Haas an atrocious year on the greens losing over a stroke to the field in SG: Putting, leaving him with a best result of T27 in the alternate field Puerto Rico Open. Those putting numbers seem like an anomaly, so an improvement back to the Tour average could see Haas make cuts more regularly and find a couple top-10 results. However, he's failed to qualify for the playoffs in the last three seasons so it's difficult to be too optimistic about his future.
Haas has been one of the most consistent players throughout most of his career. The last two seasons, however, he has failed to make the playoffs or top $750,000. He had five top-15 finishes last season and only missed seven cuts in 23 starts, but his best finish was only a T10. Haas is still only 37 years old and he ranked 98th in SG: Total last season, which makes me think he is poised for a bounce-back season in 2019-20.
Haas finished 152nd in points, though surely would've been inside the top-150 and maybe even the top-125 had he not been involved in a car accident while in Los Angeles to play the Genesis Open in February. He missed a month afterward, but still may be carrying the emotional trauma of a friend dying in the accident. Haas played in 25 events, made 14 cuts, had three top-25s and one top-10 - at the RBC Heritage about two months after the accident. He was also 14th at Colonial in May. Haas has not won since 2015 and will never regain the heights he had when winning the 2011 FedEx Cup playoffs. But as a barometer, he almost certainly will be drafted in the RotoWire auction, which goes 126 golfers deep.
Haas is one of the most consistent golfers on the PGA Tour, which is both good and bad. Good for purposes of reliability, but bad for purposes of significant growth. Haas topped out at more than $4 million in earnings in 2011 and he's finished with $2-4 million every year since. He's generally in the 20-40 range in the FedEx points list as well and that's exactly where he'll likely end up against this season.
Haas might be the least heralded golfer on the PGA Tour. He's finished inside the top-50 on the FedEx Cup points list in each of the past eight years (six years inside the top-32), he's won six times during that span and he won the FedEx Cup title in 2011. Yet, he's never listed as one of the best players on the PGA Tour. Perhaps it's the lack of a major or the lack of any flair. Whatever the case, Haas keeps producing at a high-level, yet is continually under the radar. Haas' price entering this season is very reasonable when comparing it to his results from the past five years. As such, he's a decent salary cap option this season. In drafts, he's a third- or fourth-round pick.
Bill Haas is better than he showed last year -- or is he? He's hard to peg. Normally consistent, rarely great, but sometimes outstanding. Haas appears to have as much talent as some of the guys who finished in the top-10 on the money list this year, but for some reason, he can't seem to put it all together. The upside with Haas appears to be tremendous, but the question is, will he ever tap into it? At this price, it's tough to justify a selection in salary cap leagues, he just hasn't shown enough over the past couple seasons. In draft leagues he should go early in the 3rd round.
Haas has to be the most under-the-radar player on the PGA Tour. Year after year he's in or near the top-20 on the money list at the end of the season, but outside his run at the Fed Ex Championship a few years back, you don't often hear his name in conversations of the best players on the PGA Tour. That's likely due to his absence on the leader boards at many of the majors and that's something he'll have to change if he's to be considered in the class of players such as Adam Scott and Justin Rose. Haas could go anywhere in the 10-20 range in a draft format, but he should probably be going anywhere from 15-20. Haas is a risky option in salary cap formats as he'll have a hard time significantly improving upon his number from 2013.
The 2011 FedEx Cup Champion looked to be on his way to elite status after an early season win at the Northern Trust Open, but for some reason Haas lost his game after that win. It didn't happen immediately - Haas managed a couple top-30s in the weeks following that win - but within about a month or so, he started missing cuts, four of six to be exact. He never did get his game back before the end of the regular season, and only a couple strong outings during the fall season saved what was otherwise a disappointing season. It is that fall season, though, that leads us to believe Haas could return to his 2011 form this season. Haas has a lot of upside and at this number, he's certainly worth a look. In draft leagues he should go late third or early fourth.
Bill Haas started 2011 on fire, with three top-10s in his first three events, including a runner-up at the Humana Challenge. After that, however, Haas slowly started to decline. March was not kind to Haas, neither was April, but once the calendar turned to May, Haas once again found his game. The season culminated in his biggest triumph to date - a win at the Tour Championship. Haas has risen through the ranks awfully quickly, though, and he'll probably level out sometime soon. Considering the number he posted last year, this could be the year that the upward trend halts.
Haas broke through in a major way last season as he not only captured his first PGA TOUR victory but his second as well. Haas' top-10 percentage was relatively low, only 16 percent, but he made up for that by capitalizing when he was playing well. In addition to his two victories last season, he also finished runner-up at the McGladrey Classic late in the year. Only 28, the future appears bright for Haas, but he may have set the bar a little too high last season. Expect another solid year for Haas, but it's doubtful he'll improve on his 2010 numbers. Haas does everything well statistically, but his best area in 2010 was GIR where he ranked 21st.
Bill Haas' earnings have increased each of the last five seasons, but his ascension up the rankings has been very slow. Haas has averaged 30 events over the last four seasons, yet he's never earned more than the $1.4 million he won last season. On a positive note, Haas accomplished a lot near the end of the 2009 season while playing against the best players on the Tour, so it would not be surprising to see a more-aggressive uptick from Haas in 2010.
Haas have what it takes to get to the next level among his fellow PGA Tour players? His first two seasons on the tour have been okay, but not spectacular. He finished with 10 top-25s last season, which is nice, but only converted two of those into top-10s. That number will need to improve this year - and should.
Hass' second year on tour was slightly better than his first year, but he needs to work on both his accuracy off the tee and his putting. Those seem to be the items that most of the younger players need to work on though. While his overall numbers were better in 2007, his consistency was not. He missed 14 cuts out of 30 events, and he made most of his money at the Mayakoba Classic. Haas should improve this season again, but I don't think this will be a break through season.
Haas captured one top-10 in 30 events last year. Good thing he did, as he would have been close to missing the top 125 without that finish. Haas is going to be a good player, but the process might take a few years. The breakthrough season will not be this year.
Qualified through Q-School. Limited success in PGA Tour events last year, but at least he's got a few under his belt heading into 2006.
NCAA Player of the Year for 2004, turning pro after US Open.
