Bill Haas trending up before visit to Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS — All eyes at the U.S. Open last month were on Brooks Koepka's 5-under final round to seal his first major tournament victory by four strokes.

And rightfully so — he had an incredible round. Among the number of storylines lost in the scuffle, though, was Bill Haas.

The 35-year-old climbed five spots on the leaderboard on the final day of the tournament, shooting 3-under to finish tied for fifth place with a 10-under-par.

It was the closest he's come to winning a major tournament in several years.

'I can take a lot of good away from it,' Haas told reporters after his final day at the U.S. Open. 'I'm not getting any younger, so I'm going to have to capitalize on some opportunities here these next few years.'

Haas, fresh off his successful outing at the U.S. Open, will be in Cedar Rapids on Monday. Haas will join nearly 30 other professional golfers and local celebrities taking part in the seventh annual Zach Johnson Foundation Classic at Elmcrest Country Club. The event benefits Kids on Course, a nonprofit providing tutoring, enrichment, parent engagement support and health support to children at Grant, Harrison and Van Buren Elementary Schools and Roosevelt and Wilson Middle Schools in Cedar Rapids. Last year, the event raised $1 million for the charity.

Now, Haas is no stranger to winning. He has six career wins on the PGA Tour, and won the FedExCup back in 2011. He's recorded 53 top-10 finishes in his 13 years as a pro, and is currently ranked as the 36th-best golfer in the world.

However, Haas has never won a major tournament. His highest finish at a major — before the U.S. Open — was when he tied for ninth at the British Open in 2016. And of the 31 majors he's played in, Haas has only finished in the top-10 twice.

'I've been able to win some tournaments, but to not do well in the big tournaments shows you how difficult it is to perform under extra pressure, under more difficult conditions,' Haas told The State in June.

He's not the only professional golfer on the list of players never to win a major — there are plenty, including Lee Westwood, Rickie Fowler, Hideki Matsuyama, Paul Casey, and until earlier this year, Sergio Garcia.

However, Haas seems to be trending upward toward his goal of winning a major. He's currently 25th in the FedExCup standings, sitting in a good position near the midway point in the season. He's finished in the top 15 in three of the last four tournaments he's played in, and is playing incredibly consistent. Over the last 17 rounds, Haas has had just a six-stroke variance, shooting between 68 and 73.

He'll take a quick break playing with Johnson and others on Monday, before preparing for yet another chance to win a major at the British Open, where he opened with 100/1 odds to win. Even though he hasn't crossed into the club of golfers who have won a major tournament, Haas is getting closer. He has been slowly for years — and it seems to be almost time.

'I think I just need to prove to myself that just getting into this situation is not OK, it's not enough,' Haas told Golf Digest in 2015. 'I want to get into this position and go forward. I've gotten into this position before and I've seemed to fall backward. Whether it's mental, physical or both ... I would love to figure out how to get over that hump.'

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