Bob Hope Classic Golf Tournament

A lot of things were going through Scott Hoch's mind Saturday night. He had a four-stroke lead going into the final round of the $1.1-million Bob Hope Chrysler Classic and he was thinking about how he was going to play the final round at Indian Wells. He was also thinking of the last time he had a four-stroke lead going into the final round. It was the 1987 Memorial. He played poorly in that final round and finished third. Then there was Augusta. With Hoch, 38, there will always be Augusta.

If I were John Cook, the golfer, I would go immediately to Las Vegas. Skip the crap table, head immediately for roulette. Don't bet red or black. Put the house and car on a number--any number. If you're ever in a shipwreck, get in the lifeboat next to him. Find out what he plays in the market and invest all you've got. Above all, don't play cards with him. And, whatever you do, don't play golf with him. John Cook lost the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic several times Sunday.

In an uncommon five-man playoff Sunday at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, John Cook stayed alive with one chip shot and won with another on the fourth extra hole. Cook, Gene Sauers, Tom Kite, Rick Fehr and Mark O'Meara were tied at 24-under-par 336 after 90 holes of the five-day tournament. The playoff alternated between the first and 18th holes, both par fives. Only Cook and Sauers were in the competition when the 18th hole was visited for the last time.

Raymond Floyd has his clubs packed, his game grooved and no place to play. He wants to play in San Diego this week, but can't because he failed to commit to the tournament by last Friday night. "That's one of our rules," said Floyd. "I'll just pack it in and wait until Doral (in Florida). "It's too bad," he said after making a run at the leaders of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic with a closing 64 at Indian Wells. "When you go 64-64, you kind of want to keep on going."

They will be at the first tee. Bob Hope will be on one side, Gerald R. Ford on the other. Between them will stand Corey Pavin. The game is golf and you can just about imagine how two-thirds of the conversation is going to go: "That's no bunker, that's Indio." And, "Know who designed these clubs? The joint chiefs of staff." What will be Pavin's contribution? His swing, possibly.

The ball stopped 12 feet short of the cup on the 18th hole Sunday, and two things were evident to Jay Haas. If only he could two-putt, he would win $180,000. His 6-year-old son could two-putt from 12 feet. So Haas rolled in the putt for a birdie to win the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic by two shots at Indian Wells, which certainly got its revenge and where the leaders weren't exactly their normal par-busting selves.

In other years, Jay Haas had the feeling he was playing practice rounds in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. He wasn't paired with celebrities and he and his playing partners virtually had a course to themselves. "It's kind of nice not to be at a course where the celebrities are, because when you play other courses you don't have to worry about traffic," Haas said. "It doesn't even seem like a tournament. Nobody is watching you." Haas will be a prime-time player, though, starting today.

Corey Pavin probably realized that 1991 was going to be a very special year when he beat Mark O'Meara at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in an improbable manner. They were tied after 90 holes, and on the first playoff hole at Indian Wells, O'Meara was on the green, 15 feet from the cup. Pavin was in heavy rough, about 45 feet off the green.

Steve Jones said he was ready to go home to Phoenix after shooting a 76 in the first round of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. But he stayed, made the cut, and surprisingly won the tournament Sunday on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff with Paul Azinger and Sandy Lyle at Bermuda Dunes. Jones owns the PGA Tour at this early juncture of the year, having also won the Tournament of Champions last week at La Costa. It was only the third tour victory for the 30-year-old pro from Phoenix.

It's appropriate that Peter Jacobsen is the defending champion in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Like Hope, Jacobsen knows how to work a room. Animated and personable, Jacobsen doesn't regard golf as a grim chore. He has fun when he's playing, while remaining serious with his shotmaking. "One thing I think is missing on the tour is the absence of people like Lee Trevino, Chi Chi Rodriguez (both on the Senior PGA Tour) and Fuzzy Zoeller, guys who have a good time," Jacobsen said.