Jay Haas, Bill Haas excited for father-son experience at Zurich Classic of New Orleans

Bill Haas still has the trophy.

Now, he doesn’t remember exactly where he and his dad Jay finished – “They gave out like seven places,” Bill explains. But the iconic Mickey Mouse trophy he won in that parent-child event held at Walt Disney World Resort remains part of the 2011 FedExCup champion’s collection of tournament hardware.

And this week, some three decades later, Bill, who followed his father to the PGA TOUR, is getting another chance to play with Jay at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

It will be Jay’s first start on TOUR since the 2010 PLAYERS. And it will be the 799th of a very successful career that saw the 68-year-old win nine times on TOUR and another 18 times on PGA TOUR Champions. So far, that is.

Only Mark Brooks has made more TOUR starts with 803, and no one has made more cuts than Jay at 592.

“I think it shows how good he's been for so long and the fact that he's still competitive,” Bill says. “I talk about how I feel like I've been out here for a while. It's like my 17th season and I'd have to play -- he started when he was 21 -- 47 years, (so) 30 more years to just be where he is.

“That’s like mind blowing to me of being able to physically compete week in and week out, out here and, and then do well enough to keep your TOUR card and well enough to win. It just impresses me more and more … just knowing what that takes and what it took.

“I feel lucky to be able to have him on my team.”

Jay was in Hilton Head last week with his son, who tied for 59th at the RBC Heritage. He said he was excited when Bill asked him to be his partner in New Orleans – although he is mindful of his son’s quest to move up the FedExCup rankings (he’s currently 168th) and secure his card.

“My first thought was I love it – I’d love nothing better,” Jay said last week. “But then I got thinking, well, I don't want him to waste a week playing with me. … So, as it's getting closer, I'm getting more excited and hopefully I don't embarrass myself.”

Jay says he’s always watched the PNC Championship, which features major champions playing with a family member, and wished that he could have that opportunity with Bill, a six-time TOUR winner, or Bill’s brother, Jay Jr. He does this week, and the stakes are even higher.

Jay’s friends on PGA TOUR Champions know what it means to him, too.

“They’re all excited for me,” he says. “And I'm telling all these young guys out here that they're going to have an extra set of tees for me out there about 80 yards in front.”

The Zurich Classic features two-man teams playing two rounds apiece of Four-ball and Foursomes, or alternate shot. It isn’t the first time the two have played together as pros – they won the Umpqua Bank Challenge in 2012 and the CVS Charity Classic in 2004.

Bill and Jay also shared a moment to remember at the 2015 Presidents Cup in Korea. Bill was one of Jay’s Captain’s Picks and he delivered, gutting out a 1-up victory over Sangmoon Bae in the final Singles match for a 15.5-14.5 U.S. victory that left his father in tears.

Father and son made it clear that while they planned to enjoy the moment, this week at TPC Louisiana was serious business.

“You could ask any person … up and down the line there what are your expectations?” Jay says, gesturing at the players on the range at Harbour Town. “And they're all thinking they can play great. I think he's at a disadvantage with me. I'd dead weight, but you never know, I could get a hot putter and hit a few hybrids on the green.”

“Like he said, we're trying as hard as we can on every shot,” Bill agrees. “When you're a good player, you're a good player and you're trying hard and you execute, then it doesn't matter who you are or how old you are. I think if we both play well, we can do well.

“I think that's just what you have to believe or why would you even tee it up?”

Now, if they could just settle on their walk-up song. Someone suggested the Wake Forest fight song might work since both went to college there – and Jay’s brother Jerry is the head coach. But Jay had other ideas.

“We were talking in the lunchroom there wondering if anybody’s chosen Frank Sinatra yet,” he says. “That’s more my vintage.”