Haas is settling in, and unsettling his Champions Tour foes  PGATOUR.com Editorial Coordinator So, Jay Haas, are you ever going to let anyone else win?  Jay Haas followed his uncle Bob Goalby to victory for the second time. (Jim Rogash/WireImage)
It certainly doesn't seem like it. The 2006 Champions Tour Player of the Year has already equaled his victory total from last year with four wins, including Sunday's triumph at the Bank of America Championship, his second title in as many starts. That is, unless you're part of the Haas family. During the week off between his back-to-back wins, Haas' daughters and wife (who don't really play the game) were divided into two teams captained by Jay and son Bill Haas, who plays on the PGA TOUR. And in the family showdown, Bill's team -- with his girlfriend plus sisters -- emerged victorious. On the Champions Tour, however, Jay Haas already has 10 wins in just 49 starts in his short Champions Tour career. And the scary part, at least for the other players, is that the season's barely halfway over. "I've obviously been playing very well this year," said Haas. "This week, as soon as I saw the course, I had good feelings." The first day he shot a 71, though, and figured he might have just played his way out of contention. But -- with a prediction that would turn out to be eerily prophetic -- Haas remarked that it might take a "couple of 66s" to catch then-tournament co-leaders Tom Watson and Tom Purtzer. So what does Haas, who seems to find a way each week to will himself to victory, do? Shoots a 66 on both Saturday and Sunday, naturally. Coming into Sunday, "I still thought Purtzer would be the champion. He had been playing so well and it didn't seem to bother him coming out of the box," said Haas. "It looked like we would all be playing for second. But I was still trying to put the heat on him. I hit good shots early and made a bunch of mid-range putts in the 10- 12-foot to 20-foot range. I made six to eight in that range, which you have to do to shoot 8 under." Sunday's was a come-from-behind 66 in the final round, as Haas overtook good friend Purtzer and erased his three-stroke lead by making birdie on Nos. 2, 3, 5, 7, 14 and 17, while Purtzer went the opposite direction, making bogey or worse on four of his final nine holes. By the 17th hole, a 171-yard par 3 over water, Haas had already realized he might stand a chance but knew he had to at least make in case Purtzer staged a birdie run. Nerves and uncertainty on whether he should hit a 7-iron or an 8-iron caused Haas to pick up the ball. He settled on the 7-iron, cleared his mind of negative thoughts, re-teed it and aimed for the flag. "I actually just mis-hit it ... but it looked like I knew what I was doing," said Haas, who ended up making birdie on the hole to grab a three-stroke cushion. "I felt like I needed to shoot at the flag ... (and) I got lucky." The win at the Bank of America Championship was a meaningful one for Haas, since his uncle Bob Goalby won the first event in 1981 when it was called the Marlboro Classic. This is the second tournament the two have won, as both earned a victory in what is now the Buick Invitational in San Diego on the PGA TOUR. The two spoke earlier in the week, with Jay joking to Bob that they misspelled his name on the champions banner. But his uncle's influence on his career still means a lot to Haas, who at the time of Goalby's victory was in just his fifth year on the PGA TOUR. "I don't think I appreciated what that meant to him to win in '81. I say that about (his 1968 win at the Masters), too. I was 14 or 15 so I couldn't appreciate what that meant to him (either)," said Haas. "In '81, he was 51 ... I never thought I would be that old. But each time I've had success out here or in any golf, be it amateur, college, pro, I always feel good for him and the time he gave to me." Haas is excelling on the Champions Tour, leading both the Charles Schwab Cup points race and the Money List, so it's natural to ask if he will try his hand on the PGA TOUR again, where he played seven times in 2006 and made five cuts. "I think I've come to the realization that I don't want to play PGA TOUR golf," he said. "I'm just having time of my life out here. It's so much better than I ever thought it would be. Not because I'm winning, though certainly that's a great thing, but what I would miss. During the rain delay on Friday, we were telling stories in locker room and laughing like little kids." He does miss seeing Bill play -- "Who wouldn't want to see their kids play well and do what they want to do?" -- he notes -- but says there's really only one way he will play the PGA TOUR again: by winning the U.S. Senior Open, the Senior British Open and/or the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship, each of which would earn him a spot in the next season's PGA TOUR equivalent. And, with one major win under his belt at the 2006 PGA Championship coupled with the way he's been playing the past few months, there's a good possibility Haas could win one of the four majors left on the Champions Tour in 2007. "I just wanted to win the Charles Schwab Cup last year. That was a huge goal for me, and I want to win again this year and to lead the money list. I didn't get opportunity or didn't take advantage of the opportunity to (do that) on the PGA TOUR," said Haas, "At the U.S. Senior Open, Senior British Open, and the Senior Players, it would be great to play well." 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