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THE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY COCA-COLA

November 5, 2004

Jay Haas

ATLANTA, GEORGIA

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: We'd like to welcome the 36-hole leader of the TOUR Championship, Jay Haas. Thank you for joining us. First two rounds, 67, 66. You have a two-stroke lead heading into Saturday's third round. Maybe start with some opening comments. Great round today, especially the great birdie on 18, which is playing over par this week.

JAY HAAS: Well, it was obviously a tougher day with the wind, much cooler, at least for me because we played the second group out yesterday and I don't think the wind picked up until later in the day, so I didn't get the full force of it yesterday.

Today from the start the wind was blowing, the greens were a little quicker I thought, and there were a few good scores obviously, Tiger, 6-under I think I saw, and some other good ones.

I don't know, the course was playing hard I thought. I got off to just a terrible start, hit a beautiful drive and then in the bunker, short right, chunked that into the next bunker, got that up-and-down for bogey, and it wasn't the way I wanted to start after hitting a good drive and thinking that the course was just going to get more difficult.

But from then on, I really played well, hit a lot of good shots, a lot of solid tee shots, and I think that's the key for me this week is I've driven the ball pretty well and kept it in the fairway, given myself opportunities to hit into these greens.

Q. How tough is that finishing stretch, the last three holes, and to come in one under par on that stretch?

JAY HAAS: I probably hit two of my best shots at 16. I hit a really nice drive, and then I had 233 to the hole, probably a 5-wood shot but I didn't want to stick a 5-wood up in the air, so I hit 3-iron just trying to get it 30 feet on the green and tried to two-putt from 40 feet, and I hit the shot of the week, a low, burning hook in there and it ran back to 15 or 18 feet, I was so damn excited, I ran it by about four feet. That was a key there just to hit two good shots.

17, I hit a nice second shot but I blocked it a little bit and the wind pushed it into the bunker. I made a nice shot out and made the putt.

18 was a perfect 5-wood, kind of up in the air. I was lucky to get it on-line. Not many people clapped. I couldn't see it, I didn't know if it was short, on top, and I walked up and I saw the scoreboard that said 12'7", and I said "I can't believe they didn't clap more for that shot." I was pretty excited about that one.

Then Darren gave me a nice teach on the putt. He was way back left, and he hit probably the best putt he's ever hit in his life, and he gave me the speed and gave me the line, and it went in the front door.

Q. It looked like playing No. 9 over here you could have gone either way in the round, and you, of course, being the ball-masher that you are, blew it up there in two, kind of got you going back the right way?

JAY HAAS: Gave me a boost for sure. I made a nice up-and-down at 5 that kind of kept me going, and then in doing that at 9, hitting a 3-wood up there in front, had a nice lie in the short rough, a relatively easy pitch, I would say the best pitchers and chippers of the ball would get that up-and-down 80 percent of the time. I'm 62 probably at that stage. That was a beautiful shot. I made a good pitch and it looked like it would stay on the front edge and it fell in there. To shoot 2-under on that front nine after bogeying -- starting off with a bogey like I did was a nice boost and kind of got me right there with the lead, and I felt like things were going my way at that time.

Q. What was the up-and-down on 5?

JAY HAAS: I drove it into the right rough and couldn't reach the green and had kind of an awkward chip -- not terrible, but pitched it by about eight feet, I guess, and made a pretty good breaking putt there downhill. I birdied 3 to get back to even, and that just kind of kept me going there.

Q. Did you get a caddie for Bill? I know you did for Jay at first stage. Does that not fit your schedule?

JAY HAAS: I can't do it. I'm playing the UBS Cup the same week he's doing his second stage.

Q. Have you made your decision about last year? Last I heard you said you were playing the regular TOUR?

JAY HAAS: I really haven't. I still want to do this. I'm sure I'll play a few more events on the Champions Tour than I did this year, but how many, I really don't know. I really haven't thought past this season. We'll see.

Q. What do you think about the adjective that always goes with you, "the 50-year-old Jay Haas," the oldest guy this, the oldest guy that?

JAY HAAS: If I was 50 and sitting at home nobody would be talking about me this week (laughter). I don't care what they call me, I'm just glad I've got a parking spot out there and they let me tee off this week. It doesn't really bother me. As I said yesterday, it's not about the strongest and the fastest and all that, there's no defense out here, and if I hit a good shot, it's a good shot. It doesn't make it any less or more because of my age.

Q. I just didn't know if it was starting to wear on you?

JAY HAAS: There for a while it was a little bit, but I guess I'm resigned to the fact that that's what it is. Again, if I was not playing very well, nobody would be asking me about it or I would not have that tag.

Q. Do you think now, "gee, I've really got to close one of these things, win," because at least twice this year you've been in the pressroom early. Do you ever think about that?

JAY HAAS: I really don't dwell on that. I haven't closed a lot of them over the years. I've only won nine times. You know, I guess I don't think about that. I guess I think that there are a lot of great players out here, and to win a tournament is pretty special. I guess that's why I think that what Tiger and Vijay have done, Ernie, all the guys that have made -- what they've done over the last few years, the way they've dominated, is pretty incredible to me.

I guess I don't sit at home -- I'm not going to go home tonight and think, "oh, now I've finally got this chance again, I've got to do this." Whether I think about it or not, it's not going to change the fact that I have to perform and beat the next guy.

Q. Just being here, you said it was quite a thrill really for where you are in your career. It would be pretty ironic after going this long without winning to win this event.

JAY HAAS: I guess as I look at the leaderboard and see the pages click off and see the guys that are back there, I can't allow myself to think "what if?" I just have to think about how to hit this drive on the 1st hole tomorrow. I've played my best when I've played that way. I think a couple years ago at the match play tournament at La Costa, the first year I played in it, my game plan, if you will, was drive the ball on the 1st hole in the fairway. That was all I was thinking about. Try to win that hole. Those were my goals; not thinking about how I could get to the quarter finals. I was thinking about driving the ball in the 1st fairway. I think that's been my mindset, too, the whole time here the last few years was just trying to stay in the moment. It's much harder to do than it is to say for sure, for me anyway, but that's what I'll try to do tomorrow.

Q. You've talked before about Snead. Do you think if he were alive right now he'd be wondering what's the big deal?

JAY HAAS: Probably. He'd say, "whoa, time out." I think he finished third at the PGA when he was 62 or something like that, and I still say, like I said yesterday, that there are guys on the Champions Tour that would still be out here doing this if they worked at it. Tell me Tom Watson is not capable of doing this when he's 100 percent. I don't know, I guess I haven't thought in terms of, "boy, this is really special because I'm 50." I think it's pretty special because I'm one of 200-some guys trying to do this, and to be in the Top 30 is to me an accomplishment.

Q. I'm wondering how much the last two years have sort of changed the way you view your career. I mean, you obviously had a very good career up until then but you hit some lean times.

JAY HAAS: Right. I guess in a condensed version, I would say I think I've had a successful career but I'm not satisfied. I never have been satisfied at any time, other than when you win a tournament that week, then you pretty much did what you wanted to accomplish.

I guess if I was satisfied, I wouldn't be out on the range. I wouldn't be still doing this. I would probably have packed it in a few years ago and said, I'm done, I've done what I wanted to do. I didn't think I was done. I didn't think I had accomplished what I still feel I can.

No, I guess I haven't looked back and said, "boy, I'm going to give myself a grade on what I've accomplished or what my career was like," but like I said, I think I've been successful but not satisfied by any means.

Q. Do you ever think -- I've calculated this and I hope I'm accurate -- that Tiger Woods would have been in diapers when you joined this TOUR, and Adam Scott wasn't born until about two years after you won your first tournament. There's a tremendous gap there, especially in a tournament at this level, the best players.

JAY HAAS: Well, I guess when I first started out, I got out here right after college. I was 23. There were guys, you know, in their 40s that were in the same boat, and I didn't really look at them and say, "how are they still out here?" I guess because of Uncle Bob, I knew these people and I knew their accomplishments and I knew how good they were, and I was just trying to be like them, I suppose.

I guess I really haven't thought of it in terms of "Adam could be my son" or anything like that. You know, that's just a number, again.

Q. You were close two years ago at Hope, and then obviously they mentioned twice this year on the Champions Tour. Can you take or did you take or have you taken anything from those that you could use this week?

JAY HAAS: Well, I think that the last couple years and later in my career, I've realized that I play my best when I'm committed to a shot, when I try not to be too fine, and whether I make a mistake or not, don't be afraid of it, and I think that's helped me play better in the last couple years.

But obviously I have not won, and I would sure love to do it. I dream about it. You know, this is what we all out here want to do.

You know, you can see at the Champions Tour I felt like I should have won the PGA Seniors there, and when Hale beat me I played very well from tee to green. I played as well as I've ever played 72 holes. I was on the fairway, on the green, a lot that week, but I guess I've realized now at 50 that it takes an awfully special week to win a tournament for me, and I have to have good breaks, have to putt well, have to hit the ball well.

I don't know, what I've learned, I guess, is just play as hard as I can and hopefully it's good enough.

Q. Just a follow-up, would it be more exciting to you now to win another event or to be in the field when Bill won?

JAY HAAS: Probably to be in the field when Bill won. When I've played in tournaments with him this year -- we played at the CVS this year, I know it wasn't a TOUR event, but to win that, I couldn't have been any broader. People have asked me did you dream about that happening. No, I couldn't even imagine such a thing.

So just to see him out here at the Open this year hitting balls on the range, at the U.S. Open, belonging, I mean, he belongs out here. So that's a big charge for me, to see your kids do well.

Q. I just wonder if over the years you have any history at this club from like college days, and secondly, if you screw up and win this thing and get a two-year exemption --

JAY HAAS: Somebody told me I already have a two-year exemption because of the Ryder Cup.

Q. Oh, yeah, that's true, fine print.

JAY HAAS: So you're not going to get rid of me.

No, Monday afternoon was the first day I had ever been here.

Q. How are you going to handle two more years of questions about how much longer you're going to be here?

JAY HAAS: I hope I'm in here many, many times and fielding all of them. Like I said, it doesn't bother me one bit. I'm just thrilled to be playing well and doing what I want to do.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Jay Haas, thank you very much.

End of FastScripts.

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