Since 1976, Jay Haas has been a regular on the PGA Tour. Introduced to golf by his uncle Bob Goalby, the 1968 Masters champion, Haas has played steadily for many years. Perhaps his greatest legacy will not be his trophy case but what he gave to the game and to his competitors in his journey as a professional.
While Haas hasn’t amassed an overwhelming number of wins, he has collected the wholesale admiration of his peers on the PGA and Champions Tour. He has received some of golf’s most prestigious awards: the 2004 Payne Stewart Award for upholding the traditions of golf, the 2005 Jim Murray Award from the Golf Writers Association of America, and the 2006 Bob Jones Award, the USGA’s highest honor for distinguished sportsmanship. Golf is, according to tradition, a gentleman’s game and Haas has carried himself as one for many years.
Like other sports we love, golf is a game of statistics. We are obsessed with driving distance, GIR, putting averages, and sand saves. All of these stats make a difference in a player’s results. Let’s face it: if your putting average is 2.12, you aren’t playing the PGA Tour, you’re betting your buddies a beer you’ll break 86 this Saturday.
While stats are important, Haas has done one thing well: scoring. One of his best years came when he turned 50. While splitting time between the PGA and Champions Tours, Haas was 10th in scoring average at 70.05 in 23 events. He missed only three cuts on the PGA Tour in 2004 and posted one T3 and two seconds on the Champions Tour.
Scoring involves taking what you have to the golf course and that’s just what Haas has done. He admits his swing is less than textbook. “There weren’t any video monitors back then to show just how far outside I was taking the club back,” says Haas. “So I had no idea how different my swing was from other players. When I finally did see it years later, it was too late. I had grooved this swing, and there was no turning back.”
Haas owes a few of his idiosyncrasies to Masters champ Uncle Goalby. Bob Goalby’s miss was a hook so he encouraged Haas to adopt a weak grip. “Some people say I can blame my uncle for my unusual golf swing,” says Haas. “But ‘blame’ is the wrong word. ‘Thank’ is more like it. He taught me a swing that has lasted 27 years and helped me win nine times on the PGA Tour.” While I’m not modeling my own swing on Haas’ (I’m busy building some idiosyncrasies of my own) I find Haas’ swing easy to watch. It certainly has made its owner a pretty good living.
Check out Haas’ playoff record: 4-0. He is 3-0 on the PGA Tour and 1-0 on the Champions Tour. His latest playoff victory came at the Senior PGA Championship in a three-hole playoff over Brad Bryant. “I guess I don’t think too much of the past, about what I haven’t done. But, yeah, it kind of hit me there. And it was on TV and I wanted to say, ‘We did it, Jan,’ and I couldn’t get that out. Nothing would come out,” said Haas following his first major victory.
“And I was getting ready to tear up, so it was a pretty emotional time for me.”
“I tried my darnedest to win a major on the PGA Tour at the PGA, the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open, whatever, but it didn’t happen,” said Haas. “But this is – I won’t even say it’s the next best thing. This is just like one of them to me.”
Haas’ best round this year was a 65 in round three of the Wachovia Championship. Haas finished the weekend tied for 22nd with a disappointing 76 but he proved that he’s still playing great golf even well into his Champions Tour tenure. While he hasn’t collected a PGA Tour victory since the 1993 H.E.B. Texas Open, he’s won three in a row on the Champions Tour. The last guy to win three in a row this year was Loren Roberts. Getting hot on the Champions Tour means something.
Among Haas’ greatest honors were making the 2003 Presidents Cup team and three Ryder Cup teams. His last Ryder Cup appearance came in 2004 when he was one of Hal Sutton’s two captain’s picks.
Haas’ son Bill is a rookie on the PGA Tour via a top-30 at Q-School and is trying to extend the family tradition. Son Bill’s distaste for the Nationwide Tour got some press last year and he didn’t get any love from the Nationwide Tour for it. He narrowly missed a Nationwide exemption spot.
As much as we love the big names and give the so-called big-five our attention, guys like Jay Haas are what the PGA Tour should be about. Watching the Terrell Owens of this world strut around like a rooster surveying their pathetic territory, Haas is a refreshing and humble character. Haas exemplifies the heart of a true champion. Through hard work, determination, and use of his available skills he has succeeded in golf and in life.
Photo Credits: © The Sports Frog, © SI.com.
I want to say I totally agree with your comment “guys like Jay Haas are what the PGA Tour shoul be about”. I just returned from Maui, where I was paired with Jay for nine holes in the Wendy’s Champions Skins Pro-Am. I will always remember those 9 holes as the highlight of my golfing life. Jay was a true gentleman, and really made us amateurs feel at ease throughout the round. One incident, I think, sums up Jay: On the first hole, one of the amateurs pulled his tee shot deep into the lava and rough. Whereas the amateurs were on carts and drove down the right side cart path, Jay strolled down the middle of the fairway. All of a sudden I see him start a little jog to his left, into the rough. He searched for a minute or so before coming out with the errant shot! That set the tone for the round, where we shot 8 under as a team on the front nine, on our way to second place for the tournament. Jay has certainly gained another fan!
I was also paired with Jay some years ago at the Buick Open a true Gentlemen made everyone feel at ease then at the end of the round he took the time from his busy schedule to have Dinner with Me, a Great ambassador for the Game of Golf