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U.S. Pres Cup captain Jay Haas emotional when he told son he was sitting out

Jay Haas had to make a tough choice on Wednesday, leaving his son on the bench for the opening session of the Presidents Cup.

The U.S. captain left his son, Bill, out of the five-match Day 1 session of foursomes (alternate shot), along with Chris Kirk.

Before Haas and his assistants took to the stage to announce his teams and set the five matches with International captain Nick Price, he delivered the news to his son. It didn't go as well as hoped -- not for Bill, but for him.

“I thought it was going to be easier, but when I told him I got emotional,” said Jay Haas.

Even worse? Bill birdied four of his first five holes during the Wednesday practice session. 

Jay Haas selected Bill with one of his first two captain's picks. To the unengaged, that might scream nepotism, but Bill Haas, who won the Humana Challenge earlier in the year, finished 11th in points, just outside of earning one of 10 automatic spots. 

The captain wouldn't have faced this decision two years ago. Price lobbied to PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem to reduce the number of points in the competition from 34. In the end, Finchem settled on 30 points, eliminating one two-man match from each of the first four sessions of the biennial competition. That meant reducing the number of matches on Thursday and Friday from six each day to five. Had the rules remained the same, Bill Haas would've been guaranteed to play the first two days. 

Despite sitting out on Thursday, Haas will certainly see action on Friday and Saturday. All 12 players on both teams must play in at least two of the four team-match sessions before the Sunday singles matches.


Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.