Bill Haas prevailed in the latest event of the PGA Tour at the Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation. Breaking a deadlock of six players, when an epic playoff seemed likely, Haas triumphed for the second time in this tournament after a 2010 win.
Haas was one of six players tied at 21-under after he made a par on 15 and finally managed to pull free when he made a composed birdie on 16 to get to 5-under for the day. Of the six, Haas was probably the most underrated, despite his FedEx Cup win in 2011 and especially with Matt Kuchar in the mix.
But when Kuchar failed to birdie the par 5 18th, Haas took the title by a single shot over him, Charley Hoffman, Brendan Steele, Steve Wheatcroft and Sung Joon Park. Three others were a shot further back which outlined the strength of the field and the closeness of the final round.
Haas’ four rounds in the 60’s were matched by others, but his second round 63 was bettered only by Ryan Plamer’s 61 in the same round. The round was ultimately the decisive effort in a low scoring that demanded consistency and fight. His gritty determination was seen down the final hole when he was forced to play an off balanced bunker shot in a bid to save par and close out his sixth PGA Tour win.
Jimmy Walker retains his lead in the FedEx Cup race over birdie-leader Robert Streb and another 2014/15 season winner, Charley Hoffman. Because the big names are yet to play much of a part in the new season, Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson and Tiger Woods are paying the least to land the FedEx Cup.
