Special Places - PGA West

Bad weather was an important factor last week on both major golf tours. Charl Schwartzel hung on to retain his Joburg Open title in the last of the four co-sanctioned European Tour events in South Africa that kicked off the 2011 schedule. The circus now moves on for four tournaments in the Gulf States starting with the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship this week in the United Arab Emirates. On the US PGA Tour Mark Wilson held off South Africa’s Tim Clark by two shots to win the Sony Open in Hawaii on a marathon 36-hole final day as Thursday’s play was cancelled due to rain. This week the West Coast Swing cranks the gears up a notch with the 52nd playing of the Bob Hope Classic in La Quinta, California.

The Bob Hope Classic boasts a unique format on the Tour, with play over four courses and five days. Starting on Wednesday everyone plays one round on the Nicklaus Private and Palmer Private courses at PGA West, plus La Quinta Country Club and SilverRock Resort. The cut is made after the fourth round and the Palmer Course hosts the final round. This format is ideally suited to the pro-am focus at the heart of the tournament’s origins, and The Hope continues to attract the great and the good with a generous sprinkling of celebrities from the worlds of politics, entertainment and sports. Stars to look out for in this year’s field include Kurt Russell, Alice Cooper and Sugar Ray Leonard. Among the luminaries in years past were Frank Sinatra, Michael Jordan, Clint Eastwood, George Bush and Bill Clinton whilst he was still in office.

Located in La Quinta, 30 minutes from Palm Springs, PGA West is home to six courses, all designed by living legends of the golfing world. Two were laid out by Jack Nicklaus, one each by Arnold Palmer, Greg Norman and Tom Weiskopf, with the Stadium Course credited to iconic architect Pete Dye. The Palmer Course is central to the tournament as the closing round is played there. It opened for play in 1986 and is not overly long at 6400 metres with a par of 72. The magnificently picturesque layout is sculpted at the foot of the rugged Santa Rosa Mountains and incorporates fives lakes and a stretch of the Colorado River Canal. The course record belongs to former world number one David Duval who came from seven shots back in the final round to snatch victory with a historic 59 in 1999. Defending champion is Bill Haas, who secured his maiden win in last year’s event.