Haas wins first PGA tourney on 140th try

LA QUINTA, Calif. - Golf forced patience upon Bill Haas over the last half-decade, and then it rewarded him on the final hole of a marathon week at the Bob Hope Classic.

After playing 140 PGA Tour events without a victory, Haas persevered through six days and five rounds across four courses before going to the final tee Monday in a three-way tie for the lead. That's where a slightly impatient shot clinched his first trophy - and put him next to his father in Hope Classic history.

Haas gave himself a short birdie putt on the 18th by executing an aggressive approach shot after his two co-leaders couldn't do it. With his hands cold and shaking, he hit the 1-footer to finish one stroke ahead of Matt Kuchar, Tim Clark and Bubba Watson with an 8-under 64.

"I'd been wanting to win from the first tournament I played, but it's a process, and there's a lot to it," said Haas, a touted rookie in 2006. "It's special, but I don't know if it's a monkey off my back. I know how hard it was to win, and I'm grateful."

The 27-year-old son of 1988 Hope Classic champion Jay Haas was the last of three co-leaders to play the par-5 18th. Kuchar and South Africa's Clark had both missed birdie putts at the Arnold Palmer Private course, with Kuchar lamenting his inexact approach shot before Clark laid up.

Determined not to come up short, Haas expertly dropped a 3-iron behind the pin, allowing him to 2-putt his way to a 30-under 330 finish, the $900,000 winner's share of the $5 million purse - and the chance to scratch his name off the list of good players with no wins.

"Patience isn't one of my key virtues," Bill Haas said. "It's something I'm still trying to learn. This week, we were forced to be patient. Who knows? Maybe the rainout was good for me. It obviously was. It worked out for the best."