October 13, 2007
Adminstaff Small Business Classic
October 12, 2007
Adminstaff Small Business Classic
Jay Dean Haas (born December 2, 1953) is an American
golfer.
Haas was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He attended
Wake Forest University and was a member of the NCAA
Championship team of the middle 1970s with Curtis
Strange and Bob Byman that Golf World has called
"the greatest college team of all time". He won the
individual championship in 1975. He turned
professional in 1976.
Haas has had a solid career on the PGA Tour, winning
nine times between 1978 and 1993. He had a
resurgence in 2003, when he finished in the top 30
on the money list for the first time since 1995 and
made the United States Presidents Cup team. The
following year he was one of Hal Sutton's two
captain's picks for the Ryder Cup, and made his
third appearance in that event.
Haas was eligible to play in Champions Tour events
from the start of the 2004 season and he lost to
Hale Irwin by one stroke at the Senior PGA
Championship in his first appearance at that level.
He has still featured in the top 20 of the Official
World Golf Rankings after his 50th birthday. In
2005, he won twice on the Champions Tour, while also
continuing to play regularly on the PGA Tour. In
April 2006, he won back to back events on the
Champions Tour and the following month he won a
playoff at the Oak Tree Golf Club with Brad Bryant
at the Senior PGA Championship to claim his first
senior major and he went on to top the 2006
Champions Tour money list. He was named the
Champions Tour Player of the Year in 2006 as well.
Haas comes from a distinguished family of golfers.
He is a nephew of 1968 Masters winner Bob Goalby,
and has several other relations in golf including
his second son Bill who was a PGA Tour rookie in
2006. His oldest son Jay Jr., brother Jerry Haas,
and brother-in-law Dillard Pruitt also played on the
PGA Tour.
He was voted the 2006 Bob Jones Award, the highest
honor given by the United States Golf Association in
recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf.
In February 2005, he received the Payne Stewart
Award, and in April 2005, he received the Murray
Award for his cooperation with the media. He has
made the cut 592 times in the PGA Tour, more than
any other player.
Haas currently resides in Greer, South Carolina, a
suburb of his wife's (Jan Haas) hometown,
Greenville.
