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CHARLES SCHWAB CUP CHAMPIONSHIP

October 28, 2006

Jay Haas

SONOMA, CALIFORNIA: Third Round

THE MODERATOR: Jay, thanks for coming in. Maybe just quickly

JAY HAAS: We don't have time to go through my card.

THE MODERATOR: Maybe just talk a little bit about your day and we'll look ahead to tomorrow.

JAY HAAS: It was good. Obviously 3 under is a good score. Got there in a different way than I normally would get there, but it you know, I'm disappointed because I had a chance to really break loose and go very deep, but seemed like every time I hit a poor shot on the back 9 I paid for it.

You know, that's but that should be expected. The rough is high; the greens are pretty quick. But I guess tonight after the fact and having dinner and all that stuff I'll be happy with my position, I suppose. But I'm disappointed right now, and I was when I finished. But it is what it is. You just go on.

Q. Things were going so well on the front 9; what changed?

JAY HAAS: I hit a few drives to the right. I hit my the first 8 holes I played beautifully, 5 under par, I think I was 4 under. I 3 putted 7 from a long way away.

9, drove to the right. Got through a great lie and was able to hook it around the tree there and made a nice birdie.

10, I hit 3 wood to the right a little bit and was trying to run something up the gap there, and it pushed a little bit and didn't get up and down.

12, drove to the right. So those 3 drives there prior to that I had driven the ball pretty well. But just maybe got little quick. Just golf, I guess. I didn't miss it by that much, I guess. But each shot was just off enough. Came away with bogeys on those holes. I don't know what it was.

I hit a nice drive on the 13, but just went into the left rough. Knocked it on the green for eagle and felt great about things after that.

The 14th hole is my least favorite hole out here. It's a beautiful Par 3. I don't feel comfortable on the tee. I've hit it in the bunker every day. Last year I think I was on the green once out of four days. I just don't feel comfortable on that tee. So if I hit it good shot tomorrow there you know I'm swinging well.

Hit a nice putt there from about 8 feet and didn't go in. Next the next hole just went through the fairway. Didn't reach the green. Had a tough lie around the green.

Then 16 was a real killer, though. That really turned a 4 into a 5 there and then missed about a 6 footer on 18. So, you know, a 3 shot swing the last 3 holes, you know, 66 and I would have said, Man, what a great day.

Still, all the misses there in the middle of the back 9, had I birdied 16 and made the putt on the 18 I would have said it was unbelievable day.

Q. Can you talk about the chip eagle on No. 2?

JAY HAAS: Yeah. I was trying to put it in that bunker somewhere to the left so I could pitch up the green there. Obviously it hopped over the bunker into kind of a little tongue there. Had a nice lie. Trying to get it back in there somewhere, and just perfect speed and everything.

I hit a gap wedge, 53 degree wedge. The rough was fairly thin right there. I had a nice lie. The pin was back maybe 25. You know, it was a 30 yard shot, maybe. But then I birdied the next hole and I birdied 5.

Drove it perfect at 6. You know, didn't really miss many shots until the 9th hole hitting that drive to the right. You know, I wasn't uptight, not nervous. Just missed them a little bit.

Just you know, swinging at a little ball and don't need it curve it very far to get it off line out here.

Q. What happened on 13?

JAY HAAS: 13 I hit 3 wood out of the left rough. I drew a great lie there on kind of a little mound. Had 250 something to the front, 252 maybe, and knocked it in the middle of the green there. Knew it was fast and hit the putt too hard and it went right in the middle.

Q. (Inaudible.)

JAY HAAS: Okay, yeah.

Q. Do you remember the last time you hit two eagles in a row?

JAY HAAS: No. I don't know if I ever have. I'm sure I have, but it's been a long time. I'm sneaking up on RW Eaks, or who's the leader for eagles per hole?

Q. You mention how you had a chance to take it really deep. How much are you thinking or are you aware of that as you make the turn and you're obviously playing so well at that point?

JAY HAAS: Yeah. Felt like we talked yesterday about we thought the back 9 was a little easier than the front. Boy, didn't I insert that ten and a half C right down but, I like other than 14, you know, I feel comfortable on all the tee shots. I felt like I was going to make two or three more easily. I guess I did. I just made some one too many bogeys.

Q. (Inaudible.)

JAY HAAS: No. I didn't think about that so much. Trying to stay in the moment and everything, and but I guess I looked up on the 13 I guess when I was getting ready to putt, and I saw that Jim had gone to 13 under. That was a good thing that I thought. I'm getting pushed. Keep going. Don't sit on what you have here.

Then I make the eagle and everything was rosy. About twenty minutes later I was not happy. Maybe 30, 45.

Q. You went on a stretch of ten holes without a par.

JAY HAAS: Seemed like more than that. No. 6 was my last par until 17, I think.

Q. Right. What's going through your head?

JAY HAAS: As I was saying earlier, I felt comfortable. I hit a lot of good shots. I didn't think about it when I was doing it. Obviously, you'd like to make 6 birdies or 10 straight birdies instead of an eagle and 3 birdies and 6 bogeys or whatever it was there.

So you know, just I mean I've had days like that when it's up and down. Just golf changes day to day. I was just trying to stop the bogeys and, you know, hit in the fairway and knock it on the green. I did that for the most part, but not enough.

Q. You knocked a 33 footer for eagle, and boy it looks great I mean, all of a sudden (inaudible.)

JAY HAAS: Yeah. You wouldn't think it would lead to 3 straight bogeys there, especially the 16th hole. I was just saying that had I birdied there I had a perfect 5 wood shot from the green. I had hit in on the green the last tow days from a similar spot. And then, yeah, I hit it six feet. Beautiful shot at 18. Pretty simple putt there and didn't make that one.

I felt like I righted myself there, other than the 5 wood killed me, and then I didn't do a very good bunker shot. But it was the second shot that set up all the other ones. Just seemed like I paid for every mistake on the back 9, and haven't really paid for that many for the week.

But just need to the first day, if I could play like I did the first day, that's what I would like to do tomorrow. I drove it beautifully. It was an easy 70.

Q. Do you find that guys say, You never know when you wake up in the morning what you're going to shoot? Sometimes you shot four great rounds at a tournament. Is that basically true?

JAY HAAS: Pretty much. I would think there are times when I'm playing very poorly that I'm you know, I'm saying, Oh, it's going to be a good day. But I guess, you know, I've been feeling confident coming in two rounds and playing well and putts are going in.

But, no, I didn't think today was going to be a rollercoaster round, or that I was going to make 5 birdies and two eagles. I would have been really nervous if I knew that. How am I going to hang on after that?

Q. What's your demeanor like during that stretch? You seem so even tempered to us, but this game can drive you nuts.

JAY HAAS: Yeah.

Q. Did you see yourself (inaudible.)

JAY HAAS: No. I guess I'm pretty even keeled. But I was pretty hot I guess I was hot after 14. Doing the same thing today that I've done for two days in the last few years, the last two years, the last few rounds I've played here.

That, for some reason really ticked me off. That probably led to the bogey on the next hole. At 52, I'm learning to keep my emotions in check. I'm pretty even keeled. I'm excited and charged up and anxious to play and all that, but I'm not so much of a rollercoaster. I guess I'm intense much more intense than it maybe appears.

Q. (Inaudible) you and Loren are right there in the mix.

JAY HAAS: Right. I think both of us can say, Man, when is this guy going away? But I was looking at the board there, and I was trying to figure out if Tom made his putt and I missed mine or if I missed and I made mine, would Loren and I have played.

If Tom would have made his Loren and I would have played together tomorrow, which probably would have been very appropriate. So, you know, he can watch what I'm doing. I guess this is the way should be. It's pretty exciting coming down to the last round, and basically a shot will tell the story tomorrow probably. Now that I think about it that way, I'm nervous.

Q. We have to ask a few Cardinals questions since you have the hat on. What was last night like?

JAY HAAS: Well, you know, Tom Randall (phonetic), the guy that does the fellowship, gave me the hat and the Cardinals towel. He put it in my locker. Actually I watched the first two innings and went to the fellowship last night.

Tom, on the podium he had a Tigers pennant hanging off of that. He said, I can't believe you came here tonight. I was getting text messages throughout this and got to watch the last couple innings. I just think it's great, you know, for any of those teams that end up winning a world championship. Man, what a thrill that is. Everyone talks about what a great baseball town St. Louis is. Everyone says it so there's got to be something to that.

Brings back memories of Bob Gibson and Tim McCarver (phonetic.) I'm one of the guys that could name the starting nine against Detroit in '69.

Q. (Inaudible.)

JAY HAAS: That's right. I don't think any of them wanted to go back to Detroit.

Q. (Inaudible.)

JAY HAAS: Not that far.

Q. (Inaudible.)

JAY HAAS: Yeah. If you were sure. Now you could. I mean, as a kid, nobody just said, Let's go to the game. You couldn't afford it, I guess, or I couldn't. We were talking yesterday just listening to the radio, Jack Buck and Harry Carey. When was the first night World Series game?

Q. Five years ago?

JAY HAAS: Right. So in the '60s, the teachers had the TVs during class. If they were cool we got watch the game. You know, it's that was a big deal. That was the only games that were on TV back then. I mean, occasionally you might get a game.

Q. On the west coast we got a game of the week on Saturdays in black and white TV.

JAY HAAS: Yeah. So listening to night games once in a while and going to sleep with the radio and stuff like that. But it's just pretty neat. Seemed like both of those managers are pretty classy guys, and that made it kind of special. I never figured out why baseball teams doesn't shake hands after that. I think that is the coolest tradition. But, you know, I think they should start that.

Q. (Question regarding dugout.)

JAY HAAS: Because it's a place to escape.

Q. (Inaudible.)

JAY HAAS: I guess it's a lot of reporters and stuff going on there, but it would seem like that's just sacred ground . They should be able to do that.

Q. (Inaudible.)

JAY HAAS: Actually, the kids set an example, because I know my girl's softball games it's, Good game. Good game. Good game. Down the line. But they don't have all the press, I guess.

End of FastScripts.

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