5 players to watch at the Cologuard Classic in Tucson

When the defending champion of the Cologuard Classic by Exact Sciences returns to La Paloma Country Club for Tucson's PGA Tour Champions event, which begins on Friday, the 54-year-old Alker will be making his 100th start on the circuit. 

Alker called the milestone "a big deal" and "a special week." 

"A hundred's always good," Alker said. "You can look forward and think, can I do another hundred? That's probably four or five years away. It's nice to be back as defending champion." 

Alker won the Cologuard Classic last year in playoff fashion, edging Jason Caron with a 12-foot birdie putt. 

"I finished strong and got into a playoff and was like, 'Wow, OK, let's go,'" Alker said. "I think just the putt on (hole) 18 was a nice putt, right-to-lefter and down the hill a little bit. Went straight in the middle. That was a nice feeling."

Not only will this week mark the 100th start on the PGA Tour Champions for Alker, the weather is expected to exceed 100 degrees — a rarity for the Cologuard Classic, which has dealt with snow and windy and cold conditions in recent years. 

"Still drying out from last year with the rain," Alker joked. "I had my beanie on. Yeah, it was nasty. I just remember it was really cold. The back nine walking off the course, it was cold."

The warmer weather will affect how Alker and others play this week. 

"Depends how much water they want to pour on the golf course, I guess," Alker said. "The greens, they're going to have to keep them reasonably soft and under control, but the fairways can get a little bouncy around here. If we get some wind as well, it can dry up pretty quickly. That could mean a lot of different clubs off the tee and playing a little more conservative and not aggressive."

However, the New Zealand native currently lives in Fountain Hills, Arizona. Dry and warm weather "is kind of nothing," Alker said.

"I'm an Arizona resident, so I'm going to be OK with 105 (degrees)," he added. 

Alker, who now has 10 career wins on the PGA Champions Tour, will be one of 78 players competing for the $2.2 million purse at the Cologuard Classic, a three-day tournament that ends on Sunday — the third edition of the tournament at La Paloma Country Club. 

Here are five players to watch this weekend: 

Stewart Cink: Cink has been one of the most successful players on the PGA Tour Champions since joining in 2024. Since 2024, Cink has won five tournaments, including three last year. Cink won the Charles Schwab Cup in 2025, becoming the 13th different winner in 24 years. Cink won the first tournament of the 2026 season, the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai in Kailua Kona, Hawaii. Cink has two top-10 finishes at the Cologuard Classic. He finished tied for eighth last year — tied for seventh in 2024. 

Ernie Els: "The Big Easy" hasn't won a tournament since the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai in 2025 — his seventh PGA Tour Champions victory. Els finished fourth at the tournament in Hawaii in January. The South Africa native is a four-time major winner — winning The U.S. Open and The Open, twice — and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011. 

Padraig Harrington: At the James Hardie Pro Football HOF Invitational in Boca Raton, Florida, earlier this month, Harrington finished tied for fourth after shooting 6 under. His seven-birdie and bogey-less final round positioned him to finish inside the top five. Harrington has been one of the players on the PGA Tour Champions since 2022. Harrington has 11 PGA Tour Champions victories — nearly double the amount of wins he stacked on the PGA Tour (six). Harrington, who was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame two years ago, won 15 tournaments on the European Tour. He has two top-15 finishes the last two years at the Cologuard Classic.   

Zach Johnson: The PGA Tour Champions rookie and 2007 Masters Tournament champion is making his Cologuard Classic debut. Johnson is a two-time major championship winner and enters the PGA Tour Champions after winning 12 PGA Tour events over two decades. Johnson won his first PGA Tour Champions tournament, the James Hardie Pro Football HOF Invitational in Boca Raton, Florida. The 50-year-old Johnson shot 11 under in his first PGA Tour Champions event. Johnson is currently third in the Charles Schwab Cup standings behind Cink and David Toms. 

Bernhard Langer: The 68-year-old is one of eight returning Cologuard Classic champions in the field, along with Alker (2025), Joe Durant (2024), Toms (2023), Miguel Angel Jimenez (2022), Kevin Sutherland (2021), Tom Lehman (2017) and Woody Austin (2016). Langer, who holds the record for the most PGA Tour Champions victories (47), hasn't won a tournament since the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Phoenix in 2024.