Playing the 18th hole, Jay Haas stood over a five-footer that, if he made, would put him into the record books. Clinging on to an eight-under-par tournament total, the 68-year-old needed to hole his par putt to make it to the weekend and, in the process, become the oldest player to make a cut on the PGA Tour.
Duly rolling in the putt, the American would snatch the record that stood for an incredible 43-years. The man he beat was also none other than Sam Snead, who previously held the record by making the cut at the 1979 Manufacturers Hanover Westchester Classic at 67 years, 2 months and 23 days.
Partnered with his son, Bill, the duo shot a respectable first round of 65, with thirty-five teams worse than the pair on the first day of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
Starting their second day, that impressive form continued, with back-to-back birdies at their opening holes moving them up the leaderboard. Despite a bogey at the 3rd, a birdie at the 7th put them two-under for their round and nine-under for the tournament.
Another birdie gave them breathing room, before a bogey at the 14th and 17th set-up a rather tense climax as they played the last. Needing a par to break the record in the alternate format, 68-year-old Jay would drive off, leaving his son to lay-up the second shot on the par-5 closing hole.
With Bill safely putting the ball back in the fairway, Jay would strike his wedge to 47-feet, leaving the duo a rather lengthy two-putt. With the first stroke finishing inside 5-feet, it rather fittingly fell to Jay to roll it in and break the record.
Jay and Bill celebrate a putt at the 9th green
“That was probably as nervous as I've ever been over a putt of that length certainly. It sounds silly just to have a chance to make the cut,” said Jay. “We had, not a big cushion but a cushion, and it didn't feel like we had it made by any means, but to somehow shake that putt in on the last hole was something I'll never forget."
Speaking after the round, Bill explained that: "I wanted to make the cut so bad!" adding: "I don't think we showed up just to try -- we wouldn't have been so nervous if we just didn't care, but he can shoot a good score. The ball doesn't know who's hitting it, and he played amazing yesterday.
"It is long (the course); that's the big challenge I think for myself but definitely for my dad. We joked that he hit six par-5s in two yesterday, because he's hitting a lot of woods and hybrids in and he's hitting them inside our 7-irons and 6-irons. Again, if you hit a good shot, which he did all day yesterday and today, it doesn't matter how old you are."
