BOB HOPE CHRYSLER CLASSIC

January 19, 2002

Jay Haas

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you, Jay, for joining us. We do appreciate you making the trip over here to see us personally.

Great start today with a quick eagle right out of the box.

JAY HAAS: Yeah, that was fun, very much fun. It was kind of indicative of the week there, the first hole. I've played very well all week and done a lot of good things. But to start off with, I didn't hit a great 5-wood shot and pushed it just in the short rough on the right, and I was in a little bit of a divot somebody had hit out of. And it wasn't sitting terribly, but it was not where I would want it.

But I hit the shot and looked up and it was going right at it and it landed and I said, "This is going to be close. I can start off maybe with a birdie, here." And all of a sudden it disappeared.

When something like that happens you try to build on it. And I continued to hit a lot of good shots today, made a lot of putts in the 8- to 10-foot range, a few 4- and 5-footers, but actually it was probably my best hitting day of the week today. I really played very well from tee-to-green.

I love playing Indian Wells. I've had good rounds there in the past. When I won here in '88, I shot 63 there in the opening round and it was the host course that week. And I shot 71, I think, the last day when I won.

But I just felt like I needed to go low. Looking at the leaderboard with three guys at 19 and four or five guys at 18, I just felt like someone was going to shoot a really low number today. And to stay up with them I was going to have to shoot as low as I could.

Obviously that's the goal every week, but especially out here. I think you have to continue to be aggressive.

Q. Are you going to be as aggressive tomorrow? You have to be, don't you?

JAY HAAS: I think you have to be, especially out here. PGA West to me is not an easy golf course -- though there's 63s, 4s and 5s like it's nothing. The par-5s, I won't say they are reachable -- a couple of them -- for me, but for a couple of the guys are reachable.

The greens I think at Tamarisk and Indian Wells were magnificent. But I think the fairways here at PGA West offer yourself the -- they give you a chance to hit a lot of good iron shots here. But there's rough out there. There's water, you know, it's not a pitch-and-putt course.

But at the same time I still think somewhere in the mid-30's is probably what it's going to take to win. Somebody could come out of the pack here at 23- or 24- or 25-under. And it's kind of funny to say that that's the pack at 23- or 24- or 25-under, but I guess that's what it's going to be.

You shoot 8- or 10-under and lap everyone. We'll try to stay aggressive. Golf is a game that you can have a great game plan and say "Yes, I'm going to shoot at every flag or go for broke," but if you're not playing well, that's kind of a dumb thing to do.

If I'm hitting the ball well like I have been, I will continue to be aggressive.

Q. A closing round of 71 tomorrow wouldn't do it?

JAY HAAS: I think a closing round of 71 I don't think will handle it tomorrow, no.

Q. Are you saying anyone from -- within, what, like eight shots has got a --?

JAY HAAS: I guess it depends on how many guys are right in there. Today I think there were three at 19, five at 18 starting off, so you think if today was the last round, anyone within four or five shots today to get to 25-under, say at 15-under, to go to 25, shoot 10-under, it's certainly possible out here.

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Jay, you started going through your round there. You had a 5-wood, and what club did you --.

JAY HAAS: I hit an 8-iron. I had 154, maybe.

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: And then on the par-5?

JAY HAAS: Par-5, I hit a second shot over the rocks, there, it's -- I don't know if you've seen that hole, but you can't see the green on the par-5. And I pushed my second shot and hit a tree, which was a little unlucky and it kicked to the right and actually went into another divot.

And I was a little shocked that I was in a divot there, because I was quite a ways off the side of the green, and I didn't think anybody would be over that far. But anyway I hit a nice pitch there to about six feet and made the putt.

No. 7 ,I hit a sand wedge from, oh, I think it was 88 yards, maybe, to about six feet.

No. 8, I hit a second shot just left of the green and pitched to about four feet, made the putt.

And then we had probably a 30-minute wait on No. 10, which is not where you want to have a wait at this golf course. And I was able to hit a very good drive, probably one of my best drives I've ever hit, and I had a 7 in. And I hit a 7-iron to 15 feet made the putt.

I was kind of begging for a par, and walked off with a birdie, and that's kind of when I knew it was especially my day.

I missed a couple of nice chances at 12 and 13 from about, oh, 8 and 12 feet. And then I made a nice 2-putt at 14, hit a 4-iron from about 200 yards from the middle of the green.

And then 15, I hit a 7-iron to about four feet.

16, I hit a sand wedge, it was really one of my poorer shots of the day, I kind of pull-hooked a sand wedge from 105 yards, and hit it 30 feet left of the flag and long, and I made that putt.

And then I kind of misclubbed and didn't hit a very good shot at 17. I was in the right rough trying to hit a big pitching wedge from 130 yards and it didn't come out very good. It came up quite a ways short, probably six steps off the green, and I was trying to run a shot up there and ran it by about 15 feet, not a very good pitch. Hit a good putt there, but it didn't go in.

Then 18, hit a good driver and 3-iron, just short of the green and pitched up to about 5 feet and made that.

Q. Obviously you've played well all week, did you see this coming in terms of your game, did you feel like you were getting where you wanted to be?

JAY HAAS: I guess yes and no. I felt like I've been playing well for the last six or seven months at the ends of last year. Since about May of last year I felt like I've played consistently, and I've putted extremely well. I don't feel tentative on my putting. Whenever I get on the green I feel like I can be aggressive and that's lasted for quite a while for me.

And that's what you need out here. You need to be aggressive, take advantage of the chances when you can. But who predicts shooting 26-under par for four rounds of golf.

But I played well last week in Hawaii. I had one bad round, shot 3-over on the Saturday round, but didn't play badly, just kind of didn't get anything out of it.

So, yes, I've been playing well, but things are definitely going my way so far.

Q. What would it mean -- what does it say about you and what does it mean to you to win a tournament and then 14 years later have a shot to win it on the last day?

JAY HAAS: If I won the first one at 22, that would have been a little more believable, I guess (laughter). But at 48, I still have goals. I still think I can win out here. That was one of my goals before I left to get to No. 10. I have nine wins, and that was one of my goals.

I've set some pretty high goals for myself this year. And if I play well and continue to do the things that I've been doing that I can accomplish some of them or all of them.

Q. Can you tell me what they are?

JAY HAAS: I'd like to play in The Masters one more time. I'd like to win a golf tournament. Just kind of a progression of things like that to shoot for, to keep working.

I think probably the hardest thing when you get to an extended age or whatever you say, is to remain motivated and to want to play well and to continue to work at it. And I think I'm one that when I play well I want to practice, I want to work at it. If I don't play well, then I don't want to practice. I don't have fun practicing when I'm not hitting it good.

So I won't say I really busted my butt in the off-season, but I didn't really put them aside and not practice at all.

Q. You were talking about the amateurs you've been playing with for the last four days. Tomorrow you don't have them, obviously. Is it a more relaxing atmosphere or more pressure?

JAY HAAS: You know, the amateurs to me have no effect, I guess. I won't say it's easier, I won't say it's harder. I had collectively probably the greatest four teams that I've had, not scorewise, just great guys, all really good guys. And I got going hot today and I didn't really have a whole lot to say to them, because I was focused on what I was doing.

And I apologized when I got done. They didn't care, they were enjoying watching it. That means a lot that they weren't upset -- I won't say I ignored them, but I wasn't back slapping like I usually do.

But if you don't like this tournament, if you don't like the format, then don't come. And it doesn't -- it doesn't affect me one way or another, is what I'm saying.

Q. It seemed like, I think one of the holes you made birdie on, one of the guys slapped you on the back, and I think it almost took you by surprise?

JAY HAAS: Yes and no. The team did very well today. I think they shot 16-under, and I obviously contributed. But they were just nice guys. They were fun guys to play with. You would play with them just kicking around at home. In that sense it probably made it easier.

But I've had guys that I didn't really necessarily enjoy playing with and it doesn't bother me, really, either.

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thanks, Jay.

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