Cameron Percy takes 1-shot lead at Kaulig Companies Championship

Cameron Percy holds a one-stroke lead at the Kaulig Companies Championship after shooting a 4-under 66 in Friday's rainy second round at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. The 52-year-old Australian sits at 7-under 133 in the PGA Tour Champions' fourth of five majors, still winless on the senior circuit.

Percy's move to the top caps a demanding day on a course where elite ball-striking—not luck—decides the leaderboard. For fans tracking the Wealth Hacks & Passive Income beat, a senior major at a storied venue also spotlights how tour veterans convert peak-course form into career-defining paydays and season-long points races.

Key Takeaways

• Cameron Percy leads the Kaulig Companies Championship at 7-under 133 after a second-round 66 in the rain.
• Jerry Kelly and Zach Johnson are tied for second, one stroke back, after rounds of 69 and 67.
• Charles Schwab Cup leader Stewart Cink is 3 under through 36 holes with four wins in 11 starts this season.
• 2026 is the final year the event will be held at Firestone Country Club before the PGA Tour Champions moves on.
• Percy called Firestone a stern test where players "can't fake it" and must hit solid shots to score.

Who leads the Kaulig Companies Championship after Round 2?

Percy is alone in first at 7 under after back-to-back rounds that held up in wet conditions. The Australian has never won on the PGA Tour Champions, making this the closest he has been to a breakthrough at one of the circuit's five majors.

First-round leader Jerry Kelly slipped to a tie for second after a 69. Kelly, 59, won this event in 2020 and 2022 and knows Firestone's South Course as well as anyone in the field.

Zach Johnson joined Kelly at 6 under with his second straight 67. The 50-year-old rookie has two victories in eight senior starts this season. He skipped last week's U.S. Senior Open to play the PGA Tour's John Deere Classic, where he tied for ninth.

Boo Weekley reached 5 under with a 67. Ryan Armour, an Akron native who turned 50 in February, posted a second consecutive 68 to sit at 4 under alongside 2019 champion Retief Goosen (67), Darren Clarke (70) and Tag Ridings (66).

Why does Cameron Percy's 66 matter at Firestone?

Friday's scoring came in rain at a venue long regarded as one of the sternest tests in professional golf. Percy did not treat the round as a routine red-number day; he framed it as proof that only precise ball-striking survives here.

"You can't fake it around here. You've got to hit it solid," Percy said, according to ESPN. "The par 3s are hard, everything's hard. You've got to hit it really good. You can't just slap it everywhere and shoot a 68."

That quote matters because Firestone's history is built on demanding shot values, not birdie binges. As Golf Digest noted in its farewell to the venue, Jack Nicklaus played his first tour event at the 1958 Rubber City Open there and went on to win seven times, including the 1975 PGA Championship. Arnold Palmer won three times and christened the par-5 16th as "The Monster." Tiger Woods won there eight times in a 14-year span.

Percy's 66, then, is less about a soft setup and more about passing a classic examination—exactly the kind of performance that can reshape a winless senior career in a single week.

What is at stake for the contenders beyond the leaderboard?

A senior major is never just about the trophy. For Percy, a first victory would convert years of tour membership into a defining resume line at a course where legends built their reputations.

Johnson arrives with momentum: two wins in eight starts signal that his PGA Tour pedigree is translating quickly on the Champions circuit. Kelly's two prior titles here make him the sentimental and tactical threat one shot behind.

Stewart Cink, the Charles Schwab Cup points leader, is 3 under after a 68 and carries four wins in 11 starts this season. Even at 3 under, he remains in the mix to extend a season that already has him atop the circuit's season-long standings race—another form of wealth accumulation where consistent top finishes compound into end-of-year bonuses and sponsor value.

Johnson offered his own read on why Firestone rewards disciplined thinkers. "A few of these holes out here really make you think," he said. "Seems like the harder the hole, the more difficulty I seem to execute even better. That was encouraging."

Why is this the final Kaulig Companies Championship at Firestone?

This week's Kaulig Companies Championship is the last time the PGA Tour Champions will stage its event at Firestone Country Club, ending a relationship with the tour that dates to the Rubber City Open in 1954. Golf Digest reported that the circuit is "saying goodbye" to a venue where Nicklaus, Palmer and Woods dominated for generations.

The tour is pulling up stakes after more than seven decades at Firestone, even though the club does not want its run to end. Golf Digest described considerable irony in the departure: the property once drew enormous crowds when Woods ruled the South Course, yet support and infrastructure that once justified a permanent on-site media center no longer sustain the event in Akron.

Responsibility for the departure has been debated publicly. Golf Digest noted that Matt Kaulig, executive chairman of Kaulig Companies, told the Akron Beacon Journal he did not want the event to leave and called the decision "100 percent the PGA just really moving the tournament." PGA Tour Champions president Miller Brady countered that if Kaulig Companies had renewed its sponsorship, the tour would not be leaving Firestone.

For players like Armour—playing professionally at Firestone for the first time at age 50 in his hometown—the week carries emotional weight beyond prize money. For the tour, it is a reminder that even hallowed venues need corporate and community backing to survive in the modern schedule.

What happens next at the Kaulig Companies Championship?

Round 3 and the final round will determine whether Percy can convert his one-stroke edge into a maiden senior victory or whether Kelly, Johnson or another chaser overtakes him on a course that rarely yields easy ground.

Golf Channel carried live coverage of Round 2, and weekend rounds remain the last chance for this field to etch names beside Firestone's all-time greats before the championship leaves Akron. Percy enters the weekend with the clearest path, but Firestone's history suggests the leader after 36 holes is rarely guaranteed the trophy.

With the final rounds of major golf at this address still to play, every birdie and bogey will carry the weight of farewell—and for Percy, the chance to turn a rain-soaked 66 into the win that has eluded him on the Champions tour.