Bob Hope Classic: Fourth-round notebook

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LA QUINTA, Calif. -- Steve Stricker has taken over for Pat Perez to help re-write the PGA TOUR record book. Stricker has posted rounds of 65-67-61-62 and stands at 33-under 255 for the first 72 holes. He holds a three-stroke lead over 18-, 36- and 54-hole leader Pat Perez (258). Robert Garrigus (66/Bermuda Dunes), Bubba Watson (63/Bermuda Dunes) and Vaughn Taylor (68/Nicklaus Private) share third place at 26-under, seven shots back.

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For a few hours, Pat Perez held the 72-hole scoring record.

Inside the Numbers

72-Hole Leaderboard

Player Score 1. Steve Stricker 255 -33 2. Pat Perez 258 -30 T3. Robert Garrigus 262 -26 T3. Bubba Watson 262 -26 T3. Vaughn Taylor 262 -26 6. John Merrick 263 -25 T7. Chris Stroud 264 -24 T7. Webb Simpson 264 -24 T7. Richard S. Johnson 264 -24 T7. Rich Beem 264 -24 T7. Tim Clark 264 -24

• The PGA TOUR and Bob Hope Classic scoring record is 36-under par 324, set by Joe Durant in winning the 2001 tournament.

• Steve Stricker's 123 total over his last two rounds (61-62) eclipses the TOUR's all-time record for consecutive rounds. Mark Calcavecchia set the mark of 124 at the 2001 Phoenix Open and Pat Perez tied the mark earlier this week.

• Not surprising is the fact that the tournament leaders are also leading the tournament in putting. Stricker is No. 1 in total putts with 102, Perez is No. 2 with 104.

• Stricker's 255 total for 72 holes is one shot off the TOUR's all-time record score for 72 holes. Tommy Armour III holds the mark, at 26-under 254, which he set at the 2003 Valero Texas Open. Mark Calcavecchia reached 28-under 256 in the 2001 Phoenix Open.

• Stricker's blistering third and fourth rounds have helped him eclipse another PGA TOUR record -- that for the most strokes under par through 72 holes. Interestingly, Perez registered his second straight round of 67 earlier in the day to reach 30 under par through 72 holes, thus becoming only the second player in Tour history to reach 30 under for four rounds. About an hour later, Stricker went racing by with birdies on six of his final seven holes, including his final four to establish a new mark:

• Stricker and Perez have been breaking records all week and they can add another one to the list, the 72-hole record for the Bob Hope Classic. Perez set the mark earlier in the day at 30-under 258, only to be topped by Stricker later on when he posted his 33-under 255.

• Stricker is in a bit of unchartered territory this week. Stricker is making the 339th start of his PGA TOUR career and the 41-year old has put together a career-best score to this point. Stricker currently stands at 33 under par through 72 holes, shattering his previous best of 21 under through 72 holes at the 2002 Bob Hope Classic. That year, he shot 75 in final round to finish at 18 under.

• Before Saturday, Stricker's previous best 72-hole scores were his 18-under 266s in the 1996 Greater Milwaukee Open, the 1998 Greater Milwaukee Open and the 2007 BMW Championship.

• Fred Couples (16-under 272) made the 72-hole cut, marking the 23rd time in 24 starts here that he has advanced to the fifth round. Couples' total is now just one back of all-time tournament leader Peter Jacobsen, who made 24 cuts in 27 starts from 1978-2005.

• The 72-hole cut came at 15-under 273, setting a record for the lowest cut in tournament history. The previous low was 13-under 275, which was set in 2002 and matched again in 2003.

• Stricker leads the tournament with 34 birdies through 72 holes. Durant (2001) and Phil Mickelson (2004) hold the tournament record with 37 birdies for 90 holes.

• Scott Piercy (65-267) is at 21 under par and has managed to negotiate all four courses without making a single bogey. The 2008 Nationwide Tour grad is the only player in the field to go bogey-free for the first 72 holes.

• It probably hasn't happened too many times that a player would shoot 61 or 62 and miss the cut, but it happened Saturday. Jesper Parnevik posted 11-under 61 at Palmer Private and James Nitties fired a 10-under 62 at Nicklaus Private to each finish at 14-under 274 and miss the 72-hole cut by a single stroke. In addition, Jarrod Lyle also carded a 63 at Nicklaus Private to wind up 14 under, one shy of the cut line.

• Several players at the top of the leaderboard are seeking their first career win. In the 49-year history of this tournament, four players have earned their first title at the Bob Hope Classic. They are Bill Rogers (1978), his first of six career wins in his 68th career start; Craig Stadler (1980), his first of 13 career wins in his 106th career start; Donnie Hammond (1986), his first of two career wins in his 87th career start; and Charlie Hoffman (2007), his first and only career win in his 41st career start

• A couple of rookies are making some noise this week. Webb Simspon, a 23-year-old 2008 Wake Forest graduate who played on the Nationwide Tour last year and made it through the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament, is at 24 under par and currently tied for seventh place. Simpson is making only the second start of the year -- he finished tied for ninth at last week's Sony Open in Hawaii, his first start as a TOUR member.

• David Mathis, a 34-year-old 2008 Nationwide Tour graduate, is at 22 under after four rounds and tied for 17th. Mathis finished tied for 16th last week, the only cut he has made in six total starts on TOUR.

• Watson, who shot a 9-under 63 at Bermuda Dunes Saturday, has had a bit of an up-and-down week. The big-hitting lefty opened with a 10-under 62 at Palmer Private but then struggled with a bogey and a triple bogey on the first eight holes of Round 2 at Nicklaus Private. Since then, Watson has rebounded and played the last 46 holes in 20 under par. He is now minus-26 and tied for third place.

• Comebacks are nothing new to this event with several recent winners coming from off the pace to earn the championship. The most recent come-from-behind winners in this event are D.J. Trahan, who trailed by four and won by three in 2008; Hoffman, who trailed by four and won in a playoff in 2007; and Justin Leonard, who trailed by two and won by three in 2005.

• Rich Beem bogeyed the fifth hole Saturday at Palmer Private, ending his bogey-free run in this event after 58 holes.