EDMOND, Okla. -- Perhaps there was some good karma coming from the bunker that Jay Haas found himself in on the third playoff hole at Oak Tree Golf Club, on May 28, 2006.
After all, Haas was a houseguest of Oak Tree member Bob Tway, who found in the 1986 PGA Championship that greenside bunkers on the 18th are where dreams are made.
Peering over the top of the bunker, barely able to see the flagstick in his duel with Brad Bryant, Haas managed to blast out to within 12-feet below the hole. He then drained the par putt and watched as Brad Bryant followed by missing his four-foot tying putt.
A major Championship, whether it comes as a senior or younger, is often a series of unexpected events. It was that kind of afternoon for Haas, who grabbed the 67th Senior PGA Championship on one of the toughest layouts in event history.
After 29 years and a parade of close calls, Haas' first major Championship victory left him speechless and choked up.
"I guess I wasn't expecting it," said Haas. "I was expecting to go to the next tee, and I think when Brad missed ... I didn't know what to do or where to go, who to look at, anything like that."
While Haas mounted a front-nine charge with five straight birdies, the back nine belonged to Bryant, who closed eagle-par-birdie, the latter a highlight-reel effort on the 72nd hole to force a playoff with Haas -- the 12th playoff in Senior PGA Championship history.
Bryant's missed four-footer came on the third trip to the par-4 18th.
Haas hoisted the Alfred S. Bourne Trophy, and pocketed $360,000, in the oldest and most prestigious event in senior golf. The same guy who finished a stroke behind Hale Irwin in the 2004 Senior PGA Championship; and had third-place finishes in the 2004 U.S. Senior Open; 1999 PGA Championship; and 1995 Masters, was now ushered into an elite club.
"I really wasn't thinking in those terms, that I had been falling back so many times," Haas said. "I guess I don't think too much of the past, about what I haven't done. But, yeah, it kind of hit me there. And, it was on TV, and I wanted to say, 'We did it, Jan,' and I couldn't get that out. Nothing would come out.
"And I was getting ready to tear up, so it was a pretty emotional time for me."
"It's good to have a major player win a major Championship," Bryant said. "Not that I wouldn't be a great Champion, but you know, when you look at that time, Jay's been such a great player for such a long time, he deserves a major."
Later, the two players met in a hallway in the media center.
"Jay, congratulations," said Bryant. "Nobody deserves it more than you."
Haas posted a 3-under 68, and Bryant a 71, to finish at 5-under-par 279. Third-round leader Gil Morgan, who struggled to a 74, on his home course, finished two strokes behind in third place.
The 52-year-old Haas started the day four strokes behind Morgan and pushed into the lead with a string of five-straight birdies, beginning at the fourth hole. He led by two-strokes midway through the round.
"I felt in control. I felt like it was my tournament," Haas said.
Bryant, also in pursuit of his first Champions Tour major, began charging with birdies at the 12th and 13th, before a bogey gave him a brief setback at the 15th. He drilled his second shot within a few feet of the hole at No. 16 and pumped his fist after pulling even with Haas.
After Haas birdied the 18th, Bryant hit his drive into the right rough. Before his second shot, a microphone caught him telling caddie Tony Smith, "It's not my best shot here, having to hit it low."
Twisting awkwardly, he guided his 159-yard approach shot around a tree limb to leave about a 20-footer that he made.
Smith replied as the twosome marched on, "I'm not easily impressed, but that was one heck of a shot."
"Eighteen, it was just found money," Bryant said. "I mean, it was like, you know, walking out there and finding five bucks lying on the sidewalk. I was just really lucky."
Bryant's par putt on the first playoff hole spun halfway around the cup before falling in, and Haas made his own miraculous par on the second hole, when his drive at No. 1 caromed off a tree and ended in rough along the 18th fairway. Bryant's birdie putt there came up two-feet short.
Haas also survived a scare at the par-5 16th, when his second shot hit off a wooden retaining wall, but skittered into the rough and stayed out of a creek. He then flipped the ball onto the green, but failed to make the birdie putt.
He pumped his fist and slapped hands with playing partner Dana Quigley after a birdie putt at the 18th, forcing Bryant to match him in the following group.
Morgan tipped his cap throughout the day to cheering crowds at most tees and greens and even exchanged high-fives with fans along the ropes. But his dream scenario to win just down the street from his house didn't work out.
The 59-year-old player was trying to become the oldest Senior PGA champion since Sam Snead in 1973, and the fourth oldest ever.
With the pressure of the third-round lead and a unique final opportunity to win on his home course, Morgan wasn't pleased with how he played.
"Just all the things that were involved probably created a little bit more stress," Morgan said.
Haas and Curtis Strange, a two-time U.S. Open Champion, spent the week at Tway's home, which is about a mile from Oak Tree Golf Club. Haas used Tway's TiVo system to watch replays of his rounds.
"I tried my darnedest to win a major on the PGA Tour at the PGA, the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open, whatever, but it didn't happen," Haas said. "But this is ? I won't even say it's the next best thing. This is just like one of them to me."
