Final major could bring more volatility in Schwab Cup

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Tom Lehman has held the Schwab Cup lead almost the entire season, but the margin isn't as big as it once was.

RYE, N.Y. -- The Charles Schwab Cup is in its 11th year and history tells us that what happens at this week's fifth and final Champions Tour major will go a long way toward determining the winner.

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With double points (810) awarded in the major championships, there's plenty of room for volatility in the standings when the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship gets underway Thursday at Westchester Country Club.

Four times in the 10-year history of the Charles Schwab Cup, the eventual winner has come from behind after the final major championship to win the $1 million bonus. On three of those occasions, the winner was second after the last major.

The biggest comeback occurred in 2005 when Tom Watson rallied from fourth place, wiping out a 536-point deficit against Dana Quigley. Allen Doyle (2001), Jay Haas (2006, 2008) and Loren Roberts (2009) moved up from second place to win the $1 million annuity.

Those are the historical baselines: No worse than fourth in the standings and no more than 536 points behind the leader before the last major.

At the same time, the final major can be an excellent opportunity to make up significant ground. Six times has the Charles Schwab Cup winner used the last major to jump-start a comeback ending with the trophy.

At Westchester this week, the race is close enough that it can go either way.

Tom Lehman leads the Schwab Cup points race. Who is chasing his lead? Check out the complete points list. Standings

Tom Lehman, the season-long leader, has seen his once formidable margin narrowed. Seven weeks ago, Lehman had a 480-point lead over Nick Price with Watson in third place, 683 points off the pace. Lehman has been blanked in the last two majors and, as a result, he is now just 291 points ahead of U.S. Senior Open champion Olin Browne and 383 points in front of Mark Calcavecchia.

Nick Price rounds out the top four. He is 480 points behind Lehman. Ross Cochran is also within the 536-point threshold. The lefthander is 498 points behind the leader and Watson is 530 points behind.

Hale Irwin had the biggest lead going into the final major of the season in 2004. With a 914-point advantage, he was virtually assured the bonus. Last year, Bernhard Langer's 644-point lead was the second largest and he also held on to win comfortably. The widest margin of victory was Watson's 958-point blowout in 2003.

The Charles Schwab Cup Championship will be held Nov. 3-6 at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.

The season-long bonus competition offers $2.1 million in tax-deferred annuity payouts to the five leading points earners, with the winner receiving a $1 million annuity.