Established 1960, 57 years ago | Par 72 (all courses) | |
 | ||
Location La Quinta, California &
Palm Desert, California Course(s) PGA West Stadium Course
PGA West Course
La Quinta Country Club Length 7,113 yards (6,504 m) (PS)
7,204 yards (6,587 m) (PW)
7,060 yards (6,456 m) (LQ) Organized by Desert Classic Charities | ||
The CareerBuilder Challenge, formerly known as the Bob Hope Classic and the Humana Challenge, is a professional golf tournament in southern California on the PGA Tour. Played in mid-winter in the Coachella Valley (greater Palm Springs), it is part of the tour's early season "West Coast Swing." Known for its celebrity pro-am, it previously had five rounds of competition (90 holes) rather than the standard of four rounds. For many years, the event was hosted by entertainer Bob Hope (1903–2003) and featured a number of celebrity participants.
Contents
- History
- Professional field
- Winners
- Multiple winners
- Tournament highlights
- Records
- Timeline of courses used
- Television broadcast and cable history
- Coverage style
- References
In 2012, the Humana changed to a traditional 72-hole format over three different courses with a 54-hole cut, similar to the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. "The Hope" is organized by the nonprofit Desert Classic Charities.
History
Founded 57 years ago in 1960 as the Palm Springs Desert Classic, the tournament evolved from the Thunderbird Invitational that was held in Palm Springs the previous six years, from 1954 to 1959, but with a much smaller purse.
Until 2012, its format remained unique among PGA Tour events, being played over five days and four different courses. In its first three years, the tournament was played at Thunderbird Country Club and Tamarisk Country Club, both in Rancho Mirage; Bermuda Dunes Country Club in Bermuda Dunes; and Indian Wells Country Club in Indian Wells. 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, replaced Thunderbird Country Club. From 1964 until 1968 La Quinta Country Club in La Quinta, 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, (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 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 (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, but the course was dropped from the Hope course field after the 2008 event, citing players concerns over high winds.
The 2009 course rotation consisted 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. In 2010, La Quinta CC replaced Bermuda Dunes CC. In 2016, the main course was Pete Dye's PGA West Stadium Course, and also used PGA West’s Nicklaus Tournament course, and La Quinta Country Club in the first three rounds.
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, has been the celebrity Pro-am competition which has attracted some of the era's biggest celebrities. According to the official website, those celebrities have included:
The first edition in 1960 was won by Arnold Palmer at 338 (–22), a record that stood for twenty years. He had won the last Thunderbird event the previous year, which had a $15,000 purse with a winner's share of $1,500. The purse in 1960 was over six times larger at $100,000, and the $12,000 first prize was Palmer's biggest check to date.
Hope, who was possibly Hollywood's greatest golfer, added his name to the tournament in 1965, and became its chairman of the board.
The 1970s saw stars like Frank Sinatra make their debuts. Less than three weeks out of office, Gerald Ford played his first pro-am in 1977, making him the second former president to play in the tournament. More recently celebrities such as Jimmy Fallon, Don Cheadle, and Samuel L. Jackson have competed in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, before its subsequent renames.
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.
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.
Before 2012, the tournament's format also was a "tough sell" for many players, such as Tiger Woods, who has never played there. It took place over five days, four of which include celebrity players. That meant 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 did not appreciate. The tournament was called the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic until the 2009 tournament, when George Lopez was let go as host and Chrysler dropped their name from the tournament's name, but continued 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. In 2010, baseball Hall of Famer Yogi Berra served as the first "Classic Ambassador".
Starting in 2012, the tournament was narrowed to a four-round event played on three courses with a 54-hole cut.
Professional field
The professional field consists of 156 players selected using (slightly reordered) standard eligibility rankings except that the following are also eligible:
- The Players Championship winners prior to 1996
- Playing member of last named U.S. Ryder Cup team; current PGA Tour members who were playing members on last named European Ryder Cup team, U.S. Presidents Cup team, and International Presidents Cup team
- Career Builder Challenge winners prior to 1999 and in the last ten seasons
There is no open qualifying for the tournament.
Winners
Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.
Source
Multiple winners
Eight men have won this tournament more than once through 2017.
Tournament highlights
Records
Timeline of courses used
Legend:
Used in the pre-cut rota and the final round
Used only in the pre-cut rota
Used only in the final round
Television broadcast and cable history
From the mid-1960s through 1998, NBC broadcast the fourth and fifth rounds of the tournament. ABC took over the coverage in 1999 through 2006, with CBS covering the tournament in 2003 due to ABC's involvement with Super Bowl XXXVII.
On the cable side, the first three rounds were covered by ESPN through 2002. From 2003–06, USA Network covered the early action.
Beginning in 2007, the tournament lost its network coverage and the Golf Channel showed all five rounds on cable television. Even with the move to four rounds and the reduction in celebrity involvement, the tournament is still exclusive to cable.
Coverage style
Prior to 2007, USA and ESPN/ABC consistently covered all four courses used for the event, with the primary camera crew covering PGA West, but live coverage still emanating from the other courses. However, when Golf Channel took over coverage, the network only assigned live coverage to PGA West (both the Palmer and Nicklaus courses). All other courses used did not receive live coverage at all, with an hourly highlights package sent in and played, but none of it live. This has been the approach consistently taken by Golf Channel in regards to tournaments with multiple courses, including the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and the Walt Disney World Golf Classic.