Dolch: Younger Haas officially out of the old man's shadow
By Craig Dolch, PGATOUR.COM Contributor
He certainly no longer is known as Jay's little kid -- or Jay's big kid, to be more accurate.
Having a father who won nine PGA TOUR titles is what shaped Bill Haas' reputation when he turned professional in 2004 and made it to the PGA TOUR two years later. It became a popular story line while Haas learned the ropes of becoming a professional touring player, when figuring out where to stay and what tournaments best fit his game took precedent over trying to understand how to win.
While the learning part never ends for a professional golfer, it's safe to say Haas is gradually moving toward the head of his class.
Had he birdied the par-5 18th hole Sunday at the Palmer Course, sheer math would have told us that Haas would have won for the third time on the PGA TOUR in the last 53 weeks -- which would have tied Haas with Jim Furyk for the most wins during this span. It also would have enabled Haas to defend his title at the Bob Hope Classic, something that hadn't been done in 35 years by Hall of Famer Johnny Miller.
That's rarified air no matter what your father did for a living.
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Alas, Haas was unable to use his length to birdie the 18th hole -- a hole he reached with a 6-iron on Saturday -- in either regulation or in the three-man playoff when another par left Haas behind, and eventual winner Jhonattan Vegas and Gary Woodland advancing.
"I drove the ball great all day, and I hit a bad drive on 18," Haas said. "I was a little jacked up, got a little ahead of it. And in that right rough, you don't have much (of a chance). But what are you going to do?
As it is, Haas had to settle for his fourth top-two finish in the last year on the PGA TOUR, which is something no other player -- not Furyk, not Phil Mickelson, not Ernie Els -- can say.
Sunday's runner-up finish moved Haas into the rarified air of the top 50 of the official world rankings for the first time in his five-years-plus career; he is ranked 50th. For comparisons, entering last year's Hope he was ranked at No. 200.
And last year, having never ranked inside the top 50 on the money list in his first four full seasons, he jumped up to 20th with more than $2.9 million.
In a year, Haas has come as far as one of his prodigious drives
Let's don't forget that at 28, Haas doesn't exactly qualify as a "young gun" or a grizzled veteran.
What Haas has become is simply one of the world's best golfers. The soft-spoken North Carolina resident doesn't talk a brash game, but he doesn't have to.
"I don't know if I feel like I'm a threat to win every week," he said. "I play to win every week. 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."
But Haas wasn't overconfident going into the playoff against a pair of TOUR rookies. How could Haas think that way when he had yet to be in a sudden-death format before?
"I wish I was that confident," he said. "I am confident in what I do, but that was my first playoff and their first playoff on the PGA TOUR. So there were nerves there for everybody. I think it showed.
"You just got to hit a good third shot there and none of mine worked out. They did it and I didn't. And it's nothing to do with experience there. It's one hole, you (have) got to hit good shots and they did."
Haas knows he'll have plenty more shots to lift more trophies on the PGA TOUR. Even though he came oh so close, last week, he enjoyed his increased respect among his peers.
"It's been great," Haas said. "Having other players call me DC -- defending champion -- that's pretty cool to hear other people say that. I'd like to hear it more often."
He will.
Craig Dolch is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.
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