The contenders: Five guys who can win it all this week

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The season-long race for the Charles Schwab Cup comes down to the Champions Tour's final event this week with five players in contention for the $1 million annuity.

The Charles Schwab Cup Championship, which is open to the Tour's top 30 money winners, offers double points for top-10 finishes at Sonoma Golf Club. That should peak the interest of the five players in the running for the Charles Schwab Cup -- Jay Haas, Fred Funk, Bernhard Langer, Eduardo Romero and John Cook -- and create an exciting finale.

Here's a look at the five contenders.

No. 1: Jay Haas

Haas has played in the Charles Schwab Cup Championship three times with a career-best runner-up finish in his 2005 debut. His tie for sixth in Sonoma the following year made Haas the first player since Hale Irwin in 2002 to win the money title and the Charles Schwab Cup in the same season. The money title was Haas' again last year, and he finished second in the Charles Schwab Cup. Do you see a pattern here? He comes to Sonoma in contention for both again this week -- leading Fred Funk by just 12 points in the Charles Schwab Cup race and trailing Bernhard Langer by $49,347 for the money title. Already a two-time winner in 2008, Haas comes to wine country with a trio of top-six finishes in his last three starts. Charles Schwab Cup Points: 2,556 | 2008 best finish: 1st The Principal Charity Classic, Senior PGA Championship

No. 2: Fred Funk

The popular Funk is right where he wanted to be -- entering the year's final event with a legitimate chance to win the Charles Schwab Cup. He tied for second at Sonoma last year, finishing three strokes behind Jim Thorpe, so he knows he can be a factor. Like Haas, hes a two-time winner in 2008, and Funk has concentrated on the Champions Tour since late July to make a run at the Charles Schwab Cup. He's got top-10 finishes in five of the seven starts since he won his first Champions Tour major, the JELD-WEN Tradition. He's third on the money list, too, but he needs no lower than a top-three finish to leap over Langer and Haas. Charles Schwab Cup Points: 2,544 | 2008 best finish: 1st MasterCard Championship at Hualalai, JELD-WEN Tradition

No. 3: Bernhard Langer

The German is making his Charles Schwab Cup Championship debut after playing his first full season on the Champions Tour. One of only two players to win three times this season - Eduardo Romero is the other - Langer successfully defended his Administaff Small Business Classic title in his last start. He trails Haas by 96 points in the Charles Schwab Cup race after setting the pace early in the year with two wins in his first five starts. He has a solid advantage in the money race for the Arnold Palmer Award, though. Charles Schwab Cup Points: 2,460 | 2008 best finish: 1st Toshiba Classic, Ginn Championship, Administaff Small Business Classic

No. 4: Eduardo Romero

Playing the Champions Tour full-time for the second consecutive season, the man from Argentina has made quite an impact. All three of his victories have come in his last six starts - and one of those was Romero's first major at the U.S. Senior Open. The only way "El Gato" (the Cat) can overtake Haas, though, is with a victory since he trails by 524 points. He hasn't finished out of the top five in two starts at Sonoma, so he knows he can play the course. Charles Schwab Cup Points: 2,032 | 2008 best finish: 1st SAS Championship, U.S. Senior Open, Dick's Sporting Goods Open

No. 5: John Cook

Like Romero, Cook needs a victory on Sunday at Sonoma Golf Club to win the Charles Schwab Cup since he trails Haas by 689 points. And, like Langer, he'll be making his debut at Sonoma this year. Cook is a fast learner, though - he won the AT&T Championship in his second Champions Tour start last year and successfully defended that title on Sunday. He leads the league in top-10 finishes, too, with 15 in the 25 times he's teed it up this year. Charles Schwab Cup Points: 1,867 | 2008 best finish: 1st AT&T Championship