Haas, Couples were Presidents Cup teammates at the first event
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL (March 27, 2008) – U.S. Presidents Cup Team Captain Fred Couples has announced that Jay Haas will serve as his captain’s assistant for the 2009 Presidents Cup, to be held Oct. 8-11, 2009, at Harding Park Golf Course in San Francisco, Calif. Couples made the announcement via phone to a press conference at the Ginn Championship, where Haas, the 2006-07 Champions Tour Player of the Year, is competing.
Haas and Couples represented the United States at the first Presidents Cup in 1994. Haas, one of Hale Irwin’s two captain’s choices, posted a 2-2-1 record for the victorious U.S. Team. Nearly 10 years later, Haas again made the U.S. Presidents Cup Team, this time as one of U.S. Team Captain Jack Nicklaus’ captain’s choices after Haas posted a tie for fifth finish at the 2004 PGA Championship. Haas’ record in 2003 was 3-1-0 in the event in South Africa, which ended in a tie.
Haas and Couples played in one match together in the 1995 Ryder Cup, where they were defeated in the first-round morning foursomes by Sam Torrance and Constantino Rocca. In all, Haas has represented the United States in three Ryder Cups (1983, 1995, 2004) and posted a 4-6-2 record.
“I am so pleased to announce Jay Haas as my captain’s assistant for The Presidents Cup,” said Couples. “Jay has been one of my closest friends in golf for many years, and I respect his competitive instincts and leadership abilities very much. Jay has been a part of The Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup, and that experience will be very important to the team. I will be counting on him to help me with everything we do.”
Haas, a member of the PGA TOUR since 1977, is a nine-time winner with nearly $14.5 million in career earnings. His most recent PGA TOUR victory was the 1993 H.E.B Texas Open.
Haas played in his first Champions Tour event in 2004 and has since captured 10 tournament titles, including the 2006 Senior PGA Championship. Last year was his first season dedicated solely to the Champions Tour, and Haas won four titles for the second consecutive season. He earned Champions Tour Player of the Year honors for the second time (2006-07) and captured the Arnold Palmer Award as the Champions Tour’s leading money winner. He won the 2006 Charles Schwab Cup and its $1-million annuity and finished second to Loren Roberts in the season-long points race last year.
“I can’t tell you how excited I was when Fred called,” said Haas. “It’s an honor and a huge thrill for me to be part of the 2009 Presidents Cup and I look forward to it with great anticipation. It will be fun just being around the best players in the world. I hope to learn more about my assistant captaincy from my fellow Champions Tour player, Jeff Sluman, who was so successful in the same role with our most recent captain, Jack Nicklaus.”
The U.S. Presidents Cup Team will be named following the 2009 PGA Championship (Aug. 10-16). The top-10 U.S. players who earn the most official PGA TOUR money from the start of the 2008 season through 2009 PGA Championship automatically make the team. Captain Couples will announce his two captain’s selections to round out his 12-man team on Aug. 17, 2009.
Greg Norman, captain of the International Team, is expected to name his captain’s assistant in the near future.
The Presidents Cup, a team match play competition featuring 24 of the world’s top golfers – 12 from the United States and 12 from around the world, excluding Europe – is held every two years, and since 1996 has alternated between United States and international venues. The Presidents Cup was developed to give the world’s best non-European players an opportunity to compete in international team match-play competition. The U.S. Team has won five of the seven previous Presidents Cups, and the only outright win by the International Team came at the 1998 event in Melbourne. The 2003 Presidents Cup ended in a tie.
Contact:
Laura Hill, PGA TOUR Senior Director of Communications
904-273-7655, lauraneal@pgatourhq.com
