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Tournament Stats:
Bob Hope Chrysler ClassicJanuary 18 - 21, 2007
Classic Club (home course)
Palm Desert, California
Par: 72 / Yardage: 7,305 (Classic Club)
Other courses used:
PGA West (Palmer) - Par: 72 / Yardage: 6,950
La Quinta CC - Par: 72 / Yardage: 7,060
Bermuda Dunes - Par: 72 / Yardage: 7,017
Purse: $5 million with $900,000 going to the winner
Defending Champions: Chad Campbell
List of Champions & Scores
Tournament facts:
Tournament Record:324 (Joe Durant in 2001)
72-Hole Record:
259 (Tim Herron in 2003, Joe Durant in 2001)
54-Hole Record:
193 (Joe Ogilvie in 2005, Joe Durant in 2001)
36-Hole Record:
126 (Joe Durant in 2001)
Low round of tournament:
59 (David Duval, 5th round, 1999)
Individual Course records:
Classic Club - 62 by Jesper Parnevik in 2006PGA West/Palmer Course - 59 by David Duval in 1999
La Quinta - 61 by Lennie Clements in 1994
Bermuda Dunes - 61 by Pat Perez in 2003
Course information:
Classic Club - Course was designed by Arnold Palmer and opened in 2005Course was founded by a philanthropic four years again, the course was donated to the Bob Hope Classic in 2004. The plan is that by owning the course and staging the final day on the course it can help double the money donated to local charites. Not only will the event raise money for charity but the course, which is opened to the public will raise funds for Hope charities all-year round. It will have a big distinction as being along with Augusta National the only two courses used on the PGA Tour which the course owns the tournament.
The average green size at the Classic Club is 5,900 square feet and the course has 75 bunkers. 12 of the holes have water on, last year the course played to a 71.527 average making it the 36th toughest.
Other courses used in the rota:
Arnold Palmer Private Course at PGA West
La Quinta, Calif.
6,930 yards Par 36-36--72
Course has a 74.6 rating and slope rating of 140 from the championship tees
Course is private and not open to the public.
Course was designed by Arnold Palmer and was opened in 1987
The Palmer Course at PGA West will go down in history as the site of the lowest final round in golf. David Duval shot 59 to win the Hope three years ago and even though many may think that the course is easy, it isn't. Duval's round was probably one of the greatest rounds because he accomplished it on a course that shouldn't have a sub-60 round. If there is a weakness to this course, its the par 5s, but the heart of the course is it's par 4s which are long and play tough with five of them having water hazards on them.
The average green size at the Palmer course is 5,500 square feet and the course has 97 bunkers. Water comes in play on ten of the 18 holes. Last year the course played to a 69.567 average making it the 51st toughest.
Bermuda Dunes C.C.
Bermuda Dunes, Calif.
6,927 yards Par 36-36--72
Course has a 72.9 rating and slope rating of 122 from the championship tees
Course is private and not open to the public.
Course was designed by Billy Bell and was opened in 1958
Bermuda Dunes has held every Bob Hope and has been the host course 15 times, most of any course that has held the Classic. The course is one of those classic desert courses, long with lots of bunkers and pretty big greens. For the average golfer this is a tough course but for the pros on the PGA Tour its one of the easiest. The rumor going around is that this could be the last time the Hope is played on this course.
The average green size at Bermuda Dunes is 6,500 square feet and the course has 68 bunkers. There are four water hazards on the course. Last year the course played to a 69.104 average making it the 55th and easiest course on the PGA Tour.
La Quinta C.C.
La Quinta, Calif.
7,060 yards Par 36-36--72
Course has a 74.2 rating and slope rating of 136 fron the championship tees
Course is private and not open to the public
Course was designed by Billy Bell and Lawrence Hughes and was opened in 1959. In 1999 Robert Muir Graves and Damian Pascuzzo came in, rebuilt all of the greens, bunkers and tees. He has also taken all of the water hazards on the course and made them all come into play. The flagpole at the first tee is the official flagpole from the 1960 Winter Olympics at Squaw Valley. It was given to La Quinta Country Club by the Novotny family in memory of Frank Capra.
The average green size at La Quinta is 5,500 square feet and the course has 101 bunkers. There are five water hazards on the course with 8 holes being effected. Last year the course played to a 70.929 average making it the 42nd hardest course on the PGA Tour.
For a more comprehensive look at the course, look at this Course Overview done by PGA Tour.Com
The Buzz:
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Couple of items will be the talk of this week, the first is the reemergence of Phil Mickelson to the PGA Tour. He hasn't played in public since the Ryder Cup last September. In some circles he has been criticized for this, but the bottom line is Mickelson is a independent contractor and doesn't have to play when he doesn't want to. With a young family he feels that he needs to spend some time with them and recharge his batteries. Some feel that taking four months off is extreme, especially when he doesn't play in the American Express, Tour Championship and the PGA Grand Slam of Golf.
Others will also be searching for answers on what Mickelson's frame of mind is right now. Many wonder if there will be any wounds left over from the 72nd hole at the U.S. Open when he lost the tournament with a poor drive that led to a double bogey at Winged Foot. So unfortunately he will have to answer those questions and bring up the unpleasantness of that moment.Now look for Mickelson to put some spin control on this with a brand new look. In the time since he left the Tour he has been under a intense workout routine and has lost a lot of weight and his body is looking better than it ever has. People that have seen him including Davis Love III say they were shocked at how much weight he has lost, it will be interesting to hear Phil's point of view on this. In a talk that I had with his coach Dave Pelz at the British Open, he thought this could happen as he has been pressing Mickelson to do this for some time.
Another big story that will be discussed this week is the future of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Just 20 years ago this was a tournament that players like playing in. The field was loaded with not only PGA Tour stars but "A" list celebrities. Unfortunely things started changing in the 90s when Bob Hope grew older and was unable to call in favors from players and celeb's. Along with that is the fact that players have changed.
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Still this isn't the complete answer in getting marquee professional players to show up. The Hope field has been in a downfall since 1996 when the event was put up against the NFL playoffs. On top of that, players aren't interested in having to play 90 holes on four courses with amateurs. The degree of the downward spiral of this event has gotten so bad that even the PGA Tour has acted, demoting the event to six years of cable coverage and up against the finals of the NFL. Ratings will be at a all-time low when compared to ABC ratings last year it will be interesting to see if there long time sponsor Chrysler will stick it out. If ABC got the wrath from tournament officials I can only image how tough they will be on the Golf Channel this week especially with the knowledge that ratings will plummet. For this event to gain some of it's momentum that it had in the 70s and the 80s it's got to be played on four days and over just two courses. Tournament officials have said they didn't want to do it because being played over 90 holes gives them more chances for more pro-am participants paying around $10,000 each to play with a professional. But with the advent of owning their course it's time to think of what could be done to make the tournament more appealing to the players and that is playing it in four days and only having to play two different courses. Even though it's great to remember the great Bob Hope, the event also needs to move on and try to attract a younger crowd. If the tournament doesn't change in the next couple of years it could find itself without any marquee names.
Here are some things to look for this week:
This week the pros will play over four courses in four days, quite a learning scale with very little time to prepare. Another item that needs to be address is the fact that in the first four days the pros will be playing with amateurs, so patient is needed to tolerate those five plus hour rounds. So look for experience players to do well this week, those with a long track record at the Hope should be your favorites. Since 1984 the champion has averaged winning in his 7th Bob Hope start. Experience is a must in this event, the last player to make the Hope their first PGA Tour win was Donnie Hammond in 1986
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Here are some of the secrets of what it takes to play well at the Bob Hope Chrysler:
- The odds of winning the Hope is better than any other full field event because only 128 are in the field. So you won't find non-exempt players or those that are high on the PGA Tour priority list getting into this event.
- The winner will have to make lots of birdies and eagles to win. Phil Mickelson made 37 birdies in 2004 while Justin Leonard made 33 in 2005 and Chad Campbell made 27 last year. Mickelson's feat of 37 birdies tied with Tom Kite in 1993 for the most anyone has made in a PGA Tour event.
- Look at someone that destroys the par 5s. The last 10 winners have averaged 15 under on them with Phil Mickelson playing them in 14 under in 2002, Mike Weir playing them in 15 under in 2003 and Phil Mickelson playing them in 12 under in 2004, Justin Leonard playing them in 10 under in 2005 and Chad Campbell playing them in 18 under last year.
- Look for scores to go down this year. That's because the Classic Club will be in it's second year and players will have a better feel for it.
- Again if we get one of those great days without winds the chances for sub-60 rounds on Bermuda Dunes or PGA West is a possibity.
