Bob Hope Classic

The Bob Hope Classic is a professional golf tournament played each January in California's Coachella Valley. Part of the PGA Tour's early season West Coast Swing, this tournament is well known for its celebrity pro-am, as well as having five daily 18-hole rounds of competition vs. the Tour standard of four rounds. Currently, "the Hope" is the third event on the Tour's annual schedule, and is also part of the Tour's FedEx Cup competition.

History

Founded as the Palm Springs Golf Classic in 1960, the tournament evolved from the Thunderbird Invitational that was held in Palm Springs from 1954 to 1959. Its format remains unique among PGA Tour events, being played over five days and four different courses. From 1960-62, the tournament was played at Thunderbird Country Club and Tamarisk Country Club, both in Rancho Mirage, California; Bermuda Dunes Country Club in Bermuda Dunes, California; and Indian Wells Country Club in Indian Wells, California. Bermuda Dunes has been used every year of the event and Indian Wells every year until 2006, but the roster of courses from which the event has chosen the other two courses to be played has evolved over the years. In 1963, Eldorado Country Club, also in Indian Wells, California, replaced Thunderbird Country Club. From 1964 until 1968, La Quinta Country Club in La Quinta, California replaced Tamarisk Country Club, but in 1969 Tamarisk Country Club rejoined the event and alternated annually with Eldorado Country Club until 1986 (Tamarisk Country Club's last turn being in 1985).

An evolution towards courses more suited to modern professionals began in 1987. From 1987 until 1994, and again from 1998 to the present, a course at PGA West in La Quinta, California (the TPC Stadium Golf Course in 1987 and the Arnold Palmer Private Course thereafter) became a permanent member of the roster; from 1995-97, Indian Ridge Country Club in Palm Desert, California replaced PGA West. To make room for a new permanent member, Eldorado Country Club and La Quinta Country Club alternated from 1987-89 (Eldorado being used in 87 and 89), after which Eldorado Country Club was dropped from the roster. From 1990-2003, Tamarisk Country Club and La Quinta Country Club followed a "1-2" alternating arrangement, where Tamarisk was played the first year and La Quinta CC the next two; this pattern was deviated from when Tamarisk was used in 2004 (a La Quinta CC year by the pattern), although the 2005, 2006 and 2007 events were then played at La Quinta CC.

In early 2005, a local charitable foundation gave its new course, The Classic Club in Palm Desert, California, an Arnold Palmer-designed track, to the tournament, making the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic the only event on the PGA Tour that owns its own facility; The Classic Club took the place of Indian Wells in 2006. The course was dropped from the Hope course field after the 2008 event, citing players concerns over high winds.^[1]

The 2009 course rotation will consist of the Arnold Palmer Private Course and the Nicklaus Private Course (both at PGA West in La Quinta) SilverRock Resort (in La Quinta) and the Bermuda Dunes Country Club.^[1]

The tradition of choosing the tournament's "Classic Girls" from among the area's collegians began in those early years, with the earliest tournaments having a celebrity dubbed "Classic Queen." The earliest titleholders included Debbie Reynolds, Jane Powell and Jill St. John. The queens of the 1970s included Barbara Eden and Lynda Carter.

The Classic's biggest draw, both then and now, was the celebrity Pro-Am competition which attracted some of the era's biggest celebrities. According to the BHCC official website, those celebrities included:

• Bing Crosby
• Burt Lancaster
• Kirk Douglas
• Phil Harris
• Desi Arnaz (one of the founders of the aforementioned Indian Wells Country Club)
• Ray Bolger
• Hoagy Carmichael
• Dwight Eisenhower (the first US President to play in the pro-am)

The first tournament was won by Arnold Palmer with a final score of 338, or 22 under par. The record would stand for the next twenty years.

Bob Hope, who was possibly Hollywood's greatest golfer, added his name to the tournament in 1965 and became the Classic's Chairman of the Board.

The 1970s saw stars like Frank Sinatra make their debuts. Gerald Ford played his first pro-am in 1977, making him the second former president to play in the tournament.

History was made at the tournament in 1995 when the pro-am team of Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Bob Hope and defending champion Scott Hoch teed up for the tournament's opening round. The event marked the first time a sitting president - Clinton - had played during a PGA tour event and perhaps the first time three presidents had ever played together.

For 2009, the purse and 1st prize are $5.1 million and $918,000 respectively, the same as in 2008.

Its long history has made the event synonymous with golf in the Coachella Valley. Additionally, the allure of Hope's name, even after his death, has convinced the Hope estate, tournament organizers and corporate sponsor Chrysler to include the legendary entertainer's name on the tournament for as long as a substantial portion of its proceeds are given to charities.

The tournament's format is also a tough sell for many players, such as Tiger Woods, who has never played there. It takes place over five days, four of which include celebrity players. That means rounds take far longer and the presence of so many spectators out to catch a glimpse of their favorite TV, film or music star, can turn even an early round into a far more informal endeavor, which many golfers don't appreciate. The tournmanet was called the 'Bob Hope Chrysler Classic' until the 2009 tournament, where George Lopez was let go as host and Chrysler dropped their name from the tournament's name, but continue to sponsor the tournament. Instead, the tournament was hosted by the only 5-time winner of the event, Arnold Palmer, for the tournament's 50th anniversary.

Winners

Year	Player	Country	Score	To par	1st Prize ($)	Purse ($)
Bob Hope Classic
2009	Pat Perez	United States	327	-33	918,000	5,100,000
Bob Hope Chrysler Classic
2008	D. J. Trahan	United States	334	-26	918,000	5,100,000
2007	Charley Hoffman	United States	343	-17	900,000	5,000,000
2006	Chad Campbell	United States	335	-25	900,000	5,000,000
2005	Justin Leonard	United States	332	-28	846,000	4,700,000
2004	Phil Mickelson	United States	330	-30	810,000	4,500,000
2003	Mike Weir	Canada	330	-30	810,000	4,500,000
2002	Phil Mickelson	United States	330	-30	720,000	4,000,000
2001	Joe Durant	United States	324	-36	630,000	3,500,000
2000	Jesper Parnevik	Sweden	331	-27	540,000	3,000,000
1999	David Duval	United States	334	-26	540,000	3,000,000
1998	Fred Couples	United States	332	-28	414,000	2,300,000
1997	John Cook	United States	327	-33	270,000	1,500,000
1996	Mark Brooks	United States	337	-23	234,000	1,300,000
1995	Kenny Perry	United States	335	-25	216,000	1,200,000
1994	Scott Hoch	United States	334	-26	198,000	1,100,000
1993	Tom Kite	United States	325	-35	198,000	1,100,000
1992	John Cook	United States	336	-24	198,000	1,100,000
1991	Corey Pavin	United States	331	-29	198,000	1,100,000
1990	Peter Jacobsen	United States	339	-21	180,000	1,000,000
1989	Steve Jones	United States	343	-17	180,000	1,000,000
1988	Jay Haas	United States	338	-22	180,000	1,000,000
1987	Corey Pavin	United States	341	-19	162,000	900,000
1986	Donnie Hammond	United States	335	-25	108,000	650,000
Bob Hope Classic
1985	Lanny Wadkins	United States	333	-27	90,000	555,000
1984	John Mahaffey	United States	340	-20	72,000	433,000
Bob Hope Desert Classic
1983	Keith Fergus	United States	335	-25	67,500	408,000
1982	Ed Fiori	United States	335	-25	50,000	304,500
1981	Bruce Lietzke	United States	335	-25	50,000	304,500
1980	Craig Stadler	United States	343	-17	50,000	304,500
1979	John Mahaffey	United States	343	-17	50,000	300,000
1978	Bill Rogers	United States	339	-21	45,000	225,000
1977	Rik Massengale	United States	337	-23	40,000	200,000
1976	Johnny Miller	United States	344	-16	36,000	180,000
1975	Johnny Miller	United States	339	-21	32,000	160,000
1974	Hubert Green	United States	341	-19	32,048	160,000
1973	Arnold Palmer	United States	343	-17	32,000	160,000
1972	Bob Rosburg	United States	344	-16	29,000	145,000
1971	Arnold Palmer	United States	342	-18	28,000	140,000
1970	Bruce Devlin	Australia	339	-21	25,000	125,000
1969	Billy Casper	United States	345	-15	20,000	100,000
1968	Arnold Palmer	United States	348	-12	20,000	100,000
1967	Tom Nieporte	United States	349	-11	17,600	88,000
1966	Doug Sanders	United States	349	-11	15,000	80,000
1965	Billy Casper	United States	348	-12	15,000	80,000
Palm Springs Golf Classic
1964	Tommy Jacobs	United States	353	-7	7,500	50,000
1963	Jack Nicklaus	United States	345	-13	9,000	50,000
1962	Arnold Palmer	United States	342	-17	5,300	35,000
1961	Billy Maxwell	United States	345	-14	5,300	52,000
Palm Springs Desert Golf Classic
1960	Arnold Palmer	United States	338	-20	12,000	70,000

Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.
Source^[2]

Multiple winners

Seven men have won this tournament more than once through 2009.

• 5 wins
  • Arnold Palmer: 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1973

• 2 wins
  • Billy Casper: 1965, 1969
  • John Cook: 1992, 1997
  • John Mahaffey: 1979, 1984
  • Phil Mickelson: 2002, 2004
  • Johnny Miller: 1975, 1976
  • Corey Pavin: 1987, 1991

Records

• Low 18-Hole record 59 - David Duval (1999)
• Low 36-Hole record 123 - Steve Stricker (2009)
• Low 54-Hole record 193 - Joe Durant (2001), Joe Ogilvie (2005)
• Low 72-Hole record 259 - Joe Durant (2001)
• Low 90-Hole record 324 - Joe Durant (2001) (PGA Tour record)
• High winning score 349 - Doug Sanders (1966), Tom Nieporte (1967)
• High finish by winner 72 - Billy Casper (1965)
• Low finish by winner 59 - David Duval (1999)
• Low start by winner 63 - Jay Haas (1988)
• High start by winner 76 - Tom Nieporte (1967), Steve Jones (1989)
• Largest victory margin 6 strokes - Rik Massengale (1977), Tom Kite (1993)
• Low cut 273 - 15-under-par (2009) (PGA Tour record)
• Wire to wire winners - Rik Massengale (1977), Bruce Lietzke (1981)
• Best turn around - Jonathan Kaye (1999) 2nd - 83 3rd - 62

Television broadcast and cable history

From the mid-1960s through 1988, NBC broadcast the fourth and fifth rounds of the tournament. ABC took over the coverage in 1999 through 2002 and 2004 through 2006, with CBS covering the tournament in 2003. Beginning in 2007, the Golf Channel showed all five rounds on cable television.

References

External links

• Official website
• Coverage on the PGA Tour's website
• Bob Hope Classic results since 1970 - Winners, Finishers, Scores and Earnings