While most of the golfing world looks forward to next weekend when Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson make their season debuts, the PGA Tour this week heads to LaQuinta, Calif., for the five-day Bob Hope Chrysler
Classic celebrity pro-am.
This is the only five-round event on the PGA Tour schedule, and it has a penchant for playoffs as well: There have been 12 of them since 1982.
Charley Hoffman needed extra time last year, beating John Rollins on the first playoff hole for his first PGA Tour title. Hoffman will be among 12 former champions who will be teeing it up beginning Wednesday in the field of 128 players.
Other past champions in the field include: Mark Brooks (1996), Chad Campbell (2006), Fred Couples (1998), Joe Durant (2001), David Duval (1999), Donnie Hammond (1986), Steve Jones (1989), Justin Leonard (2005), Jesper Parnevik (2000), Corey Pavin (1987, '91), Kenny Perry (1995) and Mike Weir (2003), who is this year's favorite on WagerWeb.com at +900.
Before Hoffman's win last year, only Donnie Hammond in 1986 and Bill Rogers, the 1978 champion, had posted their first PGA victories at this event.
Fred Couples (+7000 on WagerWeb.com), who battled back problems for most of 2007 and played only two official events is scheduled to make his first start since last year's Masters. He won the 1998 crown in a playoff over Bruce Lietzke and has made the cut in 21 of his 22 appearances. The only time he missed the cut was 1999 when he was defending his title.Duval returns to action for the first time since October. He played sparingly (just seven events, and only two after February) in 2007 as his wife endured a difficult pregnancy. Duval shot 59, the third player in PGA history to do so, in the final round on his way to the 1999 Hope title.
Some of the celebrities in the field include Jerome Bettis, Michael Bolton, Alice Cooper, Carson Daly, Kenny G, Samuel L. Jackson, Huey Lewis, Cheech Marin, Kevin Nealon and Kelly Slater. Notably, two-time pro-am winner Roger Clemens withdrew because of all the steroid controversy surrounding him.
EUROPEAN TOUR: The strongest field in golf this weekend likely is at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship in the United Arab Emirates.
Paul Casey is the defending champion, and he will compete against a field that includes seven other members of the world Top 25 this week: Padraig Harrington, Luke Donald, Niclas Fasth, Ian Poulter, Adam Scott (the WagerWeb.com favorite at +900), Henrik Stenson and Lee Westwood - will also tee it up.
The field also includes big names such as Thomas Bjorn, Darren Clarke, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Colin Montgomerie.
Keep on eye on Stenson (+1300 on WagerWeb.com), who resides in the UAE and is clearly at home in the desert tournaments, having won The Qatar Masters and Dubai Desert Classic in the last two seasons.
Overall, 81 of Europe's top 100 golfers are entered.
Bet on golf at WagerWeb.com
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