Men in their 50s normally are watching their sons play in the U.S. Open.
Jay Haas did follow his son, Bill, during his first round at Shinnecock Hills on Thursday. But only after the 50-year-old put his name at the top of the leaderboard.
Haas, a veteran of 24 Opens, had a day to remember. During the morning, he shot a 4-under-par 66 to tie for the first-round lead with Shigeki Maruyama. Angel Cabrera also was 4 under through 12 holes when play was suspended Thursday because of fog.
A 2-hour-12-minute weather delay meant 57 players will have to finish their first rounds Friday morning. They include Phil Mickelson, who was 2 under through 15 holes and Vijay Singh, 2 under through 14.
Bill Haas, an amateur who attends Wake Forest, sat at 3 over through 17. That had to be disappointing to his father. Haas hoped his round would inspire his son, who is playing in his second Open.
“Hopefully, he’ll look at the 66 and say, `Wow, I can do that if Dad can do it,'” Jay Haas said.
Not many players can do what the elder Haas is doing these days. His showing on Thursday wasn’t one of those old-guy-gets-one-last-day-in-the-sun stories.
This is an extension of an amazing run that began last year for Haas. After finishing 144th on the money list in 2000, he retooled his body and short game. The results showed in 2003 when he won $2.65 million.
The strong play didn’t stop after Haas turned 50 on Dec. 2. The Champions Tour can wait. Haas has proved he still can hang with the kids, posting four top-10 finishes this year. He currently stands 10th on the points list for the U.S. Ryder Cup team.
In his lone Champions Tour event, he finished second in the Senior PGA Championship.
Nobody was surprised that Haas put himself in contention at Shinnecock.
“If you look at the way he has been playing, it’s just the norm, isn’t it?” said Tiger Woods, six strokes off the lead after a 72. “He has been playing great golf for a year and a half now.”
For a period during his 40s, Haas looked as if he was biding time until he was eligible for the senior circuit. But he decided he didn’t want to close out his PGA Tour career that way.
Haas vowed to “renew my passion for the game.”
“[During 2000], I just didn’t want that to be it,” Haas said. “I worked a little harder. Along with better equipment, I think I’m doing some things that I wouldn’t have thought I was capable of doing four years ago.”
Haas definitely is showing that older players can be a factor. He was paired in the veteran’s group Thursday, joining 61-year-old Raymond Floyd and 54-year-old Tom Kite. When told their combined ages were 165, Floyd cracked, “It sounds like geriatrics to me.”
Floyd, though, was one of those players who contended on the PGA Tour during his late 40s. He isn’t surprised Haas is doing the same thing.
“Some people are young at 50 or older at 50,” Floyd said. “I think with U.S. Open conditions, experience is paramount. People know how to play. Jay drove in the fairway. He hit the greens. He putted beautifully. When you play like that, you’re going to get a score. It doesn’t matter what the number is on the years.”
Haas stops short of saying he is playing the best golf of his career. He hasn’t won during this run; his last of nine PGA Tour victories came in 1993.
Haas would love for his next victory to be his first major. He has yet to follow in the footsteps of his uncle, Bob Goalby, who won the 1968 Masters.
“I can’t tell you what it would mean to do something like that,” Haas said. “I’m disappointed it didn’t happen or hasn’t happened. But I’ve never been one to dwell on it. I feel like it has been a pretty successful career. And who knows what’s going to happen in the next 10 years?”
The way Haas is playing, he could keep this run going until he’s 60.
