Backspin: Dad's presence fires up younger Haas

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Wow. That's about the only word that can describe what took place the last two-plus hours at East Lake late Sunday afternoon.

I'll get to the sequence of craziness that unfolded in the finale to the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, but Sunday's victory by Bill Haas could be a big boost to his career, never mind his bank account.

When the younger Haas first came out of Wake Forest, where he was an All-American and thought about leaving after his junior year to turn pro, but stayed because of the promise he'd made to his parents to get his degree, there was a lot of expectations given his last name.

Bill's father Jay, who won nine times his career on TOUR, had been a very good player for a very long time and many, including Jay himself, thought Bill was a much more talented player.

The only problem was the can't-miss kid did miss, as Haas failed to make it on TOUR in his first attempt. As a result, he spent most of 2005 on the Nationwide Tour and was humbled by the experience ... and learned from it too.

Later that year, he went to q-school, where he arrived at the final hole of the six-day tournament needing a birdie to finish in the top 25 to secure his card. With his father in the crowd watching, Haas made the putt and hasn't looked back.

It wasn't until 2010 that Haas finally broke through with his first win on TOUR, but two more have followed in the 19 months since. And again, Jay was in the gallery to see it.

"It's awesome having [my parents] here," Haas said. "I've got to give that a lot of credit. When my dad watches, I seem to perform maybe a little bit -- I'm trying to perform for him."

And that's exactly what he did, especially with a couple of all-world up-and-downs against Hunter Mahan in the playoff.

"I just said, expect anything, be ready for anything, you've been playing well, trust your swing --- stuff that maybe he listened to," Jay told Bill the night before.

The victory, by the way, gave Bill just as many victories -- three -- as Jay had at this point in his career.

Stock up

Adam Scott: Look, Scott is a very good player but you can't deny that caddie Steve Williams, not to mention his switch to the long putter, has made a difference. Since Williams took over, Scott has five top-10s, including a win, in nine starts. The last time Scott was that good was in 2006 when he had seven top-10s in a 10-start stretch. FedExCup rank: 16 (19 last week) Luke Donald: He got his 13th top-10 of the year on Sunday and nearly captured the FedExCup in the process. It was a day of mixed emotions after coming up short, but no one was as consistent as Donald this year -- remember he won twice overseas in addition to his win at the WGC-Accenture Match Play. FedExCup rank: 3 (4 last week). Jason Day: How good has Day, still just 23, been? Second in the Masters, second in the U.S. Open and two top-fives in the Playoffs. Then, on Sunday, he nearly wins the FedExCup before tying for sixth (he would have been higher if not being deflated by missing a putt that would have put him in the playoff). He's going to be good for a long time. FedExCup rank: 12 (10 last week)

Stock down

Nick Watney: Outside of a tie for 10th at The Barclays, Watney was a total non-factor in the Playoffs. With two wins his season certainly was a success, but it could have been much, much bigger if he contended in Atlanta. Instead, he failed to break par in three of his four rounds at East Lake. FedExCup rank: 9 (7 last week). Jonathan Byrd: He finished last in Atlanta and failed to break 70 in any of his last 11 rounds. Byrd did finish fifth at The Barclays, but that was his only top-10 since the beginning of June and he entered the Playoffs having missed five of six cuts. FedExCup rank: 27 (17 last week). Keegan Bradley: It is hard to be down on a guy who was coming off winning the season's final major championship. It was clear, though, that he was worn out with missed cuts in his first two Playoffs events and a T11 in the 30-man TOUR Championship. Lone bright spot? A T16 at BMW. FedExCup rank: 20 (20 last week)

THE BACK NINE: 9 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. The playoff of the year, the shot of the year and the FedExCup trophy and $11.4 million on the line -- $10.4 million of which came Sunday with the other $1 million deferred. That's what Sunday gave us, and the level of intensity and pressure was obvious from the start of the playoff between Hunter Mahan at Bill Haas. As good as Haas' shot from the water was on 17, the second hole of the sudden-death playoff, the up-and-down he made a hole earlier, on 18, after hitting it into the gallery for a second straight time, was maybe more impressive. Then Mahan, who had a testy five-footer to extend the playoff confidently knocked it in. The latter prompted a text from his coach, Sean Foley that read: "Love it, love it, I (bleeping) love it." After Haas got up-and-down from the water, Foley sent another one: "Unbelievable."

2. Haas and Mahan weren't the only ones feeling the pressure, of course. Webb Simpson, Aaron Baddeley, Jason Day and Luke Donald were all still alive late in the day with the FedExCup in reach. Sunday's finish showed just how difficult it is to win a golf tournament. This is what golf was like in the pre-Tiger Woods era.

3. Stat of the Week I: 17. That's the number of wins players in their 20s had this year -- the same number of players in their 30s. We're entering a new era.

4. Stat of the Week II: 1. The number of players (Phil Mickelson) who have finished 15th or better in the FedExCup all five years of its existence. Steve Stricker was the other one, until this year when Mr. September finished 18th.

5. Stat of the Week III: 16. That's the number of playoffs we've had on TOUR this year, matching the most ever in a single year (1988, 1991).

6. How strange was it that in the midst of the best playoff of the year that Butch Harmon broke the news that Woods had hired Joe LaCava away from Dustin Johnson?

7. As for how this all plays out, Johnson has the type of personality that it will largely roll off his back, but by all accounts it took Johnson, who is coached by Harmon, and his agent by surprise. "Mark [Steinberg] and I were approached by a lot of people, including Joe, who expressed an interest in becoming my caddie," Woods said on his website Sunday night. "This was an important decision, and I wanted to think about it carefully. Also, out of deference for the FedExCup Playoffs, I decided to wait until they were concluding to have substantive talks. We then spoke to Joe and came to an agreement."

That agreement goes into effect in earnest at the Frys.com Open next week, when Tiger is slated for his first start since the PGA Championship. "I'm excited to be working with Tiger," LaCava said on Woods' site. "I contacted Tiger and Mark because this is a unique opportunity to be part of something very special. Tiger and I have been friends for a very long time, and I know what he can do. I want to thank Dustin [Johnson] for the opportunity to work with him, and I wish him nothing but the best." According to Woods, he called Johnson after LaCava first told Johnson personally he would be working for Woods, and Woods also spoke to Fred Couples to alert him of the decision.

8. Speaking of Fred Couples, there's a good chance he already has his mind made up, but his second captain's pick is going to be awfully difficult to make. Does he go with newly minted FedExCup champion Haas, or does he pick Keegan Bradley, who's 2-0 in playoffs this year and won a major? In any event, we won't have to wait long to find out. The announcement is scheduled for Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET. It will be streamed live on PGATOUR.COM.

9. And speaking of difficult choices, who will get PGA TOUR Player of the Year now? There are a number of worthy candidates, including Bradley, Luke Donald, who had 13 top-10s, a win and is the top-ranked played in the world, Webb Simpson, who has two wins, two runner-ups and was second in the FedExCup, and of course, Haas.

Forward Spin

The season now heads into the Fall Series, beginning with this week's Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, where Jonathan Byrd is the defending champion after memorably making a walk-off hole-in-one to win in a playoff over Martin Laird and Cameron Percy. These next four weeks will be critical for players trying to stay or get inside the top 125 on the money list as they try to secure a PGA TOUR card for next year.

Kodak Challenge

LAST WEEK: No tournament NEXT UP: The Kodak Challenge picks back up at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospital for Children Open. Bill Lunde, a UNLV graduate, has a two-shot lead over Cameron Tringale. Tour of holes | Full Kodak Challenge Standings