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Bill Haas appears to have settled into quite the groove at Muirfield Village, where he holds a three-stroke overnight lead in the weather-delayed second round of the Memorial Tournament.
After missing the cut in his last two events on the PGA Tour, this type of recovery couldn’t have come at a better time and place. The 2011 FedEx Cup champion just became a father 17 days ago, and having missed his last two cuts, taking some time away from the Tour grind to be with his family may be a big part of why Haas is playing so well.
Who knows, if new son William, Jr. takes over the family business — Haas’s father, brother, and uncle have all played on the PGA Tour — the legacy of the Haas family at the Memorial may continue into the next generation.
While many players in Haas’s situation may have taken more time off to tend to family and spend some time on the practice range, he is playing the Memorial because of the connection he has with the tournament host, Jack Nicklaus. Haas’s father, Jay, enjoyed great success at Muirfield Village, with 10 top-10 finishes in 29 entries, and Nicklaus actually gave Bill an exemption into the tournament in 2005 at the start of his career.
Can he continue this streak of hot play through the weekend? Right now, Haas is three shots ahead of a group that includes Bubba Watson, Matt Kuchar, Charl Schwartzel and Kyle Stanley, and all but Kuchar still have part of their second rounds to finish. Still, Haas has five top-10’s on the season, and some of the usual suspects to be at the top of the leaderboard, notably Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, are nowhere to be found.
Haas will still have some work to do when play resumes on Saturday morning, but a trophy from Memorial would sure be a lot of fun to bring home to the family.
Brandon Raper is a golf writer for www.RantSports.com. “Like” him on Facebook, follow him on Twitter @Brandon__Raper, or add him to your Google+ network.
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