The Starter: Round 4, 50th Bob Hope Classic

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Steve Stricker is in second place and just two shots behind leader Pat Perez heading into the fourth round.

Jan. 24, 2009
By PGATOUR.COM staff

The first group will soon tee off in today's fourth round of the 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer. Here's how it sets up:

Note: This is a five-round pro-am event, with PGA TOUR players paired with amateur partners for the first four rounds. There will be a cut after the fourth round, and the field will be paired normally for the fifth and final round. The tournament is spread out over four courses. For a complete rundown of the four courses the field will play this week, click here.

Groups We're Watching

Tee time	Player
1:27 p.m. ET (10:27 a.m. in California)		Pat Perez (Bermuda Dunes) Perez continues his quest for a PGA TOUR victory on the Bermuda Dunes track. He carded an 11-under-par score there in 2004, so it looks like he will go low again on Saturday.
1:36 p.m. ET (10:36 a.m. in California)		Steve Stricker (Nicklaus Course) He set a personal best when he only needed 193 shots through 54 holes. His previous 54-hole low was 198 strokes. He's scored that low twice, but both times did not go on to win.
12:42 a.m. ET (9:42 a.m. in California)		Tom Pernice Jr. (Silver Rock) Pernice, who turns 50 later this season, is tied for eighth after three rounds and would have been lower if not for two late bogeys -- his only two of the week -- on Friday.

EXPERT PREVIEW: PGA TOUR Network on-site correspondent Brett Wright previews Saturday's third round:

The Palmer Private and the Nicklaus Private courses are the two that have rendered the lowest under par rounds this week. The tight Bermuda Dunes has proved a little harder and the very long Silver Rock has been the toughest to take scores low.

Saturday's forecast

Partly cloudy
Temp: 71 high/45 low
Mix of clouds and sunshine with little chance of precipitation. Winds will come from the Southwest at 6 mph.

In the third round, long-hitting Robert Garrigus shot the low round of the week at Silver Rock with an 8-under-par 64. Garrigus is five strokes off the pace of leader Pat Perez who is 25-under-par, but only three strokes out of second place. Both Perez and Garrigus will play the fourth round at Bermuda Dunes. Garrigus is second in driving distance, and Perez is 77th. They both are tied for 83rd in driving accuracy. Perez showed signs of being a mere mortal in Round 3 by only shooting 5-under. If Garrigus can hit it straight and long in the fourth round, he could make a big move on Perez and the field.

Steve Stricker, who is second after three rounds, has only made one bogey all week and is at 23-under par. After shooting a 61 in the third round, he told me that the golf courses still have some tricky holes and you have to be careful. He went on to say, though, that the greens are rolling at a speed where you can be aggressive and the condition of the course makes for great golf.

Look for similar conditions in Round 4 and a lot of jumping up and down the leaderboard. Perez and Briny Baird are searching for victory No.1 and the pressure of making birdies is only going to increase, so the players will all be keeping the pedal to the floor and running at every birdie and eagle in sight.

The one stat(s) you need to know

Leader Pat Perez will take on Bermuda Dunes on Saturday, a course he has played five times in the past. In five straight years, Perez has never recorded a sub-par score on four holes: Nos. 4, 5, 6, and 9.

AMATEURS COMING UP ACES

After shooting several rounds of 61, there's no doubt that the pros are turning in the most impressive scorecards. However, it's the amateurs who are providing the most memorable highlights.

Baird

There have been five aces at this week's event and four have come from the amateur ranks. Only one PGA TOUR pro -- Briny Baird, who aced the seventh hole at the Nicklaus Course on Thursday -- has pulled off the feat.

In the first round Andrew Goldfarb started the trend at the Palmer Private Course when he holed out on the 156-yard par-3 15th hole. His tee shot bounced out of the rough, rolled onto the green and plopped into the hole for the amateur's third career ace. He received $50,000 in flight credits from Sentient Jet Membership. Watch Goldfarb's ace

The second-round shot of the day came from amateur Gary Levine, who aced the par-3 fifth hole. Watch Levine's ace

Round 3 was especially kind to the amateurs, as two made holes-in-one on the exact same hole. Miklos Kohary, whose father had passed away the night before, made the third amateur ace. Less than two hours later, actor Michael Pena recorded another one at the same spot. Pena, who appeared in the films Crash and Million Dollar Baby, sank his lucky, million-dollar shot when he holed out on the par-3 seventh hole at Silver Rock. Watch Pena's ace

The Film Room

	PGA TOUR Today Win McMurry recaps the third round and looks ahead to the weekend. Watch it
	Stricker's low round After firing a 61 in the third round of the Bob Hope Classic, Stricker spoke to Brett Wright from the PGA TOUR Network. Watch it
	An actor aces Michael Pena makes a hole-in-one on the seventh hole of the Nicklaus Private Course. Watch it

Round	Leader	Low round (par 72)	Key links
	Pat Perez (-11)	61: Pat Perez	Daily Wrap-Up \| Live Report Ben Crane feature \| Notebook
	Pat Perez (-20)	62: Brad Adamonis	Daily Wrap-Up \| Live Report Richard S. Johnson feature \| Notebook
	Pat Perez (-25)	61: Steve Stricker, Charlie Wi	Daily Wrap-Up \| Live Report David Berganio feature \| Notebook