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Stadler Jumps into the Charles Schwab Cup Top Five with Major Win at Ford Senior Players Championship (July 15, 2003) - If you're going to contend in the Charles Schwab Cup, it pays to play well in the majors. Craig Stadler won the third major of the Champions Tour season, the Ford Senior Players Championship, last week in Dearborn, MI, and in the process he earned 1,125 Charles Schwab Cup points. The win helped Stadler move from 35th place to fourth in the season-long standings. Bruce Lietzke continues his lead on the strength of two victories in 2003, including the U.S. Senior Open. Lietzke earned triple points for his Open win, while John Jacobs earned triple points for his victory at the Senior PGA Championship, the first of the Tour's majors this season. Jacobs is in third place in the standings, 288 points behind Tom Watson. Watson has yet to win this year but has quickly made a move in the points chase with back-to-back runner-up finishes at both the U.S. Senior Open and the Ford Senior Players Championship. The Champions Tour observes a break in its schedule this week before it travels to Scotland next week for the Tour's fourth major of the season, the Senior British Open. Again, triple points are available to the top-10 finishers in that event. The Ford Senior Players Championship was the third of six tournaments this year that offers triple points to all top-10 finishers. The Champions Tour's five majors and the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship, all offer triple points to the winner and others finishing in the top 10. Charles Schwab Cup points are awarded weekly to the top-10 finishers and ties at all 31 official Champions Tour events. Points are based on the money distribution for each tournament, with every $1,000 earned the equivalent of one Charles Schwab Cup point. The standings after the Ford Senior Players Championship (18th of 31 official / Charles Schwab Cup events): Rank/Player/Events - Points - Points Behind - Wins - Top-10s In addition to weekly Charles Schwab Cup points, quarterly bonus points are awarded to the top-ten players who earn the most points each quarter. Gil Morgan won the first quarter and the 240 points that went with it, while John Jacobs earned top honors and 240 points the second quarter. Designed to recognize the leading player on the Champions Tour, the Charles Schwab Cup winner collects a $1 million annuity from a $2.1 million annuity purse. |