BOB HOPE CHRYSLER CLASSIC

February 1, 2003

Jay Haas

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: We'd like to welcome past champion Jay Haas. Thanks for joining us. A fourth round 68 today puts you at 25-under and tied for second. If we could get some comments from you about your day today.

JAY HAAS: La Quinta has always been a difficult course for me, and today was no exception. I think it's a pretty hard golf course. It's tight. There was rough, and the greens are extremely firm over there. I think they probably match what we have here at the Palmer Course.

The ball was not checking at all. I played a little bit too much out of the rough today to really make a run, and I feel pretty fortunate to shoot 68.

Although I hit a lot of shots, a lot of solid shots, I never really did get on top of it today. I got off to kind of a slow start and was basically just trying to stay in the tournament. Had a nice little run in the middle of the round that kind of saved me.

Just from past experience, 4- or 5-under for me at La Quinta, I don't think I have ever been lower than 67 there, so I was pleased with 4-under.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: You were leading the tournament after four rounds last year, so you are in about the same position. Talk about how you feel going into tomorrow.

JAY HAAS: Obviously, after last year, not giving it away, but playing very poorly on the back nine last year, I said I would love to get in that position again, to have a chance. I didn't have any special goal or any feeling like I had to make up for playing, but it just worked out that way - that I played very well and played an outstanding round here on Thursday at the Palmer Course.

So it's kind of got me in that position where I can make some noise if I play well. If Tim plays well - I just was talking to someone - if he plays well tomorrow, then I don't think any of us have a chance without shooting a crazy round.

From what I understand, it's maybe supposed to blow a little bit tomorrow and be a little cooler, so I doubt if you're going to see many scores, say, under 66 tomorrow.

But, again, who knows out here, with these guys. I think Stephen Ames shot 64 at La Quinta yesterday, and if the greens were as firm yesterday as they were today, then that was a hell of a round.

You just never know. But again, I'm just very pleased to even have an outside chance. Hopefully I can learn from last year and not step on my chin or whatever.

Q. What's the difference in the mindset of being the lead dog, as opposed to chasing tomorrow? Was there a tendency last year to maybe protect, and do you hope that Tim does that same thing?

JAY HAAS: I guess from what I remember, last year, I felt like there were so many guys -- and Phil, did he shoot 64 last year the last day or something like that? So I was kind of counting on somebody doing that.

So I felt like I needed to -- I couldn't sit. I couldn't sit back and just put it in cruise at all. Tim has maybe more of that with a four-shot lead. He can afford a mistake or two, but he's obviously playing very well.

For me, tomorrow, more of a carefree attitude, I guess, or a go-for-it attitude on certain situations, where last year maybe I was little more cautious. You know, last year, through ten holes, I was maybe 2-under -- 3-under through ten holes, and was right where I wanted to be; and hit a beautiful drive on 11 and didn't make a birdie, bogeyed 13. Those two holes right there, 11 and 13, blew me out of the tournament almost and kind of got me on the defensive.

So hopefully tomorrow, like I said the other day, game plans are great if they come off. I want to try to be aggressive and try to play the way I've played all week.

Q. Tim was saying that he thought that anybody within ten shots, because of the conditions, has a chance.

JAY HAAS: Right. And I agree.

I think that obviously with two 61s, three 61s on this course maybe now this week, and if Tim shoots an even-par round or 71 or 70, then somebody 20-under, you know, he's right there. You never know. Somebody in that position to kind of just say, heck, I'm just going for it and taking chances here and there and it coming off for him, it can be done.

But I think that's also a little bit of a hedge, I guess. I think that's the way he has to feel tomorrow, that it's not his tournament. He's got to go get it, just like everybody else.

Q. What would it mean at this stage in your career to win this tournament?

JAY HAAS: Probably a little bit more than it meant last year at this stage, which was very much.

I guess I should be just happy that I am in this position and to have a chance, but I'm dumb enough to think that I could do it. I guess I'm trying not to think that it would be such an unbelievable occurrence, and I think last year, I did.

I was putting too much stock into the fact that I had not won in nine years and I'm 48 years old last year, and, my goodness, what an unbelievable deal this would be. I'm trying not to think that way, people linking me with I'm one foot onto the Champions Tour. I'm trying not to think that way. I'm trying just to think one day at a time.

I've shown so far that I can compete with the guys here, so, why not?

Q. Several guys over 40 are playing well, Peter Jacobsen had a good round, and Fred Couples. Any reason for that, the course, the conditions?

JAY HAAS: Early in the year I think has something to do with it. Everybody is excited about coming off and playing. I've been off for three months and have been excited to go, the weather has been bad at home.

It's the courses, the greens are beautiful, obviously, and everybody said that. It's hard to say what it is, but I think the guys in their 40s are playing better and continuing to play better because of what's on the horizon.

My uncle and I were talking about it at dinner the other night. When he turned 40, in his era, guys were looking for something else to do because there wasn't anything else to do. There wasn't the Champions Tour to look forward to. They were looking for a club job. Now their interests kind of go over here or course design and they lose their game a little bit and they say, "Well, the hell with it, I can't compete."

But now, with that on the horizon and also the purses, you finish 40th in a tournament, you win $15,000. 40th even when I started was $1,500, if that. That can keep you going and feel like you're competitive.

Q. If it comes down to the final nine holes tomorrow, which of the final nine holes can you really carve off the strokes?

JAY HAAS: Well, we have three par 5s on the back nine. No. 11, most everyone can reach that hole. 18, most of the guys can reach it. 14, not many of the guy also take a chance on going for that hole.

But, say other than No. 10 is a tough drive, but if you get it in the fairway, it's just an 8-iron shot. 11 you can reach in two.

12, 13 are the only real long holes. I guess 12 is a 5-iron par 3, 4-iron maybe. And 13 is a driver and a 6-iron, something like that.

So other than that -- David Duval, 59, it can be had. But you have to put it here, put it there. It gets a little tight over there with that canal coming down those last few holes. But they are there almost every hole.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: If we could quickly go over your scorecard. You had a stretch of five birdies in six holes, starting on No. 8.

JAY HAAS: I had bogeyed No. 3. I hit a 5-iron in the bunker and hit a very poor bunker shot out and barely got it on the fringe and chipped to about three feet and made it for bogey.

No. 8, I made a 25-footer. I hit a pitching wedge from the fairway.

9, I hit a pitching wedge to about 12 feet.

10, I had hit it in the left rough and hit a shot over the trees and just short of the green, and I pitched it in from maybe 30 yards, I guess. It was a shot of the day, beautiful shot.

Then I knocked it on the next hole, something I've never done before. Technology, or else I'm getting stronger. I 2-putted maybe 45 feet there.

13, I hit it just short of the green and pitched it to about 18 feet and made that putt.

I was putting poorly starting out and then made the two nice ones at 8 and 9. Then at 13, I made the birdie.

14, I made about a 7-foot putt for par. So I started to putt better coming down the stretch. I think I was too tentative starting out.

Q. As you attack this tomorrow morning, what are the two or three holes you're worried about, concerned about that you have to score well in order to get back in this thing?

JAY HAAS: I think the par 5s, you just can't give away the par 5s. A guy like Tim, he can reach every one of them, except maybe like I said that, 14th hole, and he could reach that one if he wanted to. He probably just won't take the chance.

You just cannot afford to just make pars on those holes. There's certain holes that you have to be aggressive on. You have to make a 4 on the par 5s, basically, or else you're giving a shot away to most of the guys.

Where the tee was on the fifth hole, I guess, the par 3 over the water, the other day we played it 240, and that's kind of suck it up and hit it. You've got to hit a good shot there. That's probably most difficult shot and hole on the front nine.

The ninth hole is water on the left, 10, water on the left. There's trouble out there. If you play well, it can be had. But if you don't, it can have you.

Q. There might be a possibility of some wind coming in tomorrow. An equalizer for everybody on the final day?

JAY HAAS: Yes and no. I never have figured out that if it's a nice day, does that help the leader or if it's a bad day does that help the leader more. The bad day, it's harder to shoot a low score. Who's to say? These guys, it doesn't seem to affect them what the weather is.

I wish I knew that the answer to that. I don't, sorry.

End of FastScripts....