CALGARY — American Ryan Armour birdied the 18th hole at Canyon Meadows Golf and Country Club on Saturday to climb atop the Rogers Charity Classic leaderboard. The 50-year-old golfer from Akron, Ohio, carded a round of 7-under 63 to move to 12 under, just one shot ahead of New Zealand’s Steve Alker. “I was kind of leaking oil with the driver coming in,” said Armour, whose round included nine birdies and an unfortunate double bogey on the par-4, 15th hole. “I drove it in trouble on 15. I drove it in the fairway bunker on 17 and then drove it out of play on 18, but wedged it into play and hit a good 9 iron in there on 18 and made the putt. I’ve just got to go to the range and get that driver sorted out (for Sunday’s final round).” After shooting 65 on Friday, Armour started his second round with three straight birdies. “For the most part, up until the 15th hole, I was striping it,” said the PGA Tour Champions rookie. “I hit it where I wanted at all times and it was going nice, but it’s golf. It’s 18 holes, it’s 54 holes out here. Bad things are going to happen. You’ve got to adjust.” After an opening-round 68, Alker got himself back in the tournament by tying the course record with a 9-under round of 61. “Whenever you shoot the course record, you know you’ve had a good day,” said Alker, who had a chance to shoot 60, but wound up leaving his eagle putt on the par-5 finishing hole a bit short. “I had no idea on that putt on 18. I left it right in the jaws too, so it was a little disappointing.” His playing partner, Zach Johnson, made his eagle putt on 18 to shoot 62, moving him into a tie for third place at 10 under. “We were feeding off each other a little bit,” said Alker, who finished in a tie for fifth last year in Calgary and was sixth in 2024. “I got a couple ahead of him there and he was kind of feeding off me a little bit, so it was a fun day.” Defending champion Richard Green is also in the group of nine golfers at 10 under along with Bo Van Pelt, J.J. Henry, Brian Gay, Michael Wright, Michael Block, Rob Labritz and Miguel Angel Jimenez. Y.E. Yang is sitting alone in 12th place at 9 under followed by a group of five golfers one stroke back that includes Mark Wilson, who also tied the course record. Starting on the 10th hole of the par-70, 7,086-yard course, Wilson had five birdies on his front nine before adding five more and just one bogey on his back nine. After shooting 67 on Friday, Mike Weir of Bright’s Grove, Ont., followed up with a 66 in Round 2 to finish as the top Canadian at 7 under. Weir sunk a 24-foot put to punctuate his round with an eagle, much to the delight of the fans surrounding the finishing hole. “It was kind of a frustrating round,” said Weir, who also had two birdies during his bogey-free performance. “I played really well and didn’t make a thing, couldn’t buy a putt all day and so it’s nice to end with one. It kept me within earshot a little bit. “I drove the ball great, had a lot of great iron shots. I just didn’t convert many, but it was a solid day.” Fellow Canadian Golf Hall of Famer Stephen Ames shot 67 on Saturday to move up to 3 under. Calgary’s Wes Martin carded an even-par round of 70 and is sitting well back of the leaders at 2 over. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 22, 2026. Laurence Heinen, The Canadian Press
