Notebook: 3M makes record contribution to charity

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The Champions Tour heads to TPC Potomac at Avenel Farms in Potomac, M.D. for the fifth and final major championship of the season, the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship. The tournament is the 23rd of 26 Charles Schwab Cup events and carries a purse of $2.7 million with $405,000 going to the winner. Double Charles Schwab Cup points are awarded this week, with the winner earning 810 points. Last year, Jay Haas came from five strokes back with a final-round 64 to claim a one-stroke victory over Tom Watson.

LAST WEEK

• Gary Hallberg sank a 6-foot birdie putt on the final hole of the Ensure Classic at Rock Barn to tie the Champions Tour record for lowest final-round by a tournament winner. His 11-under-par 61 gave him a one-stroke victory over Fred Couples.

• When Hallberg won the Ensure Classic he joined Ron Streck, Keith Fergus and Tom Lehman as the only four players to capture wins on the Nationwide Tour, PGA TOUR and Champions Tour.

• Bernhard Langer remained in the leader in the Charles Schwab Cup race with 3,014 points and leads Couples by 644 points. Fred Funk is third with 1,555 points.

• Bob Tway aced No. 9 at Rock Barn with a 6-iron from 186 yards. Tway had an ace earlier this year at the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf.

• Langer, Kenny Perry and Nick Price will represent the Champions Tour at the 2010 Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge, to be contested November 9 at Rio Secco GC in Las Vegas, Nevada.

• The 3M Championship donated a record contribution to charity this year -- in excess of $1.4 million to local charities. With that donation, the tournament eclipsed the $17.5 million dollar mark for total charity donations after 18 years. The 3M Championship now has a 20/20 vision -- to donate $20 million in 20 years.

• At the Viking Classic on the PGA TOUR, Michael Allen finished second, three strokes behind winner Bill Haas, son of Champions Tour professional Jay Haas. Tom Pernice, Jr. missed the third-round cut. Allen (2009 Senior PGA Championship) and Pernice (2009 SAS Championship) both won in their Champions Tour debuts.

COMING UP

• United States Ryder Cup team captain Corey Pavin, and assistant captains Lehman and Jeff Sluman are scheduled to compete at the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship after a Monday finish at the Ryder Cup in Wales.

• After three years at Baltimore Country Club's Five Farms East Course, the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship moves to the TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm, which hosted a PGA TOUR event from 1987-2004 and again in 2006. Having reopened in the spring of 2009 after an extensive renovation of the golf course, practice facility and clubhouse, TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm was ranked No. 12 on GolfWeek's list of "Best New Courses for 2009."

• The winner of this year's Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship receives an invitation to next May's PLAYERS Championship. Jack Nicklaus and Raymond Floyd are the only two players to have claimed a PLAYERS Championship and a Constellation Energy Senior Players title.

• The Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship is the fourth-oldest event on the Champions Tour, and this year's championship marks the 28th playing of this tournament. Only the Senior PGA Championship (71 years), Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (33 years) and the U.S. Senior Open (31 years) are older.

• New Orleans rock band "Better Than Ezra" will help the tournament honor the military with a special musical appearance on Saturday of tournament week -- Military Appreciation Day.

• The third annual TPC Potomac Birdies for the Brave event will be held on Monday following the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship. Birdies for the Brave is the PGA TOUR's primary vehicle for supporting the brave men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families. The proceeds of this tournament go directly to numerous military foundations represented by several PGA TOUR and Champions Tour professionals.

• The Caves Valley Golf Club will be the site of the sixth annual Bruce Edwards Celebrity Golf Classic on Monday, Oct. 4, 2010. Champions Tour professional Tom Watson and best-selling author John Feinstein will host the event. The Classic bene?ts the Bruce Edwards Foundation for ALS Research created in honor of Watson's long-time friend and caddie who passed away from the disease in 2004. To date, more than $3 million has been raised through this invitation-only event.

ON THIS DATE

10/5/97 -- Less than a month after playing bogey-free for 54 holes to win in Missouri, Hale Irwin does it again. Using a second-round 62, he edges Dave Eichelberger by one stroke at the Vantage Championship. His victory earns him a check for $225,000 and pushes his season earnings past the $2 million mark, the first Champions Tour player to do so.

10/6/02 -- Irwin birdies the first playoff hole to defeat Gary McCord and earn his fourth successive Turtle Bay Championship title. The win also allows him to tie Jack Nicklaus for most victories in the same event.

10/8/00 -- A closing-round 7-under-par 65 gives Jim Thorpe his first Champions Tour title, a three-stroke win over Bruce Fleisher at The Transamerica in Napa, CA. Win ends a victory drought of 14 years.

QUOTES TO NOTE

"I'm still stunned by it all" -- Hallberg, after capturing his first Champions Tour victory with a one-stroke win over Couples at the Ensure Classic at Rock Barn.

"It's hard to figure out. I guess it brings out the best in different people. I think the Ryder Cup intimidates some players and some guys thrive on it. I was always just kind of fired up. I loved everything about it" -- Lanny Wadkins, who played on eight Ryder Cup teams and was captain in 1995, shared his thoughts about the current crop of Ryder Cup players before last weeks event.

"Giving is something we generally don't do very easily, but jeez, it's incredible, the rewards. If I can play golf and it benefits someone else then it's easy to be there. That's a no-brainer" -- Mike Goodes, who recently hosted seven fellow Champions Tour professionals at his charity pro-am to raise funds and awareness for the Triad Youth Golf Foundation.