the back nine.
Alker is looking to become the fifth multiple winner of the 2025 season, joining Miguel Angel Jiménez, Ángel Cabrera, Steve Allan and Padraig Harrington, as he leads (or co-leads) the first round for 15th time on the PGA Champions Tour.
Consistent scoring from Charles Schwab Cup leader, Miguel Angel Jimenez saw him post a bogey-free first round as the 61-year-old seeks his fifth win of the 2025 season.
Jimenez has two top 10 finishes in six career starts at the Rogers Charity Classic, including a career-best runner-up effort in 2017.
Open qualifier and former PGA TOUR winner Tommy Gainey who is making his PGA TOUR Champions debut, posted six-under-par 64 to sit one back with two rounds to play.
Defending champion Ken Tanigawa opens with a two-under-par 68 sitting in a tie for 22nd as he seeks to become the first player since Scott McCarron to successfully defend his Rogers Charity Classic title.
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