SONOMA, Calif. -- Allen Doyle and his wife Kate were at the wedding reception of their daughter, Michelle, in May when one of the waitresses stopped by their table.

The young woman, who was a member of the Doyle’s church in LaGrange, Ga., wanted to thank them for providing the scholarship money that was allowing her to attend college. The tears welling up in her eyes added credence to her words.

The money became available when Doyle won the inaugural Charles Schwab Cup in 2001. The program is designed to recognize the Champions Tour’s leading player each year and the winner receives a $1 million annuity.

Doyle immediately announced that the entire amount would be donated to six different charities. On Monday, five years later, the transplanted New Englander said he’d make the same decision “in a heartbeat.”

“She was just beyond touched,” Doyle said. “When you see that kind of stuff and you get that feedback, that’s when it does something to you and you say we did make the right decision.”

Doyle’s generous act was the first of several public ones by players who have benefited from the Charles Schwab Cup, which rewards the year’s top five players, as determined by a points system, with $2.1 million in annuities.

When Tom Watson won the Charles Schwab Cup in 2003, he donated the annuity to organizations promoting ALS research, as well as other charities. Watson’s long-time caddie Bruce Edwards had just been diagnosed with ALS and died the following April.

A year ago, Doyle’s close friend, Dana Quigley, was locked in a tight battle for the Charles Schwab Cup. For much of the year, Quigley had talked about how much he wanted to win the Cup and duplicate Doyle’s charitable gift.

The storybook ending wasn’t to be, though. Watson birdied the 72nd hole at Sonoma Country Club to beat Jay Haas at the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship and win the $1 million annuity.

Turns out, Quigley couldn’t be too disappointed. The man who would be voted 2005 Player of the Year received the $500,000 annuity for second -- and he was quick to announce he was donating the money to four different charities.

“It really gives (my wife) Angie and I such a terrific feeling,” Quigley said on a leisurely Monday afternoon in Sonoma. “It’s far beyond anything that we do, any tournament that we win, when you get that feeling that you’re helping people.”

Only Jay Haas and Loren Roberts have a chance to win the Charles Schwab Cup this week at Sonoma Country Club where double points are awarded for top-10 finishes. Haas leads Roberts by 126 points, as well as by $107,833 on the money list.

Doyle, among others, could play his way into the top five with a strong finish on Sunday. There are 880 points, for example, going to the tournament winner, and he trails Brad Bryant, currently third, by just 498.

The Charles Schwab Cup pays $300,000, $200,000 and $100,000 annuities to the players who finish third, fourth and fifth.

Before turning 50, Doyle ran a driving range and made his name playing amateur events across the U.S. He said he felt comfortable enough to make the donation after earning nearly $6 million in his first three years on the Champions Tour.

“It just seemed like the thing to do to pay back for what I had gotten in my three years out here,” he said.

Quigley came from a similar background, working as a club pro before Monday qualifying and winning a Champions Tour event in 1997. He said neither he nor Doyle had the means -- or the platform -- to make such an impact until now.

“We were basically working our butts off to support our own family,” Quigley said. “You really couldn’t do a whole lot charitably. … So finally to see a platform where you could help people, that’s really the cool thing about it.

Even though he’s gone on to win 10 more times, including the Greater Kansas City Golf Classic earlier this year, Quigley says he was still surprised to be in position to make such a big charitable gift in a career-defining season last year.

“I did it when I was 58 years old and never thought I would win the money title or win any money from Charles Schwab,” Quigley said. “I always thought it was pretty neat that (Allen) did that coming from his background without a whole lot of money.

“When I started the Champions Tour I didn’t have a bank account myself. It’s been so good to both of us. I said whatever happened I would certainly do the same thing.”