Haas overcomes freak injury, focuses on making 'The 25'

text size

Golf, in general, and the chase for 'The 25,' in particular, were not high on Hunter Haas' priority list last week during a break in the Nationwide Tour's schedule.

Instead Haas, who is on the cusp of 'The 25' at No. 27 on the money list, turned his attention to a honey-do here and a daddy-do there, concentrating on some quality time with his family, wife, Lorie, and 1-year-old daughter, Piper, at the family home in Dallas.

Ferrey/Getty Images

Handy man Hunter Haas is hoping to make it to the PGA TOUR next year.

Haas is nothing if not a handy man who loves, among other things, wood working, yard work and barbecue cooking. So it was no surprise when he started assembling a walker for Piper. But he ran into a little problem when he put on one of the wheels backward. In attempting to right his wrong Haas nearly tore off the nail of his right thumb.

At least Haas looked on the bright side. He wasn't working with his table saw. Still the injury was painful and Haas was concerned about whether he would be able to compete when the Nationwide Tour resumes this week at the WNB Golf Classic in Midlands, Texas.

"I'm having difficulty just trying to tie my shoes,'' Haas said Friday. "You have no idea how hard it is when you can't use you thumb.''

He laughed.

"Maybe I'll just duct tape it to my wrist,'' he said.

By Sunday afternoon Haas wasn't thinking about duct tape. He was buoyed despite the fact that he's likely to lose at least part of the thumbnail. The pain had subsided and he pronounced himself ready.

"I'm going to be fine,'' said Haas, who plans to haul his mobile barbecue pit and smoker to Midland, where he'll stage an elaborate cookout for salivating members of the Nationwide Tour operations staff who know full well they are in for a sumptuous treat.

Haas has to be. He has important business to attend to -- and we're not talking about the construction of a walker or some beef brisket and baby back ribs. He has $163,363 in official earnings, leaving him $11,114 in arrears of Ricky Barnes, this week's player on the 25th-place bubble, with four tournaments remaining, including the $1 million Nationwide Tour Championship at TPC Craig Ranch, which is limited to the top 60 on the final regular-season money list.

Although he hasn't won in 2008, Haas, 31, has been upwardly mobile of late, claiming four top-10 finishes in his last six events to put himself within hailing distance of 'The 25' and the chance to gain PGA TOUR playing privileges for the third time. And he's looking at the stretch run pragmatically.

"I can do it one way or the other,'' he said. "I've got 16 rounds on tour or six rounds in December (at the final stage of the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament) to get the job done. All I can do is gain from here. I have a good attitude about it.''

There was a long pause as Haas collected his thoughts on the possibilities of some crazy volatility on the money list.

"No telling what can happen, especially with that $1 million dollar purse,'' he said. "If the guy who is 60th wins, he's going to get his card. And what's second worth, $108,000? There could be a lot of movement in that last week.

"If it doesn't happen (on the Nationwide Tour) I've got that tournament in December. I hate to say it that way, but . . .''

Either way, Haas said he is "ready'' to get back to The Big Show, where he played in 2001 and 2005 with mediocre results. That certainly wasn't the case, especially in 2001 when Haas was a freshly minted professional.

"I thought I had everything under control,'' he said. "I woke up eight months into the season with a Q-school envelope in my hands. I chalk that year up to pure ignorance. The second time I just struggled.''

Haas surely would be in a better position today had he not been bothered by tendonitis in his left hand early in 2008, a problem that was been nagging him for two years. He also has dealt with a balky back and jokingly said that his most pressing problem was "mental.'' He mulled taking time off to heal, but said he didn't "want to take a medical'' exemption.

"I'm glad I stuck it out,'' he said.

Nevertheless there are no guarantees beyond the fact that Haas will play in four more Nationwide Tour events this season and "that tournament in December'' should all else fail. There is uncertainty among the tour's rank and file about just what will be needed to squeeze into 'The 25' because of the size of the tour championship purse. That said, there has never been a player in the 18 previous seasons who has earned more than $200,000 and failed to graduate to golf's highest level.

"Who knows what's going to happen this year?'' said Haas, who is a little more than $36,000 short of the magic number. "I sure don't.''

What Haas does know is the TPC Craig Ranch, a track he calls "kinda my home course.'' But he is quick to point out he will not be the only player in the tour championship field who will have lots of local knowledge.

"There are a dozen guys who play out there,'' he said. "Still I see it as an advantage. And at this point every little bit helps.''