Storylines: Administaff Small Business Classic

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Defending champion Bernhard Langer

Background Information:
• Purse: $1,700,000 - $255,000 winner's share ( 255 Charles Schwab Cup points awarded)
• 27th of 29 official Charles Schwab Cup events on "The Road To the 2008 Charles Schwab Cup Championship"
• Bernhard Langer -- Defending Champion
• Field: 78 Champions Tour players -- 54 hole stroke play, no cut. Some headliners: Jay Haas, Fred Funk, Tom Kite, Nick Price, Curtis Strange, Jeff Sluman, Sandy Lyle, and Hal Sutton's debut.
• Broadcast Times: GOLF CHANNEL Fri-Sun. 2:30-5 PM ET Live

• 28 Points of Separation: Fred Funk's 2nd place finish at last week's Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship vaulted him past Jay Haas and Bernhard Langer with just three tournaments remaining in the Charles Schwab Cup points race. Funk now leads Haas by a slim 28 point margin. There are 986 Schwab Cup points available this week (top-10 finishers and ties). The season-long points race culminates at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Sonoma, Calif. Oct. 30-Nov.2nd.

Sutton

• Hal's in Houston: Hal Sutton, a 14-time winner on the PGA TOUR and Captain of the 2004 U.S. Ryder Cup team, will make his debut on the Champions Tour after turning 50 last April 28. This will be Sutton's first competitive event since the 2006 Nissan Open (missed cut). However, Sutton has enjoyed great success in Houston. The last of his 14 PGA TOUR victories came at the 2001 Shell Houston Open (also at the Woodlands) and he was runner-up in 1994 and 1999 and has six top-10 finishes.

• Various Titles Up for Grabs: The $255,000 winners check this week and the Charles Schwab Cup Champion aren't the only titles to be decided over the next three weeks. Player and Rookie of the Year plus Comeback Player of the Year will also be determined with the Champions Tour's final three events. The current money leader, Jay Haas ($1781.626) leads Bernhard Langer by $44,053 in the chase for the money title's Arnold Palmer Award. Jay Haas and Bernhard Langer are also candidates for Champions Tour Player of the Year along with Eduardo Romero, a three time winner (including the U.S. Senior Open). Langer is also candidate for Rookie of the Year. The Byron Nelson Award is presented each year tot eh Champions Tour scoring leader. Fred Funk (69.58), Bernhard Langer (69.63), Eduardo Romero (69.64), Nick Price (69.68) and '07 winner, Loren Roberts (69.70) and Jay Haas (69.71) are all in contention.

• Texas 'Battle Drive': With only two full field events left in the 29 event season before the Charles Schwab Cup Championship (CSCC) in Sonoma, CA (Oct. 30-Nov. 2), there are a number of players battling in the final six rounds at the two Texas events for a berth in the season-ending event (top-30 money winners after the AT&T Championship). Here's a look at who's in and who's out coming into Houston.

• Kite's Quest: Tom Kite is still seeking first Lone Star win on Tour. In his illustrious World Golf Hall of Fame career, Kite has never won a TOUR-sanctioned event in the state of Texas. He is a combined 0-121 in Texas on both the PGA TOUR (103 starts) and Champions Tour (18 starts). His best Texas PGA TOUR showings were a T2s in the 1991 Independent Insurance Agent Open and T2 in the 1994 Shell Houston Open. On the Champions Tour, his best finishes are a third at the '07 Administaff Small Business Classic and T3 at the AT&T Championship in San Antonio. Here's a breakdown of Kite's Texas appearances in TOUR-sanctioned events:

• Returning to Familiar Fairways: Following four years at Augusta Pines GC, the Champions Tour moves a few miles east to a new site for this year's tournament, the Woodlands CC. The course served as host of the Shell Houston Open from 1985-2002. Among the former champions of that event who are currently competing on the Champions Tour are Raymond Floyd (1985), Curtis Strange (1986, '88), Fulton Allem (1991), Fred Funk (1992), Phil Blackmar (1997) and Hal Sutton (2001).

• Proven Winners: Nine World Golf Hall of Fame members are in the field (Ben Crenshaw, Hubert Green, Hale Irwin, Tom Kite, Bernhard Langer, Larry Nelson, Nick Price, Curtis Strange and Lee Trevino) and 19 major champions overall who account for 27 major championships on the PGA TOUR, 11 on the Champions Tour and a combined 260 victories on both Tours.

It Happened This Week
• 10/13/85 -- Mike Fetchick celebrates his 63rd birthday by winning the Hilton Head Seniors International, making him the oldest winner in Champions Tour history.

• 10/14/07 -- In just his fourth Champions Tour start, Bernhard Langer opens with a course-record 10-under-par 62 and cruises to an eight stroke win over Mark O'Meara at the Administaff Small Business Classic. Langer's 54-hole total of 25-under-par 191, ties the Champions Tour all-time scoring record (Loren Roberts/2006 MasterCard Championship at Hualalai).

• 10/15/00 -- One week after winning in Napa, Thorpe makes it two straight when he beats good friend Ed Dougherty to win the Gold Rush Classic near Sacramento. Thorpe shoots a 54-hole total of 195 (21-under) and his second-round 62 sets a new tournament standard.

• 10/16/91 -- Using six birdies and an eagle, Mark O'Meara closes with an 8-under-par 64 to nip David Peoples by one stroke and Paul Azinger by two at the Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic in Orlando. O'Meara's four-round scorecard included 24 birdies and a pair of eagles.

• 10/17/04 -- Mark McNulty shoots rounds of 63-65 on the weekend on his way to an eight-shot victory at the SBC Championship in San Antonio. He finishes at 18-under-par 195, a new tournament record and the lowest numerical score for the season on the Champions Tour.

• 10/17/93 -- Jay Haas adds a second victory at the H.E.B. Texas Open when shoots a final-round 64 and then birdies the second playoff hole to defeat Bob Lohr.

• 10/18/81 -- Although he shoots an even-par 71 in his final round, Jerry Pate's four-stroke margin after 54 holes gives him the cushion for a three-stroke hometown win over Steve Melnyk at the Pensacola Open.

• 10/18/98 -- Trailing by three strokes after 36 holes, Dana Quigley fires a final-round 64 and goes on to a three-stroke win at the Raley's Gold Rush Classic near Sacramento.

• 10/19/97 -- Hale Irwin collects his ninth title of the season, tying Peter Thomson's record set in 1985 when he is a three-stroke victor at the Hyatt Regency Maui Kaanapalli Classic.

• 10/19/80 -- Brothers Danny and David Edwards team up to win the Walt Disney World National Team Championship by two strokes.

• 10/20/02 -- Dana Quigley celebrates his 200th consecutive start by winning the SBC Championship in San Antonio. A second-round 64 gives him a one-stroke lead after 36 holes and he closes with a 2-under-par 69 to beat Bob Gilder by one stroke.

• 10/20/90 -- Nearly one year after winning in Orlando at the Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic, Tim Simpson successfully defends his title with a one-stroke victory over John Mahaffey and Davis Love III. Simpson's winning card included 26 birdies and an eagle.