Bill Haas wins Bob Hope Classic

Bill Haas emerged from a tightly bunched pack to win the Bob Hope Classic in California by a single shot from Matt Kuchar, Tim Clark and Bubba Watson.

Bill Haas

Bill Haas emerged from a tightly bunched pack to win the Bob Hope Classic in California by a single shot from Matt Kuchar, Tim Clark and Bubba Watson.

Haas, whose father Jay Haas won the Bob Hope Classic back in 1988, came to the closing par 5 in a tie for the lead. But, two shots to the back of the green followed by two putts was good enough for Haas jnr to move a stroke clear and pick up his first PGA Tour title.

"I'd been wanting to win from the first tournament I played, but it's a process, and there's a lot to it," said Haas. "It's special, but I don't know if it's a monkey off my back. I know how hard it was to win, and I'm grateful."

Jay and Bill Haas are the eighth father-son combination to win on the PGA Tour and, owing to the Monday finish, Jay had managed to travel to California to see his boy do it. "To win the same tournament I won is special, and then for me to get to see it - that's really special," he said.

Matt Kuchar led for a good portion of the final round and closed with a superb 63, but he was left to rue a missed opportunity at the 18th where he failed to make a birdie. "It's a hole where you're counting on making a four," Kuchar said. "I put myself in a difficult situation, but shooting 63 is fantastic."

Bubba Watson and Alex Prugh had shared the lead coming into the final round and neither could be disappointed with their closing rounds - 66 and 67 respectively. But, with such low scoring on display, Watson ended up a shot back in a tie for second while Prugh was one further stroke adrift alone in fifth.

Bob Hope Classic SiverRock Resort, La Quinta CC, PGA West, La Quinta, California Jan 20-25, purse $5,000,000, par 72

1    Bill Haas (USA)    68    66    66    66    64    330    $900,000 T2    Matt Kuchar (USA) 67    69    67    65    63    331    $373,333 T2    Tim Clark (RSA)    70    63    67    66    65    331    $373,333 T2    Bubba Watson (USA) 66  62    68    69    66    331    $373,333 5    Alex Prugh (USA)    64    66    65    70    67    332    $200,000 6    Mike Weir (Can)    67    67    67    67    66    334    $180,000 7    D.J Trahan (USA)    69    68    65    68    66    336    $167,500 T8    Matt Jones (Aus)    69    67    69    66    66    337    $150,000 T8    Kevin Na (USA)    69    66    67    69    66    337    $150,000

Note: Player scores in bold signifies Titleist ball usage only

Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly. 

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?