Michael Block fires bogey-free 63 for one-stroke lead entering final round at Jefferson Lehigh Valley Classic

Michael Block carded a bogey-free 7-under 63, the low round of the tournament, to take a one-stroke lead over Steven Alker after the second round of the inaugural Jefferson Lehigh Valley Classic presented by Sodexo.

Michael Block, 66-63 – 129 (-11)

• Opened birdie-birdie and played the back nine in 5-under 30 with birdies at Nos. 10, 11, 12, 14 and 16; his 63 is the low round of the tournament’s two days and his low 18-hole score on PGA Tour Champions (previous: 65, 2026 Ally Challenge, second round)
• Has played 20 consecutive holes without a bogey since the par-3 16th on Friday, a hole he birdied Saturday
• Playing on a sponsor exemption, the 50-year-old seeks his first win on PGA Tour Champions (seventh start)
  • Has three top-10 finishes: T3 (Ally Challenge), T5 (Rogers Charity Classic), T9 (DICK’S Open)
  • Turned 50 on June 15
• Looks to become the fifth first-time winner of the 2026 season on PGA Tour Champions
  • Previous instances: Zach Johnson (James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational); Boo Weekley (Insperity Invitational); Scott Hend (Trophy Hassan II); Ben Crane (American Family Insurance Championship) – team event with partner Darren Clarke
    
• This is his second time leading/co-leading entering the final round on PGA Tour Champions
  
  • Previous best 36-hole position: Led by two strokes over Alker after 36 holes at the Ally Challenge in August (66-65) before closing with 74 to finish T3, his best finish on PGA Tour Champions
    
• Will play in the final group on Sunday for the second time on PGA Tour Champions, again alongside Alker (The Ally Challenge)
  
• Is the Head PGA Professional at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club (Mission Viejo, California)
  
• His best finish in a PGA Tour event (36 starts) is T15 at the 2023 PGA Championship, it being the best finish by a club professional at the PGA Championship since 1986
  
• Earned PGA Professional Player of the Year honors in 2022 and 2023 and is a nine-time Southern California PGA Player of the Year with wins at the 2001 California State Open, 2014 PGA Professional Championship and five Southern California PGA Championships (2017, 2018, 2022, 2023, 2025)

Other notes

• Alker, No. 3 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings, made five birdies (Nos. 3, 10, 12, 14, 16) in a bogey-free 65 and sits one back. Alker has finished first or second in each of his last three starts.
• Alker, sitting in second place, has now been inside the top five after 12 of his last 14 rounds, including seven in a row.
• Richard Green (third), one of three first-round co-leaders, followed his opening 64 with 67 and has made just two bogeys in 36 holes (Nos. 14 and 18 Saturday). The 55-year-old seeks his second win on PGA Tour Champions (96th start) after breaking through at the 2025 Rogers Charity Classic.
• Rookie Ryan Armour made seven birdies (Nos. 2, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 18) against one bogey in a 6-under 64, moving from T18 to fourth. The 36-hole co-leader at the PURE Insurance Championship two weeks ago seeks his first win on PGA Tour Champions (14th start) and sits second in the Sprint to St. Louis standings.
• Tag Ridings (65), Y.E. Yang (69) and Robert Karlsson (69) sit T5 at 7 under, just four strokes off the lead, with all three players looking for their first win of the season.
• Seven players were bogey-free Saturday: Block, Alker, Mark Hensby (65), Alex Cejka (67), Stewart Cink (67), Miguel Angel Jiménez (67) and Ricardo Gonzalez (68).
• Charles Schwab Cup leader Stewart Cink (T13) is seven strokes back after a bogey-free 67.
• Fred Funk withdrew after eight holes.