What they said: Bill Haas

text size

MORE INTERVIEWS: Viking Classic transcript archive

JOHN BUSH: Bill Haas joins us here in the media center at the Viking Classic, after a second consecutive bogey free 6 under, 66. Bill, great playing. If we could just get some comments on your round.

BILL HAAS: Yeah, I played solid. I think I made about a 5 footer on hole No. 4. That's about the longest putt I've had to save par. So far stress free, I guess. I haven't hit the ball that close. Just a lot of my long putts, I've had good speed. If you're tapping in for pars around here, it makes it easier.

JOHN BUSH: Two top four finishes here at the Viking Classic. What is it that makes it so comfortable for you?

BILL HAAS: Yeah, I don't know. The people down here are great. I've always stayed with some good people down here, and when I leave the course, it's pretty relaxing off the course. The course seems to set up good to my eye, and I wouldn't have said I was playing that great. I haven't really played. Took two weeks off, didn't really touch the club. One a couple days, but I wouldn't have said I was coming in here super confident with my golf swing, but so far so good.

I've got my brother in law on the bag, my sister's husband. My normal caddie couldn't make it this week. He had a prior engagement. So basically, I was just going to come down here and have some fun, and whatever happens happens. Hopefully, I'm set to have that same mentality this weekend.

JOHN BUSH: What's his name?

BILL HAAS: Steven Bright.

JOHN BUSH: Questions?

Q. Steven with a "v"?

BILL HAAS: Yes.

Q. Did you miss a shot today? I followed you on the your second nine. It didn't look like you missed a shot. Maybe the tee shot on 4 that rolled through into the rough.

BILL HAAS: That was actually probably my best tee shot of the day. That's a hard fairway to hit. Hit a good one there on 5 that just rolled through into the rough. So really, it could have maybe been a little better. I don't want to say that because I've made a nice a couple nice putts today, over 20 feet. I've just put myself in position to make birdies and not make bogeys.

Fortunately, you know, me and Brendon were out there we got a good score going this weekend, and we'll be able to just plod along, birdies here and there. There's easy holes out there, and there's hard holes. You've got to make sure you par those hard holes.

Q. Have you played much with him or against him?

[ Missing audio ]

BILL HAAS: I knew it was no good, and I was favoring left. Didn't want to make bogey on the last after 35 bogey free holes.

Q. You birdied 18 to win the tournament you won, I think in the playoff hole. What did that teach you about winning that you'll be able to carry over to this weekend?

BILL HAAS: I would say the majority of the time nobody's going to give it to you. I was fortunate that day that everybody were making birdies. The two groups in front of me, I watched them play 17 and 18 and saw exactly what the guys were doing in front of me, and I had to birdie the last two. You got to you can't let the nerves get the better of you out here. You've got to stay focused and earn it. Nobody gives it to you.

And about winning, it's not easy. It's very difficult. I played 160 something events probably, and I've won once. I'm 1 for 160, if you look at it as winning and losing. But it's difficult out here, so I'm lucky to have done it once.

Q. How different was the course or the conditions today than yesterday for you?

BILL HAAS: For me, just playing, I think the greens were firmer, faster, and the wind blew a little harder today for us. I think the days were pretty similar. I wasn't outside this morning to see if it wasn't blowing this morning. Yesterday I definitely got a good break. I thought our first nine holes there wasn't much wind. For me it was 18 holes of wind as opposed to no wind for 9.

Overall, the conditions are very similar. The temperature's about the same. The wind blew the same in the afternoon. I think the course is in the best shape I've ever seen it. No excuses out there. It's fair.

JOHN BUSH: Go through the card, Bill, starting with the birdie on No. 11.

BILL HAAS: A good drive there and a 2 iron just short of the green. Chipped it to about a foot. So a tap in birdie there. 14, a good drive and a pitching wedge, about 20 feet left, and I made a 20 footer there, which is nice. 18, I had a good drive but laid up. I went for it yesterday and made eagle, so I was tempted to go again. Just into the wind. It was blowing harder. I just thought a better chance of laying it up. So I laid it up to a good number and pitched it to about 12 feet, and I made that.

1, hit a good drive and a pitching wedge, not a very good pitching wedge, about 25 feet right, and I made a nice putt there. 5, I had a good drive. It just rolled through in the rough and had to lay up, and I laid up to another good number and hit it about four feet, maybe even three feet there. So that was an easy birdie. And then 7, hit a good drive there and a 6 iron. Ten high left in the rough. Chipped it down to about five feet and made a nice putt there.

Q. On No. 5, did you think about going for it out of the rough? You had that tree hanging there.

BILL HAAS: There was a tree there, and I thought the tree probably wasn't an issue other than the fact that I had to aim right of the pin, and I thought, if it jumped and carried that green, it could go OB, or if there was anything over that green, you weren't going to make 4. So I said to Steven, I can get it in that front right bunker. Probably the best place to hit it. But from 50 from 80 yards short of the green, short of the water there, it was just as easy a shot as a bunker shot, I thought.

Q. How far were you to the pin after your tee shot? Did you have 200, 210?

BILL HAAS: I had less than that. It would have been a 7 iron just because it would have jumped right out of the rough. It would have been easy if the tree weren't there, I'd have hit it. I would have gone for it.

Q. You would have hit all the way out of that rough?

BILL HAAS: Probably. I would have aimed at the bunker, not aimed at the pin, because the bunker shot is a pretty easy bunker shot.

Q. Is Steven excited about maybe getting a percentage being on the bag?

BILL HAAS: I think so. He does pretty well for himself. I don't think he's here strictly for the money. My brother got married last weekend, and we were at the reception. He said, I don't know who you got next week, but I'm free. He was just joking around. I said, well, I got nobody, so if you want to go, you can go. So I called him on his bluff, and he had to come.

We're just having fun. If I won, he'd be ecstatic for me and wouldn't worry about a paycheck, but I would do it right.

JOHN BUSH: Bill, thanks for coming by.