QUICKEN LOANS NATIONAL

June 25, 2014

Bill Haas

JOHN BUSH: We welcome Bill Haas to the interview room at the Quicken Loans National. Bill is making his sixth start at this event and he is our defending champion. Bill, welcome back to Congressional. If we can get some thoughts on being back?

BILL HAAS: Thank you. Excited to be back. I've only been able to defend a handful of times, so I would like to do it more. It's a fun feeling -- I was telling my caddie who was not caddying for me last year. I was kind of reminiscing out there on some shots: "And this is what I did here last year." I'm a big believer in you have to break off the rear-view mirror, good and bad, but it was fun to relive those moments for sure.

Q. Have you ever been defending champion at a tournament where everyone is talking about Tiger?
BILL HAAS: I mean, I just joked back there that like I'm not the one that moves the needle here on this tour. So I think we're all loving having him back here playing, hopefully; we want him to play healthy and we want him to contend in majors, because he's the lifeline of our tour and the reason everyone gets excited to watch. It's fun that it's his event. It meant a lot to have him there, getting a trophy and getting to have pictures with him, our modern-day best player of all time, of this time, of this era. So for me, it was a thrill to win his event and here at Congressional, and I'm glad he's able to come back and he feels healthy enough to play. Doesn't bother me at all really. It's fun. I saw him last night at the White House, and he looks good and excited to tee it up against him.

Q. When you talk about this illustrious rear-view mirror, maybe we just don't see it in terms of a player, but what's it like defending? I can't imagine it feels like you're supposed to win because it's hard to win out here. What's the deal of coming back, either Hope or the different places where you're defending?
BILL HAAS: I think it maybe depends, too, maybe if you won once or twice even, or maybe you really you contend week in, every year at the same event, then maybe you would have more so that feelings. Walking around, like I was saying, I was telling stories about shots I hit, and I do remember winning and how great it felt. That's got to help somewhat. But I think we all know, too, it's been a year; your game changes. My life has certainly changed back home with my family. My son just turned one. He was an infant last year here at this event. Certainly things have changed that would make my game be a little different, say. The game changes weekly, I think.

Q. Daily.
BILL HAAS: Daily even, absolutely. You can shoot 63 and feel so good and wake up the next day and your back is stiff and you don't feel like you can make a par. You have the confidence from doing it, from being a part of it and holding the trophy, but you also understand that you have got to go out there and play well, because it doesn't matter. The golf ball, we always say, it doesn't know who's hitting it. So it doesn't know if a defending champion is hitting it or a Monday qualifier.

Q. So if you had to play one golf course and you had to win, what golf course would you want to play?
BILL HAAS: If I had to play one and had to win?

Q. Yeah. You've got to win this one tournament, you can play any golf course on TOUR, which one are you going to?
BILL HAAS: I mean, again, it depends on how I'm playing.

Q. Okay. We're not getting a straight answer.
BILL HAAS: I don't know, I've had some success in the desert at the Bob Hope. I've had the most consistent success there maybe. But with that said, you've got to shoot 64 to win and that's no fun. You'd like to shoot -- here, you can shoot 68 and easily move up on the field. I enjoy Riviera. I enjoy here certainly. But I don't know, I guess anybody -- simple answer would be my home club at home. I feel like I'd have an advantage there because I play there the most and know the greens a little better. But that said, anywhere we play you have to execute golf shots, no matter how comfortable or uncomfortable you feel.

Q. Can you pick up on that idea that you that shooting 64 when everybody was shooting 64 was no fun? It would seem like making birdies is your guy's job and it's part of the entertainment value. Do you prefer an event like this where 68 moves you up the board?
BILL HAAS: It's fun to shoot 64 when everybody is shooting 64 for sure. Even shooting 68, you maybe feel like you've lost a couple in an event like that but it's fun, you've still got a good score. I do enjoy like at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst this year, I never shot in the 60s, but I felt like I could. And if you did shoot 1- or 2-under, you were going to pass 30, 40 people on the list, and that's equally as fun, if not more rewarding. At an event like this and the way the course was playing, I think a 68 out there, you shoot four of those, you have got a good chance of winning. And any day you do that -- if you have a bad, tough first round, you know, shooting something in the 60s, you're going to see yourself jump a lot of people.

Q. But at The Open you expect that. Does it grind on you a little bit weekly; Muirfield, then The Open and then here?
BILL HAAS: Sure. I mean, I think real thick rough like we've got here this week, if we played it every week, you'd see more wrist injuries and you would -- and yet we would be exhausted. People probably wouldn't play as much maybe. Maybe that's why we see the big names not play as much because the courses they are typically playing are the hardest ones, so they wear on you for sure. But like I was saying, I think it is maybe a bit more rewarding to contend and play well on these great golf courses.

Q. This is only the eighth time this event will be played and the sixth time here. Given that, nobody has won this event for their first TOUR victory. Why do you think do you think that is?
BILL HAAS: Because there's only been eight of them maybe (laughter). But I don't know, I mean, it is a difficult golf course, but it's right there in front of you. I think that's one thing I like good the old-style golf courses is generally you can see the fairway, you see the green, not much water hazard. There's a few of them here obviously, but the classic golf courses, there's no tricks about them. But they are just difficult. And maybe the subtleties are what make them difficult and the person that maybe has played it more often would have an advantage. But I think the first answer is probably the most true; that it's only been eight of them and 20 years down the road, if we keep playing it, you might see some more rookies winning here.

Q. You mentioned earlier, it is tough to win on TOUR. Just how difficult can it be?
BILL HAAS: Very difficult. I think our Tigers, Phils, Adam Scott, Ernie, they have made it look easier than it is. There's only five guys I've named maybe, and the rest of us lay people, we -- you know, winning once a year is a huge deal, and winning multiple times is a career achievement. I love emphasizing how hard it is just so when I do play well, and contend, it makes me feel that much better and more rewarding, because it is. I grew up playing against a TOUR player that I knew how good he was and how hard it was going to be to contend with him. And then now I've gotten out here and there's 150 of them every week that you're trying to beat, and that's what's the most fun about it and most challenging about it; but so rewarding to even have a good finish, much less win. To win is unbelievable.

Q. Forgive me if you've been asked too much about Tiger already, but I'm wondering, is there among the players, a different vibe, or could you compare the vibe or the buzz when Tiger is here this time versus years in the past when he's been dominant and dominating? How does it feel having him here this time versus the past?
BILL HAAS: I don't know. I mean, honestly, when you tee it up, and that doesn't -- it's no different. Once we are on the course, unless you're in a group with him, you don't see him, you don't know that he's hitting it. Before the week starts, I think this week, just like the other times that maybe he's come back from a minor injury or something, we are all excited to see him here playing. We have all heard people say, "What do you think he's going to do?" I would expect nothing other than a good score from him. I don't know why. Just that's who he is and what he does. The vibe generally is I think we are all excited to see him play well and I think we all want to beat him, because nobody cares if they beat me (laughter). They want to beat Tiger. It's great having him back in the field.

Q. Talk a little about going to the White House last night and spending time with the President.
BILL HAAS: It was fantastic, an experience I think that I will always remember. I'm glad my wife as able to come up. My son, he's only one, we didn't think he would appreciate it and didn't think we had changing table accessibility (laughter). So we didn't know how that would work, so he stayed back. But got to go, got to meet him and shake his hand and the Vice President. It was certainly an experience not many people get to have. We got to go in the Oval Office, just the guys at the end, see his office, be next to his desk, see all the -- we had a guy kind of telling us the history behind his desk and all the changes they have made over the years for personal reasons. A all president wanted it lifted higher -- I don't know the names, maybe was it Truman had the leg polio? Or was that Eisenhower? Roosevelt. Well, he had a thing on the front -- this makes me sound stupid, so I need to stop (laughing). Just seeing ought the different things they added I thought was very fascinating. It's just history and to be in that great room where all those people have sat was pretty neat.

Q. Did you leave with any souvenirs?
BILL HAAS: I didn't. I didn't steal anything. (Laughter).

Q. I didn't mean that.
BILL HAAS: It's amazing how many people work there, people in uniform. I was blown away. I can't imagine the number of people this that's their job daily is to go spend their time at the White House. No souvenirs. Pictures; took some neat pictures, and I'm sure we'll with one on our wall at home.

Q. How much golf did President Obama talk with you, and what were the most interesting conversations?
BILL HAAS: We didn't have a ton of time. The conversation I had with him personally, none. Shook his hand, great to meet him. I know it was taking an hour out of his day. He's certainly a super-busy man. But he definitely joked around with us. I mean, you can tell he really likes golf but maybe didn't grow up playing it. Something that he's come into more later in life. And I think that's what's great about our game, is anybody can play, and certainly we as golfers love seeing our president play golf. He was joking around with us, nothing -- he was giving the world team jabs, just being a U.S. fan.

Q. Can you talk about the 11th hole here, what challenges it presents and do you find it the most difficult out here?
BILL HAAS: Yeah, I think last year I made a triple and a double-bogey on it. Luckily my putter was hot all week and it made up for those. But you just can't do that in any tournament and expect to get away with it. That was just a freak week for me. I think if you can play that hole 1 1/2, 2-over par, I think you're not going to lose ground on the field. Obviously the key is to hit the fairway from there, get it on the green, and if not, get it in that left bunker. And I think you can play to any pin, get up-and-down and go on to the next tee and be happy with it. If you start being too aggressive, that water is in play. It's basically a par 5 green, so there's plenty of trouble that they have turned into a par 4. It's just a super difficult hole. The wind, today it was into the wind. I would love to see it turnaround a little bit and have that one down wind. It beat me last year. Hopefully this year I can beat it.

Q. I think we talked to you last year when you won, I don't know if the line of questioning was more about times you've gotten down on yourself or the high standard you set, however you look at it. I'm wondering if you can talk about that and how does that channel into your golf? Does it help you or hurt you?
BILL HAAS: It does both. I think I definitely let my mind-set affect me poorly out on the golf course. But generally I think I'm just that competitive; I want to do well, and I've tried the whole, I don't care, I hit a bad shot, that's okay, let's get this one up-and-down or whatever. It doesn't work for me. I'm mad, so let's not do it again; as opposed to, I'm mad and I can't do it, or certainly get down on yourself and you can't do that. But I think it's okay to get fired up. The best players all do it. Even the nicest best players, they all get fired up on the golf course and get mad. But they seem to be able to channel that into: I'm going to birdie the next hole or I'm not going to hit that shot again tomorrow or anything else. They learn from them, and it makes them a better player. It's pretty rare that you just see a guy just not care or laugh about it and that help positively. I think it's almost a fake. You do care. If you don't care, I don't think you're successful out here.

Q. What did your dad have?
BILL HAAS: Everybody says he's the nicest guy on TOUR and all that, but he was certainly -- I think I got it from him. My mentality out on the course, most of it is very similar to my dad. I think he's just more mature. He's certainly more experienced, and he handles it better than I do, even to this time, but I think I'm getting better. I think I'm growing, I'm learning. I'm figuring out patience versus calm; or I think patience is just as important as not being mad, say.

Q. Or showing calm.
BILL HAAS: Showing calm, sure. Bogeys are not the end of the world and you can't birdie two holes in a row on the next hole. You've got to be patient. Sometimes I do; I get out there and I want to birdie the first six on the first tee. You've got to hit every shot and all that. I think we all struggle mentally, different kind of ways. I'm learning every day for sure.

Q. Who do you think has the best temper out here? By best, I mean temper that uses it the best.
BILL HAAS: There's a bunch of guys that are very good that I strive to be like. Webb Simpson is a guy, one of my peers, my age, that I think is fantastic on the golf course. Doesn't like to do poorly. Gets mad but he's just always positive, always going forward. I like that. Older guys, I mean, Tiger. I like the way he gets mad, but he gets mad and birdies three in a row.

Q. On the same hole.
BILL HAAS: Yeah, in his prime, seems like it's on the same hole, one hole. Seems like he has the ability to seem that way. Didn't personally see Jack play that much but he had an unbelievable mentality for the game. Naming some pretty good players here. They kind of seem to do it the best. Steve Stricker, I've played with him in the CVS on Monday, and I tried to pick his brain a little bit about how he hit certain shots, because I just love the way he goes about playing the game.

Q. He gets mad.
BILL HAAS: Absolutely. And I love it. I think that's why he's so good, but he's also coined the nicest guy on the TOUR, so I think it's good to see that.

JOHN BUSH: Bill, we appreciate your time. Thank you, sir.

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