Bill Haas Begins NCAA Championship Journey Monday
5/28/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
May 28, 2004
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Bill Haas TO REPRESENT WAKE FOREST AT NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
Wake Forest senior Bill Haas, the 2004 Ben Hogan Award winner, will join five other individuals and 30 teams (156 players total) at the June 1-4 NCAA Championship at The Homestead in Hot Springs, VA.
Haas, who won the NCAA East Regional May 20-22 in New Haven, CT, is one of the most accomplished players in a long line of great Demon Deacon golfers. The two-time ACC Player of the Year has won more career tournaments (10) than any player in Wake Forest history and he is on track to break the NCAA record for scoring average.
The top 10 teams and two individuals from three different regions earned bids to the NCAA Championship. The Wake Forest team finished tied for 12th place, one stroke shy of finishing in a tie for 10th. Haas qualified as an individual by winning the East Regional. The other five who qualified for the NCAA Championship were A.J. Elgert (Kansas State), Ryan Moore (UNLV), Aron Price (Georgia Southern), Jeff Overton (Indiana) and Chris Baryla (UTEP).
The 72-hole tournament runs June 1-4 at The Homestead.
HAAS ATTEMPTING TO MAKE NCAA A FATHER-SON EVENT
If Bill Haas needed advice on playing for an NCAA championship, he need only to call his father, Jay Haas.
Jay Haas was the individual winner at the 1975 NCAA Championship in Columbus, OH. Haas' performance led Wake Forest to the team title, giving the Deacons back-to-back national championships. Haas finished in a tie for sixth place at the 1974 NCAA Championship. MORE ON THE HAAS FAMILY
It was in the cards -- or more appropriately, in the family -- for Bill Haas to be a golfer.
His father is Jay Haas, a member of the PGA Tour who is preparing to embark on the Champions Tour. Prior to becoming a well-known professional, Jay led Wake Forest to NCAA championships in 1974 and 1975 and he won the individual crown in 1975.
Bill's uncle is Jerry Haas (Jay's brother), who happens to be the seventh-year Wake Forest head coach. Jerry enjoyed a solid professional career as well and participated on the Tour earlier this spring in the Wachovia Cup.
Bill's brother, Jay, Jr., played golf at Augusta State.
Bill's great uncle is Bob Goalby, who won the 1968 Masters.
INDIVIDUAL DEACON CHAMPIONS
Bill Haas is attempting to become the fifth Wake Forest individual to win an NCAA championship. Arnold Palmer was the individual medalist in 1949 and 1950; Curtis Strange won the title in 1974; Jay Haas finished first in 1975; Gary Hallberg took top honors in 1979.
As a team, Wake Forest has won the national crown three times -- 1974, 1975 and 1986.
HAAS WINS EAST REGION, BREAKS WAKE FOREST RECORD
Bill Haas won the NCAA East Regional at the Yale Golf Course in New Haven, CT, and he broke a Wake Forest record in the process.
The win was the 10th career tournament victory for Haas, breaking a school record of nine held by Gary Hallberg.
Haas shot a 3-under 207 (67-70-70) to win the East Regional by one stroke over Florida's Camilo Villegas and Rhode Island's Kenneth Fahey.
HOMESTEAD FAMILIAR FOR HAAS
Bill Haas and his Demon Deacon teammates played at The Homestead on Sept. 22-23, 2003 in The Preview. It was not one of Haas' best performances.
In a rain-shortened event, Haas shot 71-72-143 (3-over par) and finished tied for 12th. The Deacon team finished tied for seventh out of 15 teams.
HAAS' NCAA HISTORY
Bill Haas will play in the NCAA Championship for the third time, although for the first time without his teammates.
Last year in Stillwater (OK), Haas shot a 10-over 300 (72-82-71-70) and finished tied for 26th. As a freshman in 2001, Haas shot a 13-over 301 at the Duke Golf Course in Durham.
In 2002, Haas and the Deacons did not qualify out of the East Regional in Roswell, GA.
Bill Haas
* Greer, SC
* Ben Hogan Award Winner
* 2003 and 2004 ACC Player of the Year
One of the top individual performers in a long line of Wake Forest golfing greats... winner of the prestigious Ben Hogan Award, given annually to the nation's top collegiate golfer... ranked No. 1 nationally... has won 10 career tournaments, breaking a Wake Forest career record... has won five tournaments in 2003-04... the 2003 and 2004 ACC Player of the Year... has played in all 13 events so far this year, finishing among the top 20 in all 13 and among the top 10 in 11... his season stroke average of 69.00 is on pace to set a new NCAA record... finished first May 20-22 at the NCAA East Regional in New Haven, CT... his win at the Regional broke a tie with Gary Hallberg for the most career wins at Wake Forest... also captured individual medalist honors at The Ridges, the Jerry Pate Invitational, the Tulane Invitational and The Collegiate... shot a three-day total of 195 (-18 under) to win the Jerry Pate... finished fifth at the ACC Championships... 29 of his 38 rounds this spring have been under par... 32 of his 38 rounds have been par or better... has shot a single-round 64 three times this spring, tying for the fourth-lowest rounds in school history.
A two-time PING first-team All-American... one of just five players in Wake Forest history to earn All-ACC honors four times... was the ACC Rookie of the Year in 2001... a member of the 2003 United States Walker Cup team... a talented player who has won on every level... another in a long line of golfing greats from the Haas family to play for Wake Forest.
Summer/Fall 2003
Entered the fall ranked No. 1 in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings and closed out 2003 in the same fashion... captured individual medalist honors in two of the team's four tournaments... won the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate for the second straight year and also finished first at the Jerry Pate National... shot an 18-under 195 (63-66-66) at the Jerry Pate, the lowest tournament score by a Deacon golfer since 1986... his first-round 63 was a career-low as well as WFU's lowest since 1996... placed fifth at the Carpet Capital and 12th at The Preview... halved both of his matches at the Collegiate Matchplay, finishing all-square with Oklahoma State's Zack Robinson and UCLA's Steve Conway... compiled a 68.6 stroke average... finished the fall with six consecutive rounds of par or better... counted all 11 rounds in the fall toward team totals... 82 percent of his rounds were equal or under par... posted an average differential of just three strokes off the leader... his successful fall was preceded by a busy summer, beginning with a qualifying spot in the U.S. Open... shot a 73-76 at Olympia Fields and did not make the cut... finished second at the Players Amateur, where he shot a final-round 66... tied for fifth at the Porter Cup with a second-round 60... won the South Carolina Amateur with four straight rounds of 70... placed 13th in U.S. Amateur stroke play and advanced to the match play quarterfinals... member of the Walker Cup and Palmer Cup teams.
2002-03
Named first-team All-America for the second straight year... also became WFU's first-ever ACC Player of the Year... named All-ACC for the third straight year as well... a finalist for the Ben Hogan Award... ranked third nationally in the final Golfweek/Sagarin rankings... led the team and ranked second in the ACC in stroke average (71.14)... put together a school-record streak of 13 straight rounds equal/under par in the spring... won individual medalist honors in three tournaments - The Ridges, Carpet Capital and Tulane Invitational... also placed second at The Schenkel and ACC Championships and third at The International Collegiate and PING-Arizona... posted eight top-five finishes in 14 events... counted 93 percent of his rounds (39 of 42) toward team scoring, highest on the team... over 76 percent of his rounds (32 of 42) were equal/under par... owned a 5.6 final round stroke differential... tallied a team-best 13 rounds in the 60s... earned a sponsor's exemption to the PGA Tour's Wachovia Championship in Charlotte, shooting 76-75 and did not make the cut... tied for 26th at the NCAA Championships with a 12-over 300 (77-82-71-70)... his season was jump-started by a breakout summer, as he led the United States to victory in the Palmer Cup, earning team MVP honors... was the U.S. Amateur stoke play medalist, then advanced to the semifinals in match play... won The Players' Amateur in South Carolina... finished seventh at the Porter Cup... was a quarterfinalist at the Western Amateur after finishing fourth in stroke play.
2001-02
One of 10 finalists for the 2002 Ben Hogan Award... received a sponsor's exemption to play in the Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic, missing the cut by just one stroke... finished the season ranked fifth nationally in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings... led Wake Forest in stroke average (70.86)... spring stroke average of 71.25 ranked third in the ACC... won two spring tournaments - the Birkdale and The Intercollegiate... posted eight top five finishes in 12 events... counted all but one round (34 of 35, .971) toward team totals... over 74 percent of his rounds (26 of 35) were equal/under par... had a streak of nine straight rounds under par heading into NCAAs... seven of those nine rounds were in the 60s... owned a 5.8 final round stroke differential... posted the team's best finish in eight tournaments, including the last four events... tied for fourth at the ACC Championships with an eight-under 208, his second-straight top-six conference finish.
2000-01
Saw action in 12 of 13 events... led the squad in stroke average with a 72.9... recorded seven top-20 outings, including five top-10 finishes... led the squad in five events... led the Deacs at the Golf World/Palmetto Dunes, firing a six-under 210 to finish 12th... finished second and helped WFU capture the team title at Birkdale... also finished second at the Cleveland Golf/Augusta State Invite, opening with a career-low 64 and finishing with a nine-under 207... placed ninth at The Intercollegiate with a two-under 214... recorded his fifth straight top-10 finish of the spring with a sixth place at ACC's, turning in a three-under 213... led the squad at the NCAA West Regional, tying for 19th... led WFU in rounds counted, as 93 percent (32.5 of 35) of his rounds factored into team totals... recorded a team-high 17 rounds even or under par... recorded five rounds in the 60s... entered the national rankings as a rookie, reaching as high as 32nd before finishing the season 52nd.
Before Wake Forest
Earned Junior All-America and South Carolina Junior Player of the Year honors in 1999... won the South Carolina High School State Championship as both a junior and senior... also led his Riverside squad to the state team title... won the South Carolina Junior Boys' Championship... captured the 1999 Carolinas Junior Championship, carding an impressive 71-66-67 score... finished second at the 1999 American Junior Golf Association's Polo Junior Classic in Orlando, losing in the final round of match play, 3 and 2... won the 1998 AJGA Greensboro Classic... also placed second at the Junior Azalea and third at the AJGA Polo Junior Classic in 1998.
Personal
Majoring in Religion... named to the WFU Dean's List in the fall of 2002... born May 24, 1982 in Charlotte, N.C... the son of Jay and Jan Haas of Greer, S.C... has four siblings - Jay, Jr. (23), Haley (20), Fran (16) and Georgia (12)... the third member of the Haas family to play golf at Wake Forest... father, Jay, was an NCAA Champion and two-time All-America in the 1970s who went on to a highly successful PGA career... uncle, Jerry, was also an All-America at Wake Forest, a PGA tour player and currently the head coach of the Deacon squad... his great uncle, Bob Goalby, was the 1968 Masters Champion... older brother, Jay, Jr. played golf at Augusta State.
HAAS EARNS BEN HOGAN AWARD
Wake Forest senior golfer Bill Haas received the prestigious Ben Hogan Award, presented annually to the top men's golfer in NCAA Division I, II or III or NAIA. The presentation banquet was held at Colonial Country Club May 17 in Fort Worth.
Haas and head coach and uncle, Jerry Haas, attended the ceremony, just hours after Bill Haas attended the graduation ceremony on the Wake Forest campus. The following day (May 18), Wake Forest departed for the NCAA East Regional.
"Winning the Hogan Award is special," said Haas. "That it takes into account not just college but amateur golf as well makes it extra special because you travel and play against the top-ranked amateurs no matter their age. College golf is a team sport and sometimes the individual doesn't get as much recognition, but all of your peers have great respect for this honor."
Haas, who recently earned ACC Player of the Year honors for the second straight year, was joined on the list of Hogan finalists by Clemson's Matt Hendrix, Brock Mackenzie of Washington, Arizona's Chris Nallen and Lamar's Chris Stroud. Haas is the fifth player in Wake Forest history to earn All-ACC honors four times.
Haas is the fourth Wake Forest student-athlete in the last 10 years to be named national player of the year in his respective sport. Kelly Doton (field hockey) and Bea Bielik (women's tennis) won similar honors and Tim Duncan was the consensus men's basketball player of the year in 1997.
HAAS IS ACC PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Bill Haas was named ACC Player of the Year for the second straight year, putting him in elite company.
Haas is the sixth Wake Forest student-athlete in any sport to earn back-to-back ACC Player of the Year honors and he is the first golfer to achieve the feat.
Three former Deacon men's basketball players -- Tim Duncan, Len Chappell and Dickie Hemric -- won ACC Player of the Year honors twice each. Field hockey standout Kelly Doton was the league's Player of the Year in 2002 and 2003 and Bill Merrifield was the ACC Player of the Year in baseball in 1982 and 1983.
HAAS, REIFERS, MOORE ALL-ACC
Wake Forest senior Bill Haas, sophomore Kyle Reifers and freshman Sean Moore were named to the All-ACC team.
Wake Forest, Georgia Tech and league champion Clemson each placed three players on the All-ACC team. Georgia Tech's Roberto Castro was named ACC Rookie of the Year and Clemson's Larry Penley was the ACC Coach of the Year.
Wake Forest earned three All-ACC selections for the second straight year. The Deacons have had 12 All-ACC selections over the past six years combined.
Moore became the first Deacon to capture the individual ACC championship since 1989 when he shot an 11-under 205 April 16-18 at the Old North State Club. Reifers has been a consistent performer for the Deacons all season, earning five top-10 finishes and owning the second-lowest stroke average (72.23) on the team.
HAAS MAKES 4TH ALL-ACC TEAM
Senior Bill Haas joins elite company with his All-ACC honor. He joins former Deacons Gary Hallberg, Robert Wrenn, Billy Andrade and Brent Wanner as the only players in Wake's illustrious golf history to earn All-ACC honors four times.
DEACS IN THE RANKINGS
Wake Forest is ranked 19th nationally in the Golfweek/Sagarin ratings, 21st in the GolfWorld coaches poll, and 21st in the Golf Coaches Association of America poll.
The Deacs have held pretty steady in the 'teens in all three sets of rankings this season after being ranked 7th by GolfWorld and 6th by the GCAA in the preseason. Sagarin, which also ranks strength of schedule, lists WFU's 2003-04 tournament slate as the 13th-toughest in the nation.
Individually speaking, Bill Haas tops the charts at No. 1 in the Sagarin ratings, a position he has held all season long.
Kyle Reifers is 55th in the ratings.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
So far this season, Bill Haas has counted 98.7 percent of his rounds toward team totals and has shot equal or under par in over 84.2 percent of his rounds -- both of those marks are on pace to set new single-season school records in those categories ... his season stroke average is on pace to set a new NCAA record (see chart) ... Haas has also finished among the top 20 in all 13 events entered this season, with 11 of those in the top 10 ... for the year, Haas is 105-under par... Wake Forest boasts two of the top 10 stroke averages in the ACC, as Haas leads the league with 69.00 and Kyle Reifers ranks eighth at 72.45 ...
A RECORD PERFORMANCE
Bill Haas' 18-under 195 at the Jerry Pate National (63-66-66) this past fall was a new career low, and is the lowest tournament score by a Deacon golfer since Chris Kite shot a 21-under 195 at the 1986 Chris Schenkel. His first-round 63 at the Jerry Pate was the lowest single-round score by a Deacon golfer since Todd Lynch fired a 63 at the 1996 Taylor Made Red River Classic.
Jerry Haas PLAYS IN WACHOVIA
Wake Forest coach Jerry Haas competed in the 2004 Wachovia Championship May 6-9 in Charlotte.
Haas shot a 4-over 76 on Thursday, followed by an Even par 72 on Friday, falling just short of making the cut. Haas played a practice round with brother, Jay Haas, and former Deacon Billy Andrade.
Haas won a qualifier in March to earn a spot in the PGA TOUR event, which took place at Quail Hollow Country Club.
Haas, who competed on the European, NIKE and PGA tours from 1988-96, participated in his first professional event since qualifying for the 2002 U.S. Open. He is in his seventh season as head coach of the Demon Deacons.
STREAKY DEAC
Earlier this season, Bill Haas tied his own school record by carding 13 straight rounds under par. The chance to break the record ended with a second-round 79 in the General Jim Hackler Invitational, his highest score of the season. Haas' scoring average was 67.77 during that span. When he originally set the record last season, his stroke average during the streak was 70.00.
When he recorded 64-69-68 at the Courtyard by Marriott Intercollegiate, it was the fourth time in his WFU career he's played an entire tournament in the 60s. No other Deacon has ever recorded more than one such tournament.
Players Mentioned
