Nationwide Tour experience key for winners like Haas

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Bill Haas won for the first time in his PGA TOUR career at the Bob Hope Classic.

When Bill Haas won for the first time on the PGA TOUR last month he was humble enough to take back what he said earlier in his career about the Nationwide Tour.

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He was fresh out of college in 2004 after an All-America career at Wake Forest where he won a school-record 10 tournaments and the transition to the TOUR was supposed to be as easy as reaching a par-5 in two. But it didn't turn out that way for Haas, who failed to make it through q-school and spent his first full season on the Nationwide Tour.

Fast-forward to last month when Haas -- after 140 career starts in his fifth season on the PGA TOUR -- finally broke through for his first victory at the Bob Hope Classic. He knows now that season he spent on the Nationwide Tour, where he played 22 tournaments and finished 23rd on the money list, was a big step in his development.

"I was quoted as saying I didn't want to play on the Nationwide Tour, but I'm definitely eating my words now," Haas said. "That was me being immature and that was really not knowing what pro golf was all about. That Tour is a fantastic tour and it speaks for itself about guys who have won out here (on the PGA TOUR)."

The number of former Nationwide Tour players who have won on the PGA TOUR is now up to 263, thanks to Haas; Ben Crane, who won the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines earlier this month; and Sony Open in Hawaii champ Ryan Palmer.

Another player making a big splash on TOUR is 25-year-old Alex Prugh, who finished 16th on last year's Nationwide Tour money list to earn his card. The rookie has made five cuts in five starts on TOUR this season and posted three straight top-10 finishes.

"I'm going to give credit to the Nationwide Tour," said Prugh, who is 14th on the FedEx Cup points list and 13th on the money list with nearly $600,000. "We don't have as big a fan base, but the level of competition, I think, is just as good."

Prugh said his two seasons on the Nationwide Tour were pivotal. "I think the Nationwide Tour is a great learning ground," he said. "It's a great place to start."

TOUR veteran Joe Ogilvie says his years on the Nationwide Tour in 1998 and 2003 were crucial to his development. The 35-yearold won four times on the Nationwide Tour and in 2007 won the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee.

"There are some guys who are on TOUR now who couldn't get there through q-school for whatever reason but have made the PGA TOUR thanks to the money list on the Nationwide Tour," Ogilvie said. "And the Nationwide Tour just keeps getting better and better, and I think now you see more veteran guys out there and that really says a lot about how competitive it is."

Brendon de Jonge, who played collegiately at Virginia Tech, spent two full years on the Nationwide Tour in 2006 and '08. He finished second on the money list in '08 to earn his TOUR card and says that the Nationwide Tour taught him a lot.

"It was absolutely a big help for me," said de Jonge, who has one win in 110 starts on the Nationwide Tour. "I spent the better part of four seasons on that Tour and you really learn what it takes to become a better professional golfer."

Haas' father Jay was one of the most consistent players on the PGA TOUR for nearly 30 years, winning nine times. While Bill saw first-hand what a grind pro golf could be experiencing it was something entirely different. And the Nationwide Tour was a great proving ground for him.

"I was only out there for a year, but you learn pretty fast that the Tour is just as good as any pro tour out there," Haas said. "You have to work at it and practice hard and more than anything you have to keep working if you want to learn how to win."

The victory at the Bob Hope Classic allowed Haas to take some time off before the Florida swing gets going next month. So he and his girlfriend, Julie Arrington, recently made the drive from Greenville, S.C. to Winston-Salem, N.C. to see Wake Forest play Georgia Tech in a basketball game.

During a timeout that night Haas was introduced as a newly-minted PGA TOUR champion and received quite an ovation. He is the first former Wake Forest golfer to win on TOUR since Len Mattiace captured the FedEx St. Jude Classic in 2002. Not to mention, Haas' win came in a tournament his father had won 22 years earlier.

A big fan of the Deacons basketball team now second in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Haas enjoyed seeing the game in person. He's also excited about the invitation to play in his first Masters in April, not to mention the PGA TOUR exemption through 2012.

"It doesn't stink," Haas said when someone asked him how it felt being a winner on the PGA TOUR. And Haas knows now that the Nationwide Tour helped him get there.

John Dell has covered golf for the Winston-Salem Journal in North Carolina for the last 15 years. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.