Despite best PGA Tour Champions finish in two years (T6), Coloradan Shane Bertsch just misses advancing to 2nd event of playoffs; former Aspen resident Justin Leonard lands final spot in that event
By Gary Baines
It may be somewhat ironic, but nonetheless true.
On Sunday, Parker resident Shane Bertsch posted his first top-10 finish on PGA Tour Champions in 15 months — and his best showing in two years — yet his 2026 season still ended, and he lost his preferred status on the senior circuit.
The 56-year-old, a former Colorado Open champion, tied for sixth place at the first event of the Champions Tour Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs, the Stifel Charity Classic in St. Louis. It marked his first top-10 on the tour since July 2025 and his best finish since October 2024.
Bertsch, who placed second at this year’s Inspirato Colorado Senior Open, carded scores of 68-66-70 for a 9-under-par total, which left him five strokes behind champion Rory Sabbatini, who closed with a 62.
While that put Bertsch on the verge of advancing in the playoffs, ultimately he fell a little short as he moved up to 56th in the season-long points list, but needed to be in the top 54.
With a top 36 spot on the points list needed to be fully exempt for 2027, and Bertsch not falling into any of the other categories required to keep preferred status, he’ll go into next year with far-less-than-ideal status, which could lead to fewer starts. Bertsch won one Champions event as a rookie in 2020, but hasn’t added to that total.
While Bertsch’s 2027 Champions season ended on Sunday — as did that of Denver-area resident David Duval (59th on the points list) — former Aspenite Justin Leonard landed the 54th and last spot into the second playoff event.
Leonard tied for 37th place on Sunday (72-69-69), but he’ll still advance to the Simmons Bank Championship, set for Oct. 30-Nov. 1 in Little Rock, Ark. The top 36 on the season-long points list after that will move on to the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, scheduled for Nov. 12-15 in Phoenix.
For all the scores from the Stifel Charity Classic, CLICK HERE.
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com