June 19, 1989
By Bill Knight
El Paso Times
Just a little over two weeks ago, J.P. Hayes was a frustrated golfer. He was still confident, but frustrated, nonetheless.
Today, he is relaxed, confident, keeping his game honed over at the El Paso Country Club, checking out the U.S. Open on television.
Life has changed dramatically for the former UTEP golfer in those two weeks. Finally, it all clicked. And last Sunday, he became a winner on the PGA Tour - joining a very exclusive group, taking home a $324,000 paycheck and, more importantly, a two year tournament exemption on the tour.
When Hayes was rolling in that final putt at the Westchester Country Club in New York to win the Buick Classic, his wife Laura was back here, a bundle of nerves, watching on television. And his friends were watching from the El Paso Country Club grill, going nuts.
"I'll never forget that moment," said the soft-spoken Hayes. "The moment when I finally won. It was great."
Laura Hayes said, "It was just so great to see that smile on his face."
Cameron Doan, also a former UTEP golfer and now head professional at EPCC, said, "I just knew that anyone who chips and putts the way J.P. does always has a chance out there."
Finally, his chance came. And he calmly took it by the throat, shook it and made it his. But, not too long ago, he was wondering if maybe this chance would never quite be within his grasp.
"When I left home two weeks ago, I didn't want to go," he said. "I was frustrated. I felt I was playing well.
But I was not getting results. I was just wondering how long I could put up with the constant disappointment."
Laura Hayes said, "We talked about how things can change. I know he was a little down."
Hayes, who has his 33rd birthday coming up Aug. 2, came to El Paso and to UTEP in 1984 from Appleton, Wis. Former UTEP coach Cricket Musch, the man who brought Hayes here, remembers:
"We were trying to build a program that would contend nationally," said Musch, who is now a representative for Ping. "John had all the qualities in a high school and junior player you could want. He won the state junior title and won the state high school title. But he didn't play a whole lot for us his first two years.
"I don't know if he remembers this," Musch added. "But I called him in after his second year and told him I was going to take a hard look at how he progressed over the summer. I told him I might have to re-evaluate how much scholarship I would give him. He went home and won the state amateur stroke and match play and played really well in the U.S. Amateur. He really stepped it up for us those last two years and was one of our top players. He just got his mind focused on what he needed to do."
Hayes remembers college as a fun time: "I wasn't a world beater in college. I did my part on the team. The national championships were always fun. In fact, I wish I could go back. It was a great time. Golf meant nothing more than having fun."
After college, Hayes played on the PGA Tour in 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997 and now. He was a Nike Tour member in 1991, 1993, 1994 and 1996. Hayes made $160,722 last year, coming up with one top-10 finish. His total money winnings coming into this year were not much more than the check he brought home from New York last Sunday - $351,898.
But, finally, last Sunday in New York it all came together.
"I was confident going in," he said. "I felt like I'd played well the week before, even though I missed the cut. I did some things that made me very confident. And it carried over."
Hayes, in fact, was probably the calmest member of family and friends on that last Sunday.
"My stomach was in knots all day," said Laura Hayes. "Two of my friends came over and we tried to play gin rummy until the television coverage came on. Usually, I follow his scores on the computer, but that Sunday I couldn't get the connection. So we had people calling every 15 minutes to tell us where he was. Once the TV coverage came on, the gin rummy stopped. Everything stopped.
"But it was just so neat watching him," she added. "I know he'd been frustrated and you could just see he was enjoying himself out there."
Doan said, "It was great to see because he's worked at it hard. He's always had a good short game. But his long game has improved a bunch. It's something he's worked hard on."
Musch said, "J.P. has steadily gotten better over the years. But this was something that was just great to see - because J.P. is such a good person, such a nice guy."
And the frustration ... well, that is just a memory, a thing of the past.
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