Jay Haas

It was a tough way for Jay Haas to lose, but he wasn't complaining. On the contrary, he was happy to have come as close as he did. Going into the final round of the Shearson Lehman Hutton Andy Williams Open at Torrey Pines Sunday, Haas was tied for 14th place, four strokes out of the lead. But Haas, a 12-year PGA Tour veteran, fired a 6-under-par 66, tying Jay Don Blake for the best round of the day, and topped off his charge with an eagle 3 on the 18th hole.

Tom Watson credited skillful iron play for his efficient four-under-par 66 in the opening round of the Senior Players Championship at Timonium, Md. It was his putter, however, that set the tone. Watson saved par with an eight-footer on the first hole Thursday, then dropped in a 25-foot downhill birdie putt on No. 2. He made his only bogey on 13 and finished tied with Jay Haas in second place behind unheralded Lonnie Nielsen , who had eight birdies and three bogeys in an up-and-down 65. Sandy Lyle shot a 67, and four golfers, including Bob Tway and Dan Forsman , were tied for fifth at 68. Watson stepped back into prominence in July when he finished second in the British Open.

Jay Haas, golf's leading money winner, was disqualified from the Players Championship when he bent his putter and then continued to play with it in Thursday's first round. Haas said he threw the putter at his golf bag after missing a 6-footer on the ninth hole. Haas had also missed a short putt on No. 8 and had three-putted on No. 7. "I bent it in anger," he said.

Three new names charged up Saturday's leaderboard, two charged out once they finished, all while that pesky leader, Joey Sindelar, stuck around long enough to once again finish ahead after a dizzying afternoon at the AT&T Champions Classic at Valencia Country Club. One name proudly wears old-school knickers because they're more "comfortable," smokes profusely between punishingly long shots and hails from Mississippi, which is obviously distinguishable in his voice. Golfer: Steve Thomas.

In other years, Jay Haas had the feeling he was playing practice rounds in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. He wasn't paired with celebrities and he and his playing partners virtually had a course to themselves. "It's kind of nice not to be at a course where the celebrities are, because when you play other courses you don't have to worry about traffic," Haas said. "It doesn't even seem like a tournament. Nobody is watching you." Haas will be a prime-time player, though, starting today.

Tom Watson credited skillful iron play for his efficient four-under-par 66 in the opening round of the Senior Players Championship at Timonium, Md. It was his putter, however, that set the tone. Watson saved par with an eight-footer on the first hole Thursday, then dropped in a 25-foot downhill birdie putt on No. 2. He made his only bogey on 13 and finished tied with Jay Haas in second place behind unheralded Lonnie Nielsen , who had eight birdies and three bogeys in an up-and-down 65. Sandy Lyle shot a 67, and four golfers, including Bob Tway and Dan Forsman , were tied for fifth at 68. Watson stepped back into prominence in July when he finished second in the British Open.

Opening day at the 104th United States Open played more like a mad scramble. Dawn broke at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club with pea soup fog, which gave way to benign conditions, which gave way to a severe afternoon storm, a 2-hour and 12-minute delay, resumption of play and then, ta-da, more soup. Play was suspended for good at 7:40 p.m. because of fog, with 19 groups still on the course and a cloudy leaderboard that might best be described as cumulus nuttiness.

'Most kids can beat their dads, but I can't beat mine.' Bill Haas, whose opening-round 73 was seven strokes behind Jay Haas, his father, when play was suspended for the first round of the U.S. Open on Thursday

Golf is a game that likes to deal in "bests." Even negative ones. For instance, it concerns itself with such quasi-stats as, "Who is the best player never to win a tournament?" That would be Bobby Wadkins, hands down. Then the game would concern itself with "Who is the best player never to win a major?" That, for years, was Tom Kite. Then, he won the U.S. Open in 1992 and the mantle descended to Corey Pavin. Then Pavin won the Open last year and the title was vacant.

Never mind that Jay Haas is one year away from joining the Champions Tour. All that matters now is that he's one round away from winning the Players Championship against the most talented field in golf. Haas, 49, shot a five-under-par 67 -- the best score of the day Saturday on the TPC at Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. -- and has a share of the lead with Padraig Harrington going into a final round that might be just as unpredictable as his position on the leaderboard.

Jay Haas watched the ball hang on the lip of the cup at the 10th hole, teasing him for about eight seconds. Then, as it had been throughout the Toshiba Classic, everything rolled his way. It was about the only thing that hung in doubt during the final round Sunday at the Newport Beach Country Club. Haas, 53, finished with a six-under-par 65 to set a 72-hole tournament record at 19 under. R.W.

England's Mark James won the Allianz Championship on Sunday at Boca Raton, Fla., in his first tournament of the year, closing with a four-under-par 68 for a two-stroke victory over Champions Tour player of the year Jay Haas. James spent the previous three weeks skiing in the French Alps. "I came out here fairly cold from the winter off and only started practicing this week," he said. "It's a nice surprise and gives me a lot of confidence."

Champions Tour player of the year Jay Haas shot a seven-under 65 on Saturday at Boca Raton, Fla., for a share of the second-round lead in the Allianz Championship with first-round leader Craig Stadler and England's Mark James. "I'd love to play as well as I did today for the rest of my life," Haas said. "It was just a nice round of golf. I drove the ball really well, hit a lot of good iron shots, made some real nice putts."

What used to be routine felt like a novelty to Tiger Woods. After four consecutive birdies on his way to a five-under-par 65 at East Lake, the former No. 1 player in the world was introduced Saturday as one of the 54-hole leaders in the Tour Championship at Atlanta. Woods raised his cap in mock celebration, and for good reason. It has been more than a year since he has been in this position. "I think I've made steady progress," said Woods, who has only one victory this year and lost his No.

Jay Haas finished strong Friday in the Tour Championship at Atlanta, saving par on the 17th from 60 feet away in a bunker, then making a 12-foot birdie putt for a four-under-par 66 and a two-shot lead over Stephen Ames, who also shot 66. Tiger Woods, winless for eight months, made two birdies with stunning recovery shots and matched his best score of the year, a bogey-free 64 that left him three shots back. U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen had a 66 and joined Woods at four-under 136.

He's 50, he's losing his hair, his face has more lines than a road map and Jay Haas has never been better. At his age, he should be asking for the senior-citizen discount instead of showing the kids how it's done, such as shooting a 68 at the PGA Championship, which is what Haas did here Thursday at Whistling Straits. In fact, it's possible that the only thing more unexpected than Haas' opening round was that he was not alone.

England's Mark James won the Allianz Championship on Sunday at Boca Raton, Fla., in his first tournament of the year, closing with a four-under-par 68 for a two-stroke victory over Champions Tour player of the year Jay Haas. James spent the previous three weeks skiing in the French Alps. "I came out here fairly cold from the winter off and only started practicing this week," he said. "It's a nice surprise and gives me a lot of confidence."

Brett Ogle won the Pebble Beach tournament last week with rounds of 68-68-69-71, 12 under par. He isn't playing here this week, but if he were, those same numbers at the four desert courses would leave him far back in the pack at the end of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Low rounds are commonplace in the Hope and form held up Thursday on another clear, relatively warm day. Curtis Strange emerged as the second-round leader by shooting a 65 at Indian Wells for a 36-hole score of 131, 13 under.

'Most kids can beat their dads, but I can't beat mine.' Bill Haas, whose opening-round 73 was seven strokes behind Jay Haas, his father, when play was suspended for the first round of the U.S. Open on Thursday

Opening day at the 104th United States Open played more like a mad scramble. Dawn broke at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club with pea soup fog, which gave way to benign conditions, which gave way to a severe afternoon storm, a 2-hour and 12-minute delay, resumption of play and then, ta-da, more soup. Play was suspended for good at 7:40 p.m. because of fog, with 19 groups still on the course and a cloudy leaderboard that might best be described as cumulus nuttiness.