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THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

May 9, 2015

Bill Haas

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA

THE MODERATOR: I'd like to welcome Bill Haas to the interview room. Bill, 5-under 67 in the third round today at THE PLAYERS, so if you just want to comment on today's round overall and your outlook going into Sunday's final round.

BILL HAAS: Yeah, felt good today. Felt calm. I got off to -- even though I didn't make any birdies out of the gate, I felt like I got off to a nice start with some good tee shots, two really good shots at No. 2 that just went over the green and wasn't able to make birdie, but for some reason those two swings kind of helped me calm down and be ready to go. So overall, par at 18 was huge. I know it's only one shot, but for some reason sleeping on a par tastes better than sleeping on a bogey.

Q. I've got to ask you first, is this his press conference debut?
BILL HAAS: I think so. He's done a few interviews. At Augusta, after the rounds there I held him a few times, but he doesn't have much to say.

Q. Not as much as you?
BILL HAAS: Right, exactly.

Q. When the leaderboard is this bunched up, do you look more at where the leader is at the end of the day or going into tomorrow, or how many players are between you and the lead?
BILL HAAS: I think you've got to look more just what you expect yourself to do. Like you've got to -- I've heard 13-under has won the last five years, so that's a pretty good number to say that will do it. And honestly, if you shoot 4-under tomorrow and get a 13 and somebody beats me, you've just got to tip your hat to them. I think 4-under par on this golf course on Sunday, the way those greens were getting, that'll be a heck of a round. I don't know that it'll take that low. It might not even take that low. But certainly with so many players close, there's going to be some people that shoot some under-par rounds. As opposed to worrying about who's at 10 or who's at 11 or 9 or right there, I think you've just got to focus on, all right, if I just go out there tomorrow and shoot -- if I get the 2- to 3-under with a few holes to play, I'm going to have a shot.

Q. I was looking, there are a bunch of first-timers up on this board. Could you address that in terms of a trend or just a quirk, and how it applied to your first round here or your first tournament here?
BILL HAAS: Yeah, it's impressive. If you're a first-timer and playing that well on this golf course, you've got to tip your hat to them. But I think that does show you how ready young guys are to win. I think that's something we continue to talk about, and you guys continue to talk about, and rightfully so, is that these Justin Thomases, these other guys that come right out of college, they don't fear second place or first place, if that makes sense. They don't want to finish second. They want to win. And I think that's a trait that you're born with almost. You don't necessarily say, well, tomorrow obviously I'm going to say I want to win tomorrow, but unless you do it and show at that you can do it by your play, then it doesn't matter exactly what you tell the press or yourself or anything. You've got to go do it. A lot of these young guys are doing it, and it's great for our game, and certainly pushes me. I don't feel like a young gun anymore, but I also don't think I'm -- I don't feel old, so I think I've got some game left. I'm still learning. In a sense, I am a young gun because there haven't been so many Sundays in majors or big events like this that I've been contending. I'll have those first-tee jitters tomorrow, but that also fires me up a little bit, too, because that's why you're here is to be nervous on the first tee on Sunday.

Q. Not relating it to your thoughts about guys winning -- believing they can win early, but more so to your first tournament here, what was it like for you going around here without any local knowledge as a young kid?
BILL HAAS: I mean, I remember thinking it's just a difficult hole, like every hole you can make bogey, and we don't play that many courses where it feels like even the easy ones out here, if you don't execute, they aren't easy. That's partly that Bermuda rough, and these greens, they're getting firmer and firmer. Tomorrow I think they're going to be like tabletops. It's going to take execution, solid golf shots on every hole. I guess, I don't know, my first year I was -- a little different in the sense that I probably watched my dad here a number of times, whether on TV and -- but then it's changed since then. I remember him hitting shots into bentgrass greens at an earlier time of the year. So it is different, but I did feel like I knew the course before I ever teed it up, so maybe I was a little different than some of the guys.

Q. Do you feel that your experience at the TOUR Championship with being able to stand up to the pressure there and execute and take care of business is going to help you tomorrow maybe more than some of the other guys?
BILL HAAS: Well, I hope so. It's definitely something you can rely on and I do rely on those things. I've been over putts before and I've told myself, you've done this, no reason to -- and the worst thing that can happen is you miss this putt or you hit a bad shot, and just why even think that way, just do the best you can to execute. Those are usually the things I'm happy that I am able to rely on sometimes, and at least say to myself with confidence and with fact as opposed to just saying you can do it, you can do it. I always feel like I can do it because it has happened a few times. Even though there's been plenty of times you fail, I think you've got to rely on the positive weeks.

Q. You said that this is a course where you can make bogey on every hole, but you've only made one bogey over the last 36 holes, so what has been the key for you the last two days to avoiding those mistakes?
BILL HAAS: I've driven the ball a little bit better than average, and certainly better than that first day. The first day, actually I drove the ball okay the first day, just my irons were really bad and I was scrambling the whole day. And these greens are tough to scramble on because of that rough. And so I just think I put myself in a situation where I haven't had too many difficult up-and-downs. Like I said, that 14th hole, I've struggled off that tee, I've missed it three days in a row in the right rough and I've made two bogeys out of the three. That shows you how this course is. If you start with a bad shot, you're going to struggle the whole way. I've just been fortunate to put the ball in play off the tee most of the week, and from there I've somewhat been less stress-free.

Q. You said you were looking forward to your dad coming down and maybe watching you hit some balls. Did he do that, and did he make any changes?
BILL HAAS: He did do that. He played in the pro-am this morning across the street, and lucky enough I had a late enough tee time where he was able to get out there and watch me warm up for the last 30 minutes or so. Yeah, he definitely just was kind of nitpicking and just said I think this looks good or maybe try this a little bit at address. Certainly didn't try to reinvent anything out there right before I go play, but I always love hearing what he has to say, good and bad, any time I'm teeing it up or practicing. You know, I've benefitted from having him here for sure.

THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Bill. Best of luck tomorrow.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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