Charles Schwab Cup Championship

(Sonoma, CA) - With just two full-field Champions Tour events remaining before the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship, players hovering around the 30th spot on the official money list will look for one more solid finish to ensure their trip to Sonoma.  Meanwhile, Scott Simpson and several other Champions Tour rookies have already secured their position in the field when the Charles Schwab Cup Championship returns to the Sonoma Golf Club, October 24-29.

A seven-time winner on the PGA TOUR, including the 1987 U.S. Open, Simpson has enjoyed a successful first full year on the Champions Tour.  The San Diego, Calif. native played four events last year after turning 50 in September but did not earn enough money to break into the top 30 on the official money list.  With seven top 10s this year, including his first victory at the Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, Simpson stands sixth ($1,185,809) on the Champions Tour official money list and 12th in Charles Schwab Cup points, a season-long competition that rewards top-10 finishes, and can book his travel plans for Sonoma.

Fellow Champions Tour rookie David Edwards is safely within the top 30 and will make his first appearance at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship as well.  The four-time PGA TOUR winner has notched eight top-10 finishes since turning 50 in April, including his first victory at the 3M Championship in August.  The former Oklahoma State Cowboy currently finds himself ninth ($1,139,273) on the Champions Tour official money list and 10th in the Charles Schwab Cup Race.

Long-time European Tour standout Eduardo Romero has also had an immediate impact on the Champions Tour and will make his debut in the Charles Schwab Cup Championship this year.  In just six events, the Argentine has posted three top-five finishes including his first win at the JELD-WEN Tradition, one of five Champions Tour majors.  Romero is 20th ($717,252) on the official money list and seventh in Charles Schwab Cup points. 

Scott Simpson, David Edwards and Eduardo Romero are the Champions Tour's leading candidates for Rookie of the Year honors.

Two other Champions Tour rookies are on the outside of the top 30 looking in entering this week's Administaff Small Business Classic in Houston.  Massy Kuramoto, medalist at the 2005 Champions Tour National Qualifying Tournament, is currently 34th on the money list with $484,504.  Perhaps the most unlikely candidate for a spot in the Charles Schwab Cup Championship field is Chip Beck, who has top-five finishes in each of his first three starts on the Champions Tour.  Beck is 44th ($350,000) on the money list and will most likely need a victory in one of the last two events to make the field in Sonoma.

Champions Tour rookies aren't the only players looking to earn their first trip to the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.  Keith Fergus, in his third year on the Champions Tour, is in 24th ($664,068) position on the money list.  The three-time PGA TOUR winner's previous best finish on the final money list was 37th in 2005.  Commerce Bank Champion John Harris is also competing for his first invitation to Sonoma.  The five-year Champions Tour veteran is 27th ($617,608) on the money list and needs one more solid finish to secure a spot.