Like his dad, Haas quietly building a strong TOUR resume

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Bill Haas has quietly put together one of the better seasons on TOUR in 2010, and is well-positioned for 2011.

Besides the golf skills, a passion for basketball and the last name, it appears Bill Haas has learned something else from his father, Jay.

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How to do things quietly.

The younger Haas has always carried a big stick on the golf course -- the 6-foot-2, 185-pounder averages 41st in driving distance on the PGA TOUR at 293.3 yards a poke -- but he has always managed his game and life in an understated manner.

Just like his dad.

Bill Haas' second-place finish in Sunday's The McGladrey Classic was a perfect example. He was five back of leader Heath Slocum on the back nine before an eagle on the 15th hole suddenly moved him into contention -- even if most of the fans at Sea Island, Ga., were unaware of this development.

Haas eventually finished just one shot behind Slocum, narrowly missing winning back-to-back weeks on the PGA TOUR after his three-shot victory at the Viking Classic. But, no, Haas wasn't going to make much noise about his near-miss.

"Second place is fun," Haas said. "I'm not going to say it's no fun. That's a successful week, but to qualify for the Masters and the (U.S.) Open, especially after last week it kind of got misquoted saying I was in, even though I really wasn't, and to do it now it's pretty rewarding."

Oh, Haas is in the Masters and U.S. Open now, as well as the invitationals. The $432,000 second-place prize vaulted him from 26th to 19th on the TOUR's money list with just less than $3 million. (Haas has earned almost as much the last two weeks, $1.08 million, than he had in any previous season on TOUR.)

Fact is, had he made up that one last shot on Slocum and won, Haas would have three titles this year (he earlier won his inaugural TOUR title at the Bob Hope Classic). Haas would have then joined FedExCup winner Jim Furyk as the only three-time winner on the PGA TOUR this year.

Not that many people would have known.

Nor do most golf fans realize Haas is the hottest player in golf, next to Martin Kaymer, who has won three consecutive European Tour events. (Michael Allen's consecutive runner-up finishes on the PGA TOUR and Champions Tour also deserves honorable mention). In the last two weeks, Haas has risen from 89th in the world rankings to 56th, edging closer to landing in the magical top 50. To show how far Haas' game has climbed, the last two weeks are his first two consecutive top-10 showings on the PGA TOUR in 164 career starts.

Typically, Haas downplayed his recent streak and any talk that he's become one of the TOUR's dominant players.

"I don't know if I feel like I'm a threat to win every week," he said. "I play to win every week, but I think everybody out here tees it up on the first tee thinking they can win. I mean if you don't, you probably shouldn't be playing."

Haas, who was winless in his first four seasons on TOUR, was bitterly disappointed to miss THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola by one spot. He's at a loss to explain his quick turnaround in the Fall Series.

"So to come here in the Fall Finish, basically to get another go at it and to play like this is really sweet," said Hall, who led The McGladrey Classic field by missing just seven greens and making three bogeys.

Haas has a long way to go to catch dad Jay's nine wins on the PGA TOUR, but he almost got a third of the way there in the last nine months. At 28, the younger Haas is clearly entering his prime.

Perhaps his surge in the Fall Series will catapult him much like it did for David Duval in 1997, when he rose from constant near-winner to the No. 1 player in the world. Duval, you may recall, won the season's last three events that year.

As athletes like to say, it's not how you start, but how you finish that matters. Haas is closing this season like a Mariano Rivera -- Haas has moved to 18th on the money list and is one of only seven multiple winners on the TOUR this year, making him one of the players to watch in 2011.

Just don't make a big deal out of it. It's a family thing.