Three decades later, Haas and Strange together again
By Lauren Deason, PGATOUR.COM Editorial Coordinator
SAVANNAH, Ga. -- Curtis Strange and Jay Haas were playing together in an alternate-shot match during the 1975 Walker Cup at St. Andrews.
The colorful and feisty Strange wasn't known in those days for having an even temper. On back-to-back holes, Haas hit 30-foot putts but left them just short of the hole. Needless to say, his partner wasn't too pleased.
And three decades later, the memory is still vivid.
"(Curtis) said, 'Hit that putt to the hole, dammit,'" Haas recalled Thursday at the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf.
"Were those the words or was it something similar?" Strange asked slyly.
"Well, that's the PG version," Haas admitted with a chuckle.
Haas didn't let his good pal and Wake Forest University teammate down again. The next time he had a putt of similar length, he rammed it into the hole and their Walker Cup squad eventually walked away victorious.
This week, more than 33 years later, Haas and Strange are teaming up again in the Champions Tour's most unique event. The pairing was a natural for the two who have played countless practice rounds together.
The two met on a recruiting trip in 1972 to Winston Salem, N.C., home of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Jesse Haddock, then the Wake golf coach, had his eye on Haas, then a high school senior, and Strange, who was one grade his junior.
Two years later, the two talented players with such opposite personalities -- the temperamental Strange and mild-mannered Haas -- were on the same college team.
In May 2001, GolfWorld magazine named the 1975 Wake Forest squad the "Best College Team Ever." The group won seven tournaments that year and beat Oklahoma State by 33 strokes, the most lopsided victory in history, for the Deacons' second-straight NCAA title.
The 1974 NCAA individual title went to Strange, who eagled the final hole that year to beat Gary Koch by a stroke. In 1975, Haas battled Jerry Pate but birdied No. 14 and made a key par putt on No. 18 to win his own individual trophy.
"We were cocky, we were good, we had a very good team, we all got along and it was great fun," Strange said. "We are still the only school to have two current individual NCAA tournament champions on the same team."
To Haas, there's no question who was the better player in college.
"I don't think we'd ever seen anything like Curtis when he was in school," he said, causing Strange to snicker.
"In so many ways (I'd never seen anything like him)," Haas reiterated, ribbing Strange good-naturedly.
"He was what I would call a spectacular player. Not a grinder or hit-it-in-the-middle-of- the-fairway kind of guy -- he literally was one of the longest hitters I'd ever seen in his time in college and when he got on the PGA TOUR."
Haas noticed that Strange changed his approach after school and leaned more towards generating consistent scores than creating on-course fireworks. Still, he can't help but remember the way his friend used to light up the course in college.
"Curtis was capable of shooting 64 or 65 any day and you just didn't see that a lot during that time," Haas said. "You expected him to always be there and he was a huge part of why we were good in that era."
"He's very humble," Strange interrupted.
"No, I was more of a consistent player," Haas replied.
On the PGA TOUR, Strange had the World Golf Hall of Fame career with back-to-back U.S. Opens. He hasn't won on the Champions Tour, though, while Haas has been the dominant player over the past two years.
Haas, in fact, is the two-time defending champion of the individual flight at the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf. With the tournament returning to its team roots, they agreed it will take a different approach this year but haven't decided on a pre-game strategy.
"Do we read putts for each other? Do we talk? That's always been the question in the Ryder Cup," said Strange, who teamed with Haas for a Foursomes win in 1983. "Do you help the guy too much or do you leave the guy alone? He's a big boy; he is a world-class player. Some players react positively to that and some probably don't."
Both agree that the new format means fans are in for a treat. Not only will they see a unique tournament -- Haas and Strange were adamantly in favor of the return to team competition -- but they will also witness players joking around while still shooting very low numbers.
"I think [the fans] are going to enjoy it," Haas said. "I think they are going to enjoy low scoring, guys running across the green and acting like a couple of kids."
"What did you shoot last year?" Strange asked his partner.
"I think it was 15-under maybe? Oh wait, no, maybe that was two years ago," Haas said, struggling to recall.
"Sorry, I get them all confused," Strange deadpanned.
In the end, the 17-time PGA TOUR winner only had one request for Haas, who's looking for his 11th Champions Tour win.
"As long as he gets all of his putts to the hole, and plays the way he's been playing, I won't ride his (butt) too badly," Strange said, grinning.
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