Haas adapting to life on TOUR without father  PGATOUR.com Contributor SAN DIEGO -- His main influence in golf is not around him this year, but Bill Haas is very comfortable as he plays in the Buick Invitational this week. Haas, who stands 9 under and tied for third at the midway point of the tournament at Torrey Pines, comes from impressive golf lineage. He is discovering he doesn't need his father around to succeed on the PGA TOUR, though. Jay Haas won nine times on the PGA TOUR, including what is now known as the Buick Invitational four years before Bill was born. His uncle, Jerry, was a TOUR player in the 1990s and is now the head golf coach at Wake Forest while his great uncle, Bob Goalby, won the 1968 Masters.  Bill Haas played his way onto the PGA TOUR at Q-School. (Sam Greenwood/WireImage)
It was almost expected Bill Haas would succeed when he graduated from Wake Forest in 2004, but it didn't happen as quickly as many, including Haas, thought. "Sure, I guess everybody would love to win six times, but I'm just trying to take stepping stones," Haas said. "I think even through college, I got a little better each year and I'm trying to do the same thing out here." Haas got sponsor exemptions soon after leaving school and made eight of nine cuts, including a tie for ninth at the Deutsche Bank Championship. Despite earning $315,259, Haas fell short of earning his TOUR card. In 2005, Haas tried to earn enough money again through sponsor's exemptions, but again fell short. He was also playing on the Nationwide Tour and had a chance to finish in the top 20. He entered the Nationwide Tour Championship 21st on the money list, but finished tied for 24th, two spots short of getting his card. "If you have high expectations and you put a level on yourself that you need to reach and you don't accept anything less, sure that pushes you," Haas said. It is rare a player gets his playing privileges playing with just sponsor exemptions, so Haas took a more conventional route to try and earn his card. Haas went to qualifying school and finished tied for 26th, easily earning his card for the 2006 season. "I was pretty comfortable last year," Haas said. "I'm just trying to be more consistent, trying to be smarter, trying to be more even-keeled. I get pretty much up and down with my attitude a little bit sometimes and that's really something I'm going to try and work on and just not care about every shot so much." It is difficult to see the soft-spoken Haas upset on a golf course, but it is something he said happens frequently. "I don't want to be like that," Haas said. "You see the best player in the world, Tiger Woods, get mad and then he forgets it and he hits the next shot and the next shot will be the best of the day. I seem to 3-putt and hit it in the trees the next hole." For two rounds of the Buick Invitational, Haas hasn't had too many upsetting moments. He shot 3-under par in the first round on the South Course and then followed it with a 6-under 66 on the easier North Course. Haas may have a harder time getting to a tournament than performing in it. His apprehension to fly has made traveling to events cumbersome. "Every time I fly I dislike it more," Haas said. "But I knew that before and I just don't like being around a lot of people being close to me, breathing on me, it bothers me." Haas will take to the open road, finding them friendlier than the skies above. "I used to drive everywhere for amateur golf," Haas said. "I drove to Canada over to the Western Am and stuff. I'll drive to the Florida swing from South Carolina." But that has been about the only problem so far in Haas' early career, though he would like to see his father out here more. "I wish he was here," Haas said. "I thought it was great. I think the whole father/son duo got a little overplayed a little bit, but then again, I think it helped me a lot, too. We were just happy doing what we wanted to do and he was happy I was there." Jay, though, is now competing on the Champions Tour, where he won the Charles Schwab Cup last year, and his son will have to find his own way on the PGA TOUR. "I just want to improve," Haas said. "I earned my way back out here again and I would like to improve on that a little bit this year." |
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