MYRTLE BEACH CLASSIC

May 8, 2024

Bill Haas

Jay Haas

Dunes Golf and Beach Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We are pleased to be joined by Bill Haas and Jay Haas here at the Myrtle Beach Classic. Bill the 2011 FedExCup champion, Jay nine-time PGA TOUR winner but both very synonymous with golf in South Carolina. Bill, obviously the reason both of you are up here, your dad caddying for you this week, just a little bit about how that partnership came about this week.

BILL HAAS: Yeah, my dad just asked me, it's been about a month ago probably, hey, if you get into Myrtle Beach, I want to caddie. So I said, perfect. Here we are.

Q. Just some comments from you, Bill, obviously coming back from the shoulder injury, kind of where you're at with the state of your game right now coming into this week.

BILL HAAS: Yeah, the game feels decent. Played okay at Dominican a few weeks ago. I had a few good rounds, didn't finish the way I'd like, but it was nice to feel a little bit of those nervous emotions.

Didn't play terrible last week in Dallas. I missed the cut. But the cut was 6-under, just a few putts here and there.

Overall the game feels okay. The elbow is still recovering, but I can't blame it for any bad shot. It's fine enough for sure.

Q. Jay, a couple quick ones for you. Just having this Myrtle Beach Classic here, a new event on the PGA TOUR, another event on the PGA TOUR in South Carolina, what that means for the state.

JAY HAAS: Well, it's wonderful. It looks like the course is in fabulous condition. I for one have probably played it one time and that was back in college, and it was quite a while ago. I didn't remember much other than the 13th hole around the water.

It seems like the staging is fantastic, and I think when you think about golf in South Carolina, I'd say Myrtle Beach comes to mind. It's a great showcase for that. It looks like the weather is going to be terrific. I've heard a lot of good comments from the guys.

I've been doing more listening than talking this week, and it's amazing what you can hear when you don't talk. But everybody seems to be very, very excited about it and loves the course.

Q. There's five players in the field this week who are former Jay Haas Players of the Year. Just a couple comments on how special that is seeing that junior talent make their way up to the professional ranks.

JAY HAAS: Each year when that award is done, I'm very proud mostly of the gentlemen that they are. You can tell golf has a way of weeding out the bad eggs, so to speak, and no truer than those kids who have won the award. It just doesn't seem like we've been doing it as long as we have, but that's a cool stat to have that many players in this field.

The South Carolina Golf Association does an amazing job for juniors, and it's paying off as we go forward.

Q. Is having your father caddie for you something that's happened intermittently throughout your pro career or is this a first?

BILL HAAS: He's caddied -- I know he caddied at Jackson -- just a handful of times, to answer your question. It has not been -- he's still playing. He had back surgery in the fall, and so hasn't played as much in the last annual year probably, but his career has not allowed him to be my caddie. But it is nice to -- he's my coach. He's the mental coach and the swing coach and the guy I bounce any golf stuff off of.

To be able to have him on the bag is an asset, and I think we're just going to have a fun week for sure.

Q. You'll lighten the load in the bag, coming off back surgery and everything?

JAY HAAS: The surgeon said to carry heavy stuff. No, he didn't.

I'm not used to it. It's pretty heavy. But he's got the small bag, so it's not too bad, and the course is fairly flat.

He'll get a few under par out there, and it'll be a lot easier.

Q. Any other family coming in to watch the week, kind of experience it with you guys?

BILL HAAS: Yeah, I think my mom maybe just got here. Our family has a beach place just south of Pawleys Island about an hour away. She's maybe just gotten here, and my family, my wife and kids are coming tomorrow, so we'll have them here this weekend. It'll be a great weekend for sure.

Q. What were your thoughts when you first heard there was going to be an event in Myrtle Beach, all the years and time I'm sure you spent here?

BILL HAAS: Yeah, I was excited to hear it. You wouldn't think it, but I had never played here before, before Monday. But everybody I talk to at home that we were playing here, they're like, oh, man, that place is fantastic. So surprised I hadn't been here, but just heard a lot of good things about the course.

Then getting here, like my dad was saying, every player on the range is talking about how great they think it is, and this place is a perfect showcase for South Carolina golf. It has a feel like Hilton Head. You think Myrtle Beach, I guess I was thinking a little more March shy, a little more like Sea Island, that type of golf course, but once you get here, it feels a little more inland and beautiful. Pieces of Quail Hollow, pieces of -- what were we saying out there, maybe Tampa down in Florida, similar to those.

I think it's great. I think Myrtle Beach is a ton of golf, and surprising that we haven't had a TOUR event here. I think they're excited from what I understand. A lot of volunteers and a lot of the members are excited to have it. I'm glad it's going to be here to stay for a few years.

Q. Jay, we were talking with Bill in Corales a couple weeks ago and he talked about your career and how much inspiration it gave him throughout the time. I'm wondering what are you most proud of when you look back on these decades?

JAY HAAS: Oh, wow. Golf-wise I think just the fact that I've been allowed to play as long as I have. When I first started professionally, most players at 45 or so just kind of faded away. There wasn't a Champions Tour, Senior Tour. So I thought if I could do that same thing, I would be a decent career and I'd figure something out along the way.

Here I'm 70 and I'm still trying to play some on the Champions Tour. It's been kind of a dream.

I don't know that I'm -- if proud is the right word, but more thankful, I guess, just that I've been involved in golf in general. It's been such a huge part of my life and our family's life.

Yeah, I don't know. Just very blessed to still be doing this and around the game. Love to see where the game is going and the young players of today. It's pretty fantastic. We're on a good path, I think.