Haas wins playoff at East Lake, FedExCup, too
ATLANTA – Hunter Mahan and Bill Haas did the improbable on Sunday as they reduced the race for the FedExCup and its $10 million bonus into a sudden-death, winner-take-all playoff. Entering the week, Haas stood 25th out of 30, Mahan was 21st. Both players parred the first two extra holes, Haas saving par at the second, the par-4 17th, from a greenside pond.
At the third extra hole, making it the longest playoff in Tour Championship history, Mahan hit his tee shot into a greenside bunker and could not get up-and-down to save his par. Haas did make par and became a winner on the tour for a third time in his career. He got a big surprise when he realized he had also won the cup.
“I played with Luke Donald, and he birdied the last, and I thought that won the FedExCup for him, so afterwards I told him, I said, ‘Congratulations, I hope that won it for you, I just hope maybe I can win this tournament.’ That was kind of
He felt fortunate to get into a playoff and he believed he could win.
“It was my third one this year, I was 0 for 2 coming into this one,” Haas said of the playoff. “I told myself it's not over until it's over. You never know what can happen. I could hole this chip, anything can happen. And I did. It was somewhat of a learning experience for me because anything did happen.
“Hunter played great. Hunter did everything he was supposed to do on 17, I just got very fortunate and pulled off a great shot that might not happen every time. Things just happened for me even though I thought the other side of it last week when I know it doesn't happen for you.”
Webb Simpson was No. 1 in the standings , but his 22nd place finish dropped him to third in the final standings. World No. 1 Luke Donald, one of the favorites coming in, finished in a three-way tie for third, but he needed a solo third to win the bonus. Those results opened the door for Haas and Mahan as they finished tied at 8 under par and turned the season-long chase for the cup into a battle between the two of them.
Australia’s Aaron Baddeley had a chance at birdie at the last, but he made par to share third with England’s Donald and South Korea’s K.J. Choi.
“I was just trying to win, just to win,” Baddeley said following play. “I felt like I played good enough to win. I mean, I hit it pretty good all day, a couple of loose tee shots, but overall I hit it close. I just hit it on the wrong side of the holes, wasn’t able to – I had a lot of putts where I had to feed it into the hole. I wasn’t able to have a go at it.
“Two short misses on the back nine cost me,” he added. That was the golf tournament. Make that two short ones, I win.”
Donald had to make birdie at the last to have any chance at the cup, and he did just that from about nine feet.
“I'm not nervous anymore,” he said when asked. “I was over that putt on 18, obviously I knew if I made that, I might have had a possibility. Without making birdie on the last, I don't think I would have had any chance. Pretty pumped that I made that, and disappointed in a way because I didn't play my best the last three days. I really struggled, and I fought hard, but it would be tough to lose by a shot again like I did last year. But we'll have to see. I've got to have a couple things go my way.”
Now Haas will wait to see if Fred Couples makes his the final pick for the U.S. team for the Presidents Cup. It is hard to imagine him not choosing the FedExCup champion.
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