Bill Haas overcomes jitters to prevail at Bob Hope Classic

Reporting from La Quinta â€”  It was a tap-in, a tiny little putt, one that Bill Haas had made thousands of times. It’s easy, routine, less than a foot, able to be kicked into the hole, blown into the hole. Nothing simpler.

Except this little tap-in, on the 18th hole of the Palmer Course at PGA West, on the 90th hole of the Bob Hope Classic, came with a little more attached.

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FOR THE RECORD:
Bob Hope Classic: In Tuesday’s Sports section, an article on the golf victory by Bill Haas at the Bob Hope Classic said his uncle Bob Goalby won the 1968 Masters, the beneficiary of the unsigned scorecard by Roberto De Vicenzo. Goalby is Haas’ great-uncle and De Vicenzo signed an incorrect scorecard, one that gave him a 66 rather than the 65 he actually shot, thus giving the victory to Goalby. —

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A winner’s check of $900,000. An automatic berth into the Masters in April. A chance to be a winner, something that hadn’t happened for Haas in his first 141 PGA Tour starts.

So Haas was nervous. He said so later. His head was full of thoughts -- What if I miss? What will this mean? How much I want this -- and yet oddly empty. “Kind of blank, kind of a blur,� he said.

The putt went in, easy as can be, and after that Haas celebrated. He was a winner, a 27-year-old who now owned a title where his father, Jay, had won in 1988, and a berth at Augusta National, where his uncle Bob Goalby won in 1968 as a quirky Masters champion, the beneficiary of the unsigned scorecard by Roberto De Vicenzo.

Haas shot an eight-under-par 64 on Monday to finish the five-round tournament at 30 under. That was one shot better than fourth-round leader Bubba Watson, South African Tim Clark and Matt Kuchar, who three-putted the final hole, costing himself a chance at a playoff.

At least the final day of this struggling tournament was full of drama. The last 18 holes were pushed to Monday because of a rainout Thursday, the first in 30 years. The event is without a title sponsor and the field was lacking star power.

John Foster, the tournament president, said that this year has been challenging.

“We’re moving along, but we’re having some bumps for sure,� he said.

Foster said that the economic climate makes it more challenging to find new sponsors. The tournament had been financially backed by Chrysler until last year. But Foster said the 51-year-old event was in no danger and that he expected it to be around “for another 50 years.�

If it is, no finish will be much closer than Monday’s.

Kuchar, who was in the third-to-last pairing, shot a nine-under 63 and had eight birdies on his first 11 holes and actually took the lead at one point. But Kuchar had only one more birdie after No. 11. And he didn’t have one on No. 18 when he missed a 13-foot birdie putt.

Kuchar hit a hybrid club for his approach shot to the par-five No. 18.

“I had an in-between yardage,� Kuchar said. “I went with the hybrid instead of the four-iron. If I could do it over again? I would probably still hit the hybrid.�

Watson nearly chipped in for an eagle on No. 18 as well. He was playing with Haas, who said he couldn’t watch Watson hit the ball.

“I told my caddie, ‘He’s going to chip it in.’ But in the end we decided it was either two putts for a playoff or to win,� Haas said.

Haas said what most athletes would be unwilling to say about his final few moments on the 18th green. As he stood over the final putt, “I was nervous,� he said. “My fingers were getting cold almost. I was shaking. It was the most nervous I’ve ever been.�

In his six-year PGA career, Haas had nothing better than two third-place finishes. Besides his father (who won nine PGA events) and his uncle Bob, Haas has another uncle, Jerry Haas, who was an All-American golfer at Wake Forest and his brother, Jay Jr., who played college golf at Augusta State in Augusta, Ga.

Jay, Jay Jr. and Goalby were in the gallery Monday and Jay had a tear in his eye when Bill made the final putt.

“It’s not easy to win out here,� Jay said. “You’ve got to be patient.�

In fact, it was advice about being patient that Bill said he received in a text message from his father Monday morning. The message said, “Hit when you’re ready and never before.�

Patience isn’t something at which Haas has been good.

“It’s something I’m still trying to learn,� he said. “With the rain this week we were forced to be patient. Who knows? Maybe the rainout was good for me.�

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