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CHARLES SCHWAB CUP CHAMPIONSHIP

October 29, 2008

Jay Haas

SONOMA, CALIFORNIA

THE MODERATOR: Well, Jay, thank you for joining us. This is your fourth time here. You come into this event leading the Schwab Cup by a whopping 12 points over Fred. You're second in the money list, about $50,000 behind Bernhard, but with a large purse this week available, any number of things can happen. But maybe just talk about quickly about your year and looking ahead to this event.
JAY HAAS: I guess every year I have been out so far, my goal is to get here first and foremost. And then to be in the hunt for the money title and the Schwab Cup since my third year out here, I guess, when I did win.
Then last year, coming pretty close and then this year pretty much at the start of the year I want to be in contention, and I am.
But just like any golf tournament you play and you have to play well to the finish. I will have to play well, obviously, here to hold off everyone. Really, 12 points is nothing, so you know last year I didn't finish in the Top 10. Didn't get any points. Had a chance, Loren gave me an opportunity to pass him, and I couldn't do it. So I'd like to remedy that and play better this year.
I am, the whole year has been great. I've been pretty consistent. I don't have as many wins this year, but I feel like I've played awfully well for me, and winning a major tournament was a huge plus for me.
But, again, to be here, to be in contention. To maybe have a chance to win the money title, to win the Schwab Cup is all I can ask for.

Q. Course seem different at all?
JAY HAAS: It seems maybe a little dryer. I think last year the rough was a lot thicker, lot juicier. But you know, now I guess we're going to get some rain maybe starting Friday or something like that. So we don't know how much.
I don't think we've ever played it when it's been wet and rainy and sloppy. So I don't know what to think about that. But the greens are some of the fastest we putt on, certainly on the Champions Tour, and probably in the Top 5 or six sets of greens on the PGA TOUR as far as speed goes. I think they could, I think they could probably get a good bit quicker.
They probably don't go nuts with this, but, yeah, there's not a lot of slope on the greens, but when they're running 12-plus, you don't have to have a lot of slope. You get on the wrong side of the cups and missing greens, you can't hardly get up-and-down.
But each year we come, and the course seems to get just a little bit better, I think. It's fabulous. And it has been since I've been here. But it just seems to be immaculate. There's not a mark on it, hardly.

Q. If you do look back last year or some of the things that prevented you from catching more?
JAY HAAS: I think wanting to do it so badly probably hurt me as much as anything. I didn't play very well the last two or three weeks of the year. I got a little frustrated and for some things and all of that. And the way the schedule is laid out, we have four tournaments in a row, and the first of the four is our Players Championship. You can't miss that.
Then there are two tournaments in Texas that I would have won two years ago or three year ago. I should go there. I like the places, obviously. At our stage, that we're playing in here, we don't usually play four tournaments in a row. You play two, you're off one. It's a great schedule for us.
But I just think I got into kind of a rut and was not sharp and wanted it too badly, I guess. We were trying to force it a little bit and it just didn't happen.

Q. Jay Haas was in here earlier and extolling the virtues of this tour versus the other tours. We asked about Fred's style to go back. He said I like Fred, but he's nuts. And you kind of struggled and straddled the line a little bit. I'm curious your thoughts on Fred's plans?
JAY HAAS: Well, I know Fred has more energy than at least five or six of us put together out here. So is he's a different bird than everybody. He just can do that. He can play a lot. I don't think the majority of us want to play 28 or 30 events a year.
So if he plays a semi-full schedule on the PGA TOUR and a few tournaments out here, there's really not much time off, not much downtime. Now he travels with his family, home schools the kids, so it's a little bit different for most of us. If you're kids are in school at home, it's hard to be away.
After 30-plus years, it's hard to do, first of all. Now when I turned 50, I played on the Ryder Cup team and put a lot of energy and emotion and everything into making that team and playing on that team. Then when I came out here, I kind of, I won't say had a letdown, but I had a letdown in every part of my game, because I accomplished that. Hal picked me, but I finished 11th on the points. You know, I made that team.
So in the next 12 months, at least, I just kind of like took a breath and thought, man, I'm exhausted almost. So I didn't get off to a rolling start out here. Then I was saying do I really want to do this? Where do I want to play? So I kind of understand where Fred's coming from.
But earlier in the year, I played three tournaments in a row in Florida. But I was able to go home Sunday night and come back on Wednesday. So three tournaments this year as opposed to three tournaments 20 years ago was 21 straight days away from home. This year it was five days, five days, five days.
You know, that makes a huge difference in your mental health, I think, and physical well being. So you know, it did take me a while to kind of say this is what I want to do. You know, I think for the guys that are somewhat competitive or ultra competitive on the PGA TOUR, you know, that's a decision, because it's all we've ever known.
You know, 30 years of playing PGA TOUR golf and then you're just going to say okay, that's done. Now I want to play Champions Tour golf. So I understand where Fred's coming from.

Q. Here's a guy with one of the shorter times when they say a player is becoming more and more exciting?
JAY HAAS: I guess I admire Fred in the sense that he believes he can do it, and he wants to try to do it. Some people get to a point where I can't do this anymore. You can never say that. Like a boxer says I can't beat this guy. You've got no chance.
You've got to be somewhat of have that macho, I'm going to do it, you know, nobody's going to stop me attitude. If you ever have some kind of doubt, I don't care if it's on a putt or drive or wherever it is, you're not going to be able to do it.
So I think Fred still has an exemption. You know, go for it. He'll play by ear and see how he does the first third of the year or so. He'll have enough success to want to keep on doing it. It's the grandest stage there is. You want to be on Broadway, not off Broadway, right? So this isn't too bad though, I tell you.

Q. As far as energy, I guess three weeks after surgery he was back out there?
JAY HAAS: Yeah, he doesn't seem to have a lot of patience (laughing). But he does. He has -- he just has a boat load of energy and enthusiasm, and I'm sure the doctor said take some time off, but he couldn't stand it.
But he's in great shape, he works out all the time. He stretches all the time. A guy like Tom Kite, I think that Tom takes care of himself so well that he just -- he ages, obviously, but he ages better than most. Fred's the same way.
I know he's frustrated with his knee because there's nothing he can do. It's bone on bone, he says. It's not like he can -- like rest will help it, but it's still going to be there. It's still going to hurt him eventually.

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