The 2024 PGA Tour Champions season ends with the Charles Schwab Cup Championship at Phoenix Country Club in Arizona.
While the winner stands to take over $500,000 of the $3m available, for some in the field, there is an opportunity to capture an arguably even more prestigious honor – the Charles Schwab Cup for finishing top of the season-long rankings.
In total, just 35 players are in the field. Of those, 10 are mathematically still in with a chance of finishing top of the rankings, although for six, the destiny of the trophy remains firmly in their hands.
Ernie Els leads the way following his best PGA Tour Champions season yet. The South African legend won three times in a little over a month earlier in the year, first in June’s Principal Charity Classic, then at the American Family Insurance Championship a week later before claiming the Kaulig Companies Championship in July.
Els knows a win this week would see him lift the Charles Schwab Cup for the first time, but he could also claim the glory by finishing second, third or fourth providing none of the five players beneath him in the rankings win.
Ernie Els is top of the rankings heading into the tournament
Steven Alker won the 2023 Charles Schwab Cup Championship, but it wasn’t enough to win the season-long race, with Steve Stricker taking that honor.
There won’t be a repeat for the 2021 US Ryder Cup captain as he is absent from the field, but another win this week will be enough for Alker, who is second in the standings, while even second or third could be enough if Els finishes outside the top five at the event and none of the others in the top six win it.
Third in the standings is Stephen Ames, who is looking for his fourth PGA Tour Champions win this season. If he gets it, he’ll finish top of the standings regardless of what his rivals do.
Only a win will do for Stephen Ames
It’s a similar story for Padraig Harrington, who’ll also win the season-long race if he produces a repeat of his 2022 Charles Schwab Cup Championship success. He heads into the event in some fine form having won the Simmons Bank Championship just a week ago.
Y.E. Yang begins the tournament fifth in the rankings helped by victory over Bernhard Langer in a playoff at the Ascension Charity Classic in September. He’s the fifth player who’ll guarantee finishing top of the standings with victory this week.
Immediately beneath Yang is Richard Green. He’s the only one in the top six who hasn’t won so far this year. If he breaks that run this week, he’s also assured of the Charles Schwab Cup.
K.J. Choi’s maiden win at this year’s Senior Open was surely among the highlights of his career, but could he be on the verge of another big moment to round off his 2024? He can finish top of the standings, but only if he wins this week’s event while Els finishes in a two-way tie for fifth or worse and Alker finishes in a two-way tie for third or worse.
Four-time DP World Tour winner Ricardo Gonzalez won’t have given up on his chances of lifting the Charles Schwab Cup just yet. Like Choi, winning this week won’t be enough. He also needs Els to finish solo eighth or worse, Alker to finish in a three-way tie for fifth or lower, Ames to finish in a four-way tie for second or worse and Harrington to finish in a three-way tie for second or worse.
Two other players are not yet out of the running. The first is Paul Broadhurst, who needs to collect his third win of the season this week while hoping for Els to finish solo ninth or worse, Alker to finish in a two-way tie for sixth or worse, Ames and Harrington to do no better than a two-way tie for third and Yang to finish in a two-way tie for second or worse.
That leaves Jerry Kelly, who, to lift the Charles Schwab Cup, needs to win the tournament and rely on Els to finish in a three-way tie for 20th or worse, Alker to finish in a two-way tie for ninth, Ames to finish outright fifth or worse, Harrington to finish in a two-way tie for fourth or worse, with Yang and Green needing to finish in a two-way tie for third or worse.
The 10 Players Who Could Win The Charles Schwab Cup
- Ernie Els
- Steven Alker
- Stephen Ames
- Padraig Harrington
- Y.E. Yang
- Richard Green
- K.J. Choi
- Ricardo Gonzalez
- Paul Broadhurst
- Jerry Kelly
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