Bill Haas has seen Masters spectrum

Most of the participants in this year’s Masters Tourn­ament have seen Augusta Na­tional Golf Club only from a player’s perspective.

Bill Haas has seen it as a spectator, caddie and player.

When he was old enough, Haas, who grew up and still lives in Greenville, S.C., came to Augusta National as a fan to see his father, Jay, play. Jay Haas played in the Masters 22 times from 1976-2005.

In 1999, Bill Haas caddied for his father. Now he is about to play in his third consecutive Masters. He will be the most recent example of a player who has caddied and played in the Masters; Francesco Molinari,
who is in this year’s field, caddied for brother Edoardo in 2006.

“It’s cool that it’s a place I enjoyed watching my dad play, and now to be inside the ropes,” said Haas, 29. “No matter how I do, it’s something I cherish.”

As a caddie, Haas recalls that his father was paired with Sergio Garcia in the final round.

“I remember him being not much older than me and he was playing in it, so that was motivation for me,” said Haas, who is 2½ years younger than Garcia.

Eleven years after caddying in the Masters, Haas made his Masters debut in 2010 and tied for 26th.

Haas was in his mid-teens the first time he played Aug­usta National as a guest. His brother Jay Jr., who
is his elder by a year, also played.

“I remember thinking I didn’t want to take a divot,” said Jay Jr., who is Bill’s caddie now. “I didn’t even want to touch the grass. I didn’t want to ruin anything. I remember Bill fatted his drive on the first hole. He took this big old divot off the first tee. It was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen to this day. Bill didn’t even care; he was just mad that he fatted it.”

“I remember drop-kicking it and kind of hooking it left,” Bill said. “I think I was more nervous there than I’ve ever been out here, just playing that course for the first time. It’s just one of those places you get the butterflies going just walking out on the grounds.”

Haas has hit two famous shots on the PGA Tour in the past six months. In the Tour Championship in September, he splashed a shot out of a greenside lake at East Lake Golf Club to within three feet of the hole and saved par in a playoff with Hunter Mahan. Haas won the playoff on the next hole – and the FedEx Cup.

He pocketed $1,440,000 for winning the tournament and $10 million for winning the FedEx Cup.

“I love the water shot,” said Haas, who is constantly reminded of it by fans. “It’s pretty cool to be associated with a shot. Also, I tell everybody, ‘I hope I don’t have to hit that shot again,’ and just try to play solid golf. It was fun to be in the situation, and it just happened to go my way.”

The other spectacular shot came in February on the 10th green in the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles. He rolled in a 45-foot birdie on the second hole of a playoff to beat Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley.

“Golf’s a funny game,” said Haas, who has four PGA Tour wins. “In fact, it changes daily. I guess that’s the trick, to try to make it as consistent as you can. What you’ve done in the past, being the FedEx Cup champion gives me that confidence that I can do it, that I can play well under certain situations. I’m always working on my swing and getting in a good frame of mind.”

Haas tied for 42nd in last year’s Masters, despite being at odds with his game. He’d missed the cut in his previous two starts (Tampa Bay and Bay Hill) and made bogeys on the first two holes of the Masters. He played even-par golf the rest of the first round for 74, which he followed with 70-74-72.

“I typically haven’t played that great on those courses (at Tampa Bay and Bay Hill) and my swing wasn’t feeling that great,” Haas said. “But I won the Bob Hope (in 2010) after missing the cut at the Sony Open the week before. You have to be good at breaking off the rear-view mirror, as I like to say. It doesn’t really matter what you did last week. It’s what you do from here on.”

Having won the Tour Cham­pion­ship and the FedEx Cup at the end of last year and the Northern Trust Open this year, Haas is feeling good about this Masters.

“I’m confident,” he said. “The year has started off well.”