Bill Haas is golf’s new $11m man after capturing the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup Cup double.
Haas defeated countryman Hunter Mahan at the third extra hole of their play-off on the East Lake Golf Course to collect $1.4m in capturing the Tour Championship and with it the bonus of $10m on offer for the FedEx Cup.
Haas, using a belly putter, shot four rounds in the sixties (68, 67, 69 and 68) to claim the PGA season-ending event.
Bill Haas $10m richer after FedEx Cup winning delivery. (Photo - www.pgatour.com/getty)
It is the 29-year old’s third PGA Tour victory after winning twice last year.
Haas leap-frogged from 24th place to take out the FedEx Cup from Webb Simpson and World No. 1 Luke Donald.
Haas had started the final round three strokes behind the leading third round pair of Mahan and Australia’s Aaron Baddeley.
And Haas won the PGA Tour’s biggest purse despite dropping shots at the 16th and final holes.
Mahan did his cause little good in managing just one birdie over the final round but also posting two bogeys.
In the play-off Haas looked to have handed victory to his rival when at the second extra hole he found a bunker with his tee-shot and then water with his second.
But then at the next hole, the par three 18th, Mahan found the same greenside bunker for the second time in the play-off, then allowed his escape to run 15 feet past the hole.
Haas, putting from the back fringe of the green, rolled his ball just four feet past and, after Mahan missed, calmly found the centre of the cup to take the spoils.
However Haas at first was not aware he had won by titles as he explained.
“Well, I went up and did some TV interviews up in the grandstands there on 18 and both trophies were there and there was no other player, (laughter), so I kind of assumed and I looked at my wife and she was there, and she nodded her head, so that was when I realized,” he said.
“I saw Tim Finchem, I said, I didn’t know I had won this, and he was like, congratulations, you won both. That’s what he said, both are for you.
“Obviously I did what I wanted to do. I wanted to win, especially going into today. I felt like I was in the position even after my finish yesterday.
“I felt like I was in a position to win the golf tournament, and that was all I could do in order to win the FedExCup.
“I mean, like I said, I don’t know how many times I can say the word fortunate, but if Webb plays a little bit better — or all these things had to happen for me to win, and it did.
“I don’t even know what to say. I’d like to say I did all the right things. I mean, I worked hard, I practiced, I got a new putter, the belly putter is the craze, and I guess it will be even more now.
“My hands were shaking. My hands were shaking in regulation, in the Playoffs, that last putt there. I don’t know how far it was, it looked like 12 feet, it was probably four.
“When I hit it, looked like it came off right where I wanted it to, and pretty cool feeling.
“I’ve played 170 something tournaments probably, and this is my third win, so it makes all of them so special. This is pretty cool.”
Victory will see move Haas from 45th in the world to inside the top-20.
