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WGC ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

February 27, 2003

Jay Haas

CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you, Jay, for joining us for a few minutes. Looked like a real exciting match out there today with Maruyama, and it came down to the 18th green. Why don't you make a couple of comments about today's play, and then we'll go into questions.

JAY HAAS: Neither one of us got more than 1-up. I was 1-up early, then Shigeki went 1-up at the turn, then he hit a bad shot in the water at 11. It was back and forth the whole way. I feel very fortunate to have beaten him. It was a tough day, with the rain. We stood on the 7th fairway, I was standing in the rough, and my ball was hit in a pretty good lie, and by the time the rain was done I was in casual water, and got to drop in a better lie, and that helped me a bit there.

But match play is totally different. We were talking -- Mark Russell was walking with our group, and they were saying how they might move tees up or change pins. It didn't matter, because it was the two of us playing the same hole. I had never given that a thought.

It was a difficult day, difficult golf course, the ball was just not going anywhere. It doesn't play into my hands very much at all, but I've just managed to eke by there. Yesterday I liked that match a little bit easier than today's. I knew Shigeki was going to make his last putt there, but somehow he missed it.

Q. Jay, because the ball is not going anywhere, I mean the ground is wet, the water is a little heavy too, it seems like, does it that play -- in the final 16, into the hands of the longer hitters?

JAY HAAS: I would think golf in general plays to the longer hitter. I've always said that. I can't imagine, if I had an extra 20 or 30, not using it at any course. But I would think that you've got to look to the longer hitters, although Retief yesterday he drove the ball beautifully, he was consistently 25 to 35 yards ahead of me, and wasn't real sharp with his irons. I managed to keep the ball in the fairway, the last 10 or 12 holes yesterday, and I think that's -- my thought process is when I get on each tee, just put this ball in the fairway, and I don't care really how far it is. Obviously I'd like to get it as far as possible out there, but No. 1 goal is to drive the ball in the fairway, and you have some sort of chance there, even if you're hitting it a club or two longer than the next guy. And in match play it's not that bad a deal, if you can get the ball on the green, just keep putting heat on the guy.

Q. Run through the 16th hole. You made a pretty long putt to tie?

JAY HAAS: There's match play right there in a nutshell. I didn't hit a great iron shot, but I was what seemed to be a routine par, although the green is very difficult from that side. And Shigeki almost hit it in the water, and didn't -- hit an indifferent chip probably 15 feet by. And I thought he would make it. I guess in match play, my thought process is the guy is going to chip in or hole every shot so that just when he does I'm not shocked by it. And I was not trying to make that putt, but trying to give a decent roll. I didn't want it five or six feet short and have that putt downhill to win or tie the hole. And halfway there I realized it was way too hard. My caddy said he should have said something, because one of the other caddies earlier this morning said watch that putt on the left side over there. They had it yesterday or something, and knocked it off the green almost. So then Shigeki makes his, and now all of a sudden there you go, there's the turnaround. And I'm thinking now instead of going 2-up, I'm going to be even playing 17. And I'm thinking all these different things, and then hit a really good putt, probably the best one of the week, to make that, that was probably 12 feet, and that really charged me up to make that putt. I almost felt like I won the hole after that.

Q. Jay, we have so many 40 something guys doing pretty well, Loren Roberts yesterday, Scott Hoch won, Nick Price won, you, yourself won. Is it the experience factor that you guys are bringing to the table?

JAY HAAS: Yes and is no. Nick, world class player. Scott Hoch is one of the top 6 all time money winners, these are great players. So I don't think it's an upset ever when any of those guys, no matter what age, do well. Loren Roberts won a tournament last year. So I don't think these guys are ready for the scrap heap, at all, and neither am I. I feel like -- I'm not playing the best golf of my life by any means, but I'm playing very well. Maybe my experience is helping my lack of distance, whatever I might have lost with age, but experience helps to some regard, but if you don't hit the shots. It's like the guy when he plays a tournament at his home course, look at Curtis, we've talked about that many times, he never won at King's Mill. You would have picked him every single year, when he was money winner, it would be a tap in for him. But it's just hard to -- that experience on that golf course didn't help him.

Q. Do you think these younger guys are looking past you guys?

JAY HAAS: I don't think so, but I can only speak for myself. I'm not looking past anyone. I don't know what bracket I'm in, I don't know who -- I guess I play Nick if he wins, I maybe knew that. But I just -- how could you look past Retief and think what if I win that match -- I couldn't imagine. It's kind of an insult to anybody in this field to look past them. Records are out the window and it's just 18 holes. And guys beat guys every single day on the Tour.

Q. Jay, it must be nice, though, to see these guys playing really well at that age, when you've got these 22 years old out here. It's got to be nice to see you guys still competing?

JAY HAAS: Oh, it is, I think there's a certain kinship there that some of the older guys have. We were once that age and trying to whip these old guys and couldn't believe they beat us, but they did. We can learn from them and they can learn from us. But it's a good feeling. This chair is very comfortable right now, I tell you that (laughter.)

Q. Jay, are you playing better than you were a few years ago? Is the closer the Senior Tour carrot the gets -- Hale went through the same thing, he played better at 49, and Raymond played better at 49 after a couple of lull years?

JAY HAAS: I'm sure that has something to do with it. I think there are a lot of factors for me. 2000 was my worst year ever. I had shoulder surgery at the end of the year, not saying that that was the reason, but it certainly didn't help my game that year. 2001 I got back to being a fully exempt player. Then at the end of this year, the end of 2002 I just felt like I really needed to get serious about my future, my next ten years, say. And I spent some time in the gym. Not ridiculous, but just -- I hadn't worked out in a long time. And I just -- I got doing that. My boys are -- someone said the other day, your boys are pushing you, that's one of the reasons. And it could be. I enjoy playing well and showing them that I still can. And when I had my best years they were 4, 5, 6 years old, they didn't know -- they just were glad to see me come through the door, basically. They didn't know I could play. And so when we play at home, if I beat them, then I let them know it (laughter.) But there's a lot of different factors, I think. But the Senior Tour, the Champions Tour, excuse me, that's definitely something in the back of my mind. And people have said to me this year, what are you going to do next year? I think I'd be foolish not to play over there. I'm sure I'll play some events here, but -- I'd like to have a dilemma, what do I do? I'd love to have that this year, to have one of my best years ever. But we'll just have to wait and see.

Q. What kind of expectations did you come in here with, anything?

JAY HAAS: You know, I was really thrilled to be in the field, to have played well enough recently to have moved in the top 64 in the world rankings. My best years there was no such thing as the world rankings, it was the money list, and that was about it. I've missed out on a few of these all star tournaments that guys have been playing in. And I'm one to say if you play better, you get what you deserve. If you play poorly, you get what you deserve. So I was just -- I'm not in awe or anything like that, but I was thrilled to be here and I was trying to be aggressive. Yesterday I said this guy is going to make a birdie on every single hole, that's the way I felt like, and I had to do the same. I had to be aggressive and I had to never think that par might win this hole. And ill thought the same today, that any moment Shigeki was going to real off two or three, four in a row. So I think that's the way I should play the rest of the week. And in match play -- I think I've not been a great match player before, because I play too conservatively. If you hit a bad shot you lose a hole. And I'm kind of -- I kind of realized that too late, maybe.

Q. A good result here, inch you closer to qualifying for The Masters. How important is that to you?

JAY HAAS: That's one of my goals. It was one of my goals last year. I want to play there one more time. I'd love to play in THE TOUR Championship again, just loft I goals, but why not have something to shoot for? But I'd really love to do that one more time, yeah.

Q. How many of these WGCs have you played in?

JAY HAAS: One.

Q. This is the first one?

JAY HAAS: The first one.

Q. Do you have any interest -- did you pay attention to this tournament?

JAY HAAS: I didn't watch every match, but, yeah, I thought it was interesting, the so-called upsets.

Q. Is it a good thing when the one, two, three, four players aren't making -- facing each other in the semifinals?

JAY HAAS: No, I don't think that's a good thing. It's good for the 64, 5 and 6. But, no, I don't think so at all. I think they should do like hockey, after the first round, the highest seed ought to play the lowest seed again. Make it that much easier, supposedly, for the high seeds to finish. But I love what they've done with the brackets, and there's really been a lot of great stuff on ESPN about it and everything. But you would ask anybody but the players who are still here, no, that's not a good thing to not have the top guys in there.

Q. You knocked off two pretty big International stars. What kind of satisfaction is there for you?

JAY HAAS: It's great. I think anytime to win a match is a feather in your cap. And to beat a player of Retief's stature and then Shigeki. I've watched him in the Presidents Cup and some of these world events, World Cup -- I guess he played in the World Cup. But he's a hell of a player. And so it makes me feel great. I feel super right now.

Q. Can the oldest man playing in field be the last man standing?

JAY HAAS: Can, but who knows. Like I've said, I'm going to try to win that first hole tomorrow. That's my goal. I told Bill that last year at the U.S. amateur, that was my advice to him, just try to win the next hole, whatever -- whether you're 2-up, 2-down, try not to think too far ahead.

End of FastScripts....

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