Charles Schwab Cup race heats up on Champions Tour

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CARY, N.C. (AP) -- While most eyes are on fixated on THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola at East Lake Golf Club and the FedExCup race that Vijay Singh has virtually locked up, the Champions Tour is locked in a race of its own. With only five events remaining in their season, the players near the top of the points list are hunting for top-10 finishes to increase their standing.

Jay Haas has a 139-point lead heading into this week's SAS Championship.

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Jay Haas, who currently sits in the top spot in the Charles Schwab Cup race, is looking to maintain his points lead over Bernhard Langer after the Champions Tour event this weekend.

"I'm just happy to be in the race. There's still a ways to go yet. I just have to concentrate on playing well the rest of the year," Haas said.

Haas has a 139-point lead in the race at the start of the SAS Championship, which begins on Friday at Prestonwood Country Club.

"(The points race) is on everybody's mind, especially those who have a chance to win it," Langer said on Thursday.

The 51-year-old Langer leads the money list and is scheduled to play all but one of the remaining five Champions Tour events.

Haas finished tied for third and Langer was seventh at the Champions Tour's fourth major, the JELD-WEN Tradition in August. That allowed the 54-year-old Haas to return to the top spot in the points race, which is one that rewards only top-10 finishes. The season's fifth and final major, the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship, will take place in two weeks.

Fred Funk, 269 points back in third place, is also in the field this week. Funk, who won on the PGA TOUR last season and has since split his time with his 50-and-over colleagues as well as the young guys on the PGA TOUR, said he's now placed winning the Charles Schwab Cup as his top priority.

"The Charles Schwab Cup race is definitely on my mind. I had planned on playing on both Tours with an emphasis on the PGA TOUR but my focus is now on finishing the year on the Champions Tour and trying to win the Charles Schwab Cup," Funk said. "It's where my focus is right now. You can't play both Tours. You end up diluting yourself if you try to play both Tours."

As for this week's tournament, Haas -- who attended Wake Forest University in nearby Winston Salem, N.C. -- will try to hold off newcomer Larry Mize, who makes his Champions Tour debut this week, along with defending champion Mark Wiebe, Nick Price, Hale Irwin and Tom Kite, to name a few.

"This is a real challenging course. I haven't got a real handle on it yet. There are very few gimme holes out there. Right out of the blocks, No. 1 is difficult. A lot depends on the weather -- it could play a lot longer," Haas said. "You can play well and not break par here."