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TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP BY COCA-COLA MEDIA DAYAugust 22, 2012Bill HaasTOM CLARK: Bill Haas is with us from the Barclays, live via satellite. What we'll do is get right to a quick question. Could you start out by talking about your season last year, what winning the TOUR Championship by Coca‑Cola and the FedExCup meant to you? BILL HAAS: Yeah, it was an amazing way to end the year. Just getting to the TOUR Championship was a goal, and for it to end that way, so many things had to go my way. Just proves that anything can happen in this game, just got to keep plugging, and hopefully it all works out. That's my goal right now, being in the position I'm in, is to get back to East Lake. TOM CLARK: We can't wait to get you back here. Another quick question, have you and your wife put the Coke machine that you won to the test yet? BILL HAAS: Oh, yeah. We've used it a bunch. We've got Diet Coke and Coke, and there might be a cold beer in there, too. (Laughter.) TOM CLARK: We can open it up to the floor for some questions. Q. We played 17 today, and the water is definitely up. Do you kind of thank your lucky stars today and your checking account, as well, that it didn't rain for about two months here last year? BILL HAAS: Yeah, absolutely, and that was just one of the things that had to go my way. I mean, for the points to be reallocated and for me to win, so many things had to happen, and that was just one of them. I understood the water was plumbed back in there pretty soon after the tournament. I don't think that'll ever happen again. Q. Same question I asked Jim last year: When somebody deposits $11 million into your bank account, did you find the start of this year a little tougher than you thought it would be, a little tougher to get psyched up? BILL HAAS: No, honestly it didn't feel any different at all. You still go every tournament even par. You've got to break off the rear view mirror. That's what my dad always taught me. Good or bad, you have to break off the rear view mirror and hopefully bring it each and every week. It sounds a little cliché, but I don't think we're playing for money out here so much. At some point you start trying to win golf tournaments, and that was certainly my goal at the TOUR Championship was just to win that tournament, and that was what I was happy with. The $10 million is certainly an unbelievable bonus that I feel very grateful for. Q. Take me back to that final round on Sunday, those last couple of holes you were playing to get into the playoff. What was going through your mind? BILL HAAS: Yeah, I looked up at the board after 15 and saw that I had a three‑shot lead, I think, and promptly bogeyed 16 and 18. So obviously very nervous, just trying to hang on. It's certainly a position that I'm not in that often, and I'm trying to get better at that. That's my goal is to one day have a three‑shot lead and turn it into a five‑shot lead. It's very difficult to do. It's very difficult to win on this TOUR. I remember being very nervous, very‑‑ and it was all about winning the TOUR Championship. It honestly was not much about the FedExCup because the only thing I could do was to control‑‑ only thing I could control was winning that tournament, and that was what I was focused on. Q. At this time of year you've got two weeks before Davis is going to be making his selections for the Ryder Cup. Are you as focused on that and trying to play well right now to maybe get your name into that mix as you are on the whole Playoff series and getting to East Lake again? BILL HAAS: You know, I kind of compare it to the start of this year as every tournament. Everybody is even par. Just trying to play well this week, and if I play well enough to where I'm considered and I don't get picked, I think I'll just be happy with the fact that I'm playing well. If I play poorly these next couple weeks, then I definitely don't deserve a spot, and I'll be happy with that. The people that get picked will be playing the best golf, so if I can just have a good couple weeks and be close, then I'll just be happy that I'm playing well. Q. Talk about the four‑tournament stretch down the Playoffs, four great events at four great golf courses. BILL HAAS: Yeah, this is my first look at Bethpage Black this week. Very difficult but good. It's going to be a good test of golf. Everybody has seen Boston, and that's a place I like going to, so looking forward to that week. I've never been to Crooked Stick. I hear great things, and looking forward to that week. And obviously I said earlier, my goal is to get back to East Lake and prove that maybe it wasn't a fluke. Maybe I really do‑‑ I could win that thing again. Q. Obviously here at East Lake there's a long par‑3 finishing hole. Y'all have had some others on the TOUR this year that started as par‑3s, finished as par‑3s. What do you think about East Lake's finish, and is that even considered a par‑3 in your mind because it's so long and the pressure is so hard at the end? BILL HAAS: You know, it certainly should be considered a par‑3. But a great hole, great finishing hole. I personally think great par‑3s shouldn't be so long. It is a very difficult hole. But if you hit a good shot, you can have a birdie putt, and what better way to finish a round than with a 2. You know, I don't know. It is what it is. I used to enjoy Congressional when it ended as a par‑3, and they've switched that around. But I'm surprised more courses don't do it. TOM CLARK: Bill, thank you for your time today. It's great to have an opportunity to sit and chat with you a little bit, and we look forward to having you back in Atlanta in a few weeks. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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