CONOVER, N.C. -- It’s beginning to feel like fall.

The rolling foothills are dotted with speckles of red and yellow leave. The air has that crisp, autumn smell. And the annual “bubble watch” has begun on the Champions Tour to see just who is going to earn the last fully-exempt spot for the 2007 season.

The season is starting to wind down, with only three events left before the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship, where only players in the top 30 on the money list are invited. Only $189 separates No. 30 Bruce Lietzke and No. 31 Mark Johnson, so all focus is on the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn this week and the SAS Championship in Cary, N.C., that follows, as many of the top players on Tour try to secure their position with strong finishes.

If there’s one man who knows he is in the top 30 already, though, that would be Jay Haas.

Winner of three events in 2006, Haas is only 58 points behind Loren Roberts in the Charles Schwab Cup race, a season-long points competition designed to identify the Champions Tour’s leading player. He trails Roberts by $53,737 on the money list, as well.

It was at the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn last year that Haas first won on the Tour, something he has done four times since.

Haas is only 58 points behind Loren Roberts in the Charles Schwab Cup race. (WireImage)

“I’m looking forward to defending and getting back here. I like the golf course and hopefully I’ll play as well as I did last year, but it’s hard to repeat. It’s hard to win a golf tournament period,” Haas said.

“But I feel confident, I’ve been playing pretty well and again, I like this area,” the Greenville, S.C., resident continued, noting that he lives just an hour and 40 minutes away. “I think around here the people know I went to Wake Forest University. I feel pretty comfortable here and the crowd seems to get behind me pretty good.”

Another man with North Carolina connections who is happy to return this week is Chip Beck, who was born in Fayetteville. Beck made a strong debut on the Tour two weeks ago at the Constellation Energy Classic, tying for fifth in his first event after turning 50.

“It’s great to be in North Carolina,” said the ever-positive Beck. “It’s a nice experience to be on the Champions Tour. To come back with a second chance is pretty nice. Not everyone has that opportunity. For me, I’m winning right now. My health is good, my family is well and I have a great opportunity here with the Champions Tour.”

One man noticeably absent from the field is Tour money leader and Charles Schwab Cup points leader Roberts, who withdrew to attend the funeral of the late golfing legend Byron Nelson.

The passing of Nelson is on many minds this week, but Roberts had an especially close bond with him.

“I hated to leave, but I have a relationship with Byron that goes back a long time,” Roberts said. “I won the Byron Nelson Award. He would always call me and send cards and letters after I’d done well. He asked me to write a few forewords for a few books he’d written. He was a great man, the last of the great players of that era. He was a great gentleman. I just feel like I need to be there.”

Roberts, who won won the 1999 EDS Byron Nelson Championship, served as one of Tom Lehman’s assistant captains at the Ryder Cup last week. The Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn was a late addition to his schedule, as a result.

The Champions Tour Player of the Year battle with Haas, though, will now have to wait.

“It was a consideration, but deciding to leave now wasn’t that hard because of the reason,” Roberts said.

As the golfing world mourns the loss of Nelson, fans and players alike can occupy their minds with golf this week at the tournament. And, both in person and in their minds for the next two weeks, the Champions Tour players have gone to Carolina.