Cup victory readies Haas for Champions Tour finish

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U.S. Presidents Cup assistant captain Jay Haas and assistant's assistant Michael Jordan watch play from a cart in Harding Park.

Oct. 16, 2009
By Melanie Hauser, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent

THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- He got 15 points one night against Phil Mickelson at the ping-pong table.

Jay Haas felt pretty good about that, too. Even if Phil took it easy on him.

He also doled out yardages and a little advice. Could have done a little more but didn't want to overstep his bounds as Fred Couples' assistant at The Presidents Cup.

Oh, by the way, he and Michael Jordan even managed to get their golf cart towed from the Harding Park course Sunday. Seriously.

Seems Jordan left it at the fifth green to walk with Hunter Mahan, thinking Haas would bring it to No. 9. But Haas hopped another ride.

A couple hours later, a voice on the radio told the U.S. assistant captain and assistant's assistant the cart had been towed back to the cabin.

"It was like it had been impounded,'' Haas grinned. "And Michael's saying, 'No. I left it for Jay. He had a senior moment.' ''

If you get the idea Haas had a good old time at last week's Presidents Cup, you're right. Not much sleep. Absolutely no practice. And definitely no time to himself.

But when the hairs stood up on his neck Saturday morning as he watched Tiger Woods pose one hell of a shot into the 18th hole to swing a potential tie -- and the momentum -- in the U.S. favor ... well, it was more than well worth it.

"People have asked which is more stressful doing that or playing? I think it's more stressful playing,'' he said. "As a player, you're head-to-head. Your point is valuable.

"I'd wake up in the morning and couldn't go back to sleep thinking about the guy I was going to play. Whereas I didn't have trouble sleeping during this. I was just exhausted. It was more tiring than anything.''

Two days of practice at home later, you couldn't tell it. The hottest player on the Champions Tour is rested and ready to go after his third consecutive win -- fourth if you kinda, sorta count the U.S. Presidents Cup victory -- at the Adminstaff Small Business Classic at The Woodlands.

Haas came back after taking a month off due to tendonitis in his elbow to win the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn and his third Champions Tour major -- the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship.

Those wins vaulted Haas into contention for the Charles Schwab Cup, too. He's fourth on the list -- 863 points behind leader Loren Roberts and 486 points behind third-place Bernhard Langer, the two-time Administaff defending champ.

A win at The Woodlands or next week at the AT&T Championship at Oak Hills in San Antonio would give Haas a serious shot at the his third Charles Schwab Cup in the last four years.

And don't count that out. Haas won the Administaff on a different course in 2006 and won the 1987 Big "I'' Houston Open at The Woodlands. He won the Texas Open in 1982 and 1993 and the SBC Championship in 2005 -- all at Oak Hills, too.

"I feel good about my game,'' Haas said. "I'm relaxed, confident and it feels good being somewhat in Schwab Cup mix. I was totally out of it a month ago and now I have a chance.''

Haas flew across country Sunday night after his win in Baltimore to assume his role as assistant captain. But it was tough to not hit a shot for eight days as he helped Fred Couples guide the Americans to their sixth win in eight Presidents Cups.

"The first three, four days nice not to do anything," he said. "But then, I was ready to go hit. My buzzer was going off.''

It's going off again. His field goal at the 18th hole in 1987 -- it was a good 60 feet -- to put him into a playoff with Buddy Gardner is a staple on the Shell Houston Open all-time highlights reel. His Administaff win -- at Augusta Pines -- was in his first full 50-plus season.

And the race with Roberts, Fred Funk and Langer? Bring it on. It'll be as much fun as last week. Just in a different way.

Haas and Couples are long-time friends, so when our favorite run-on sentence asked him to be his second at Harding Park, Haas said absolutely. And, yes, it was fun.

Pretty much just what Haas thought it would be, too. Except for the earpiece.

"I really thought Freddie would put earpiece in, but he didn't,'' Haas said. "But (PGA TOUR senior vice president) Andy Pazder was in Freddie's pocket all week. If I wanted to get a hold of him, it was 'Andy, where's Fred?'

"It was like I read in a lot of stories. He was hands off. Basically he'd say, "The bus is leaving" or "What time should the bus leave, Jay?"

Haas spent most of his time on the course standing on the par 3s to assist with yardages or clubs. Or simply to see if they needed anything, period.

And making the pairings? Haas said the draft of teams with International Captain Greg Norman and his assistant Frank Nobilo was "like playing Battleship.''

"We were teasing each other -- 'D3. Hit,''' Haas grinned.

And it gave him a taste of what it's like to be a captain. Both he and Nobilo have been mentioned as potential captains down the line, but Haas wasn't ruling it in or out.

If he gets the chance, though, he won't be another Freddie.

He recalled Zach Johnson, who was 5 down to Tim Clark through 10 holes Sunday. Johnson came over to his captain and said, "I've been playing so good, but this guy is unbelievable."

Couples looked up and said, "Are you going to win a hole today?"

Haas laughed. "That's how Freddie operates,'' he said. "If I'd have said that, it wouldn't have come across the same way.''

One of the highlights off the course was seeing Amy Mickelson, who is battling breast cancer, in the team room Saturday night. She flew in to surprise husband Phil.

"She was hiding in the shower with the curtain closed, thinking he'd come in the bathroom,'' Haas said. "He came in, changed his clothes and laid down on the bed. She said she heard him crinkling wrappers from chocolates, so she jumped out of the bathroom.

"She said she scared the crap out of him. But to see that grin on his face when they came in to the team room for dinner ... "

Well, it was pretty good.

So was playing Phil and Amy at ping-pong Sunday night.

Haas and Pazder got drummed. And, yes, it was still fun.

Melanie Hauser is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. Her views do not necessarily reflect the views of the PGA TOUR.