Sunday proved to be a major day in the career of Hunter Haas, a Fort Worth native who regained his PGA Tour card for the 2011 season.
Haas, 34, collected the largest paycheck of his PGA Tour career ($203,000) by finishing in a tie for third at the Puerto Rico Open. It marked Haas’ career-best finish in a PGA Tour event, eclipsing a tie for 10th at the 2005 BellSouth Classic.
Haas, a Fort Worth Southwest graduate who played college golf at Oklahoma, climbed to 49th in today’s updated PGA Tour season money list ($382,914), an increase of 34 spots from last week. He stands 50th in the FedEx Cup points standings with 221 points.
Based on Sunday’s strong showing in Puerto Rico, Haas _ who previously held PGA Tour cards in 2001 and 2005 _ has taken a significant step in the right direction toward returning to the PGA Tour next season. Haas also put himself in prime position to earn an invitation to his hometown tour event, the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, May 16-22 in Fort Worth.
Players who are ranked among the top 80 players on the FedEx Cup points list through The Players Championship (May 9-15) are assured of Colonial invitations.
Haas regained playing privileges on the 2011 PGA Tour by finishing third on last year’s 2010 Nationwide Tour money list. Haas won two Nationwide events during the 2010 season.
_ Jimmy Burch
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