At 60, with his "window of opportunity" closing quickly on the Champions Tour, Jay Haas somehow discovered golf’s fountain of youth in 2014.

On a senior tour where 85 percent of the winners are from 50 to 55 years old, Haas went 5½ months without shooting over par. He won for the first time in two years and finished third on the money list with 17 top 10s. Haas teed it up 64 times last year. Incredibly, only twice was he over par.

His best explanation is that he was "as consistent as I’ve ever been." Beyond that, all he can say is, "It all clicked. Mentally, I was in the right place. It was the perfect storm all year."

His streak of 38 scores of par or better ended a day after he broke Loren Roberts’ tour record. Inside that wondrous streak, Haas broke par 28 straight times.

"I wasn’t really aware of it until somebody brought it up," Haas admitted. "The day I broke it, I really didn’t think much about it because I was playing really well. The day after, I shot 75."

He called that "just not a great day." There had been others between May and the end of October, but Haas — who turned 61 last month — always found a way.

"I just felt comfortable each time I was playing last year," Haas said. "I couldn’t wait to get out there."

That is especially true at Hawaii’s Hualalai Golf Club, where the 32nd annual Mitsubishi Electric Championship opens the senior season Friday. The Champions have been playing Hualalai since it opened in 1997 and the divot-free layout has been remarkably gracious.

For the past four years, it has ranked as the seniors’ easiest course. The only winner who didn’t card three rounds in the 60s was Hale Irwin, when he opened with a 73 in 1997 — with the wind howling at 40 mph.

Haas comes into this year’s event with a streak of 27 straight sub-par rounds at Hualalai, but his best finish has only been third, three times.

He loves the flawless greens that allow putts to glide gracefully, without huge breaks or warp speeds. But Haas also allows that Hualalai’s breathtaking beauty — visually and technically — can also stress a 60-year-old heart.

"You know everybody is going to make birdies, somebody is going to shoot a low round everyday," he said. "You can put pressure on yourself to make so many birds. You miss a few 12-footers and you almost panic a little."

He wouldn’t have it any other way. Like many of his colleagues in this limited-field event, where the 40 golfers have combined to win more than 500 times on the PGA and Champions Tours, Haas might be playing the best golf of his life.

But, particularly after watching Jimmy Walker’s stunning waltz to the Sony Open in Hawaii title Sunday, Haas is also a realist.

"If I really felt I was playing my best golf I might try to go qualify for some tournaments on the PGA Tour," he said. "But I play around home with my son Bill, who is on the PGA Tour, and his buddies. I’m where I belong, I think."

It doesn’t stop Jay Haas from trying to learn new shots and improve in every technically precise area. His passion for the game has never cooled.

"That’s allowed me to want to work at it," Haas said. "There are no shortcuts out here. Everybody who is a good player has worked at it a long time. You can’t just show up and shoot 68. Everybody is grinding away out here. Maybe we don’t hit 1,000 balls a day like we did on the PGA Tour, but having the passion I’ve had the last few years really helps.

"I know my time is running short. I’m going to try and fool them a little bit longer."

Round 1 tee times

FIRST TEE

10:30 a.m.—Ben Crenshaw, Curtis Strange. 10:40 a.m.—Kohki Idoki, Mark Wiebe. 10:50 a.m.—Hale Irwin, Craig Stadler. 11 a.m.—Brad Faxon, Peter Jacobsen. 11:10 a.m.—Joe Daley, John Riegger. 11:20 a.m.—Loren Roberts, Corey Pavin. 11:30 a.m.—Tom Watson, Rocco Mediate. 11:40 a.m.—Roger Chapman, Esteban Toledo. 11:50 a.m.—Paul Goydos, Bart Bryant. Noon—Mark O’Meara, Olin Browne. 12:10 p.m.—Jeff Maggert, Russ Cochran. 12:20 p.m.—John Cook, Fred Funk. 12:30 p.m.—David Frost, Wes Short Jr. 12:40 p.m.—Tom Lehman, Scott Dunlap. 12:50 p.m.—Jeff Sluman, Davis Love III. 1 p.m.—Miguel A. Jimenez, Nick Price. 1:10 p.m.—Michael Allen, Fred Couples. 1:20 p.m.—Kenny Perry, Kirk Triplett. 1:30 p.m.—Jay Haas, Tom Pernice Jr. 1:40 p.m.—Bernhard Langer, Colin Montgomerie.