Snapping a four-year victory drought by winning the Federal Express St. Jude Classic has Jay Haas thinking big as he prepares for this week's U.S. Open.
"It's a long way from second to first," Haas said Sunday after posting a three-stroke victory over Dan Forsman and Robert Gamez."I've tried to stay positive and aggressive, but I hadn't been a winner in over four years and it's tough," said the 38-year-old Haas, whose last PGA Tour victory came at the 1988 Bob Hope Classic.
"There's a lot of great young players, but I don't think I'm over the hill yet," said Haas, who said he felt his game began to come together when he tied for third at last year's St. Jude at the 7,006-yard, par-71 TPC at Southwind course.
His 72-hole total of 21-under 263 easily broke the tournament record of 269 held by Tom Kite, John Cook and Fred Couples.
"I did win the (1991) Mexican Open, and there were about 30 tour pros in the field. The difference is the confidence factor. I've just got to believe in myself and it's hard to believe in yourself 100 percent of the time," said Haas, the 1975 NCAA champion while at Wake Forest.
A $500 putter he bought before the 1991 St. Jude paid big dividends this year for Haas, who entered the final round at 14-under and one stroke behind Forsman.
"I birdied four of the first five holes (with putts of 5, 3, 6 and 5 feet), and still I was just tied for the lead," Haas said. "You would think that would put a little distance between you and the field."
The breathing room came later as Haas was on his way to completing a seven-birdie, no-bogey round.
Tied at 18-under with Forsman at the turn, Haas knocked home a 30-foot birdie putt at the par-4 11th, while Forsman had his problems at No. 10, settling for a disastrous double bogey-6.
"I made a mistake at No. 10 and that cost me," said Forsman, who hit a hot shot out of the trap and went over the green. "I was in a state of shock. It looked like it was going into some guy's house."
With Gamez in the clubhouse after a round of 63, the championship became a Haas-Forsman battle.
Haas went to 20-under with a birdie-3 at No. 12 while Forsman regrouped and birdied his next two holes to climb back to 18 under, then pulled within a single shot with a birdie-3 at the 15th.
Forsman had the opportunity to pull even at the 16th, but slid a 3-footer for birdie to the right of the cup.
Haas closed out Forsman when he knocked in an 8-foot birdie putt at the 17th and followed with a routine par at 18.
Forsman matched par until reaching the 18th where he put his second shot in the water, but got up-and-down for bogey 5 to tie Gamez for second place.
In Dearborn, Mich., Dave Stockton's 8-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole gave him three in a row and a one-stroke victory over J.C. Snead, who came to the final hole with a two-stroke lead, and Lee Trevino in the Senior Players Championship on Sunday.
Stockton, who captained the U.S. Ryder Cup team to victory last autumn, finished with a 69 for an 11-under 277 total for his first win since joining the Senior PGA Tour in December. He also became the first first-time winner on the circuit this year.
Snead seemed a sure winner as he led Stockton and Bob Charles by five strokes after 54 holes. He led the tournament for 71 holes and had that two-shot lead as they prepared to play the final hole at TPC of Michigan, a 6,876-yard layout designed by Jack Nicklaus.
But Snead drove into a wetland on the left side of the 18th fairway. After a drop, his third shot landed in medium high grass above and right of the green. He chipped on from there and two-putted from 12 feet for double-bogey 6.
In Somers Point, N.J., Anne-Marie Palli ended a 9-year victory drought by rolling in a 2-foot birdie on the first playoff hole vs. Laura Davies to win the $400,000 ShopRite LPGA Classic on Sunday.