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The 'Bob Hope Chrysler 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 PGA 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.

Contents

History

Winners

Multiple winners

Records

Television broadcast and cable history

External links

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 Course 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 Course took the place of Indian Wells in 2006.
The tradition of choosing the tournament's "Classic Girls" from among the area's collegiates 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 2007, the purse and 1st prize are $5,000,000 and $900,000 respectively.
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.

Winners

'Bob Hope Chrysler Classic'

★ 2007 Charley Hoffman

★ 2006 Chad Campbell

★ 2005 Justin Leonard

★ 2004 Phil Mickelson

★ 2003 Mike Weir

★ 2002 Phil Mickelson

★ 2001 Joe Durant

★ 2000 Jesper Parnevik

★ 1999 David Duval

★ 1998 Fred Couples

★ 1997 John Cook

★ 1996 Mark Brooks

★ 1995 Kenny Perry

★ 1994 Scott Hoch

★ 1993 Tom Kite

★ 1992 John Cook

★ 1991 Corey Pavin

★ 1990 Peter Jacobsen

★ 1989 Steve Jones

★ 1988 Jay Haas

★ 1987 Corey Pavin

★ 1986 Donnie Hammond
'Bob Hope Classic'

★ 1985 Lanny Wadkins

★ 1984 John Mahaffey
'Bob Hope Desert Classic'

★ 1983 Keith Fergus

★ 1982 Ed Fiori

★ 1981 Bruce Lietzke

★ 1980 Craig Stadler

★ 1979 John Mahaffey

★ 1978 Bill Rogers

★ 1977 Rik Massengale

★ 1976 Johnny Miller

★ 1975 Johnny Miller

★ 1974 Hubert Green

★ 1973 Arnold Palmer

★ 1972 Bob Rosburg

★ 1971 Arnold Palmer

★ 1970 Bruce Devlin

★ 1969 Billy Casper

★ 1968 Arnold Palmer

★ 1967 Tom Nieporte

★ 1966 Doug Sanders

★ 1965 Billy Casper
'Palm Springs Golf Classic'

★ 1964 Tommy Jacobs

★ 1963 Jack Nicklaus

★ 1962 Arnold Palmer

★ 1961 Billy Maxwell
'Palm Springs Desert Golf Classic'

★ 1960 Arnold Palmer

Multiple winners

Seven men have won this tournament more than once through 2007.

★ 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 126 - Joe Durant (2001)

★ 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 276 - 11-under-par (2000) (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.

External links

★ 2007 Final Scores and Earnings - from USA Today.Com

★ Bob Hope Chrysler Classic official website

★ Coverage on the PGA Tour's website

★ Bob Hope Chrysler Classic results since 1970 - Winners, Finishers, Scores and Earnings

★ Bob Hope Chrysler Classic facts