Trahan continues to go low, but not low enough

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D.J. Trahan, the defending champion of the Bob Hope Classic, needs a fine Sunday for a successful defense.

LA QUINTA, Calif. -- D.J. Trahan didn't want to hear that he had shot a good round with his 4-under par 68 in the fourth round of the 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer.

"Nothing like losing five shots to the field," said Trahan, the defending champion of the tournament after finishing 72-hole at 23-under 275.

Trahan hadn't lost that many shots, but he hadn't made up any shots on Steve Stricker, either. As Trahan was shooting his 68 at the Palmer Course at PGA West, Stricker was shooting 62 at the Nicklaus Course to reach 33 under. Trahan took the low scoring and lack of a move up the leaderboard in stride.

"Perfect conditions all week," Trahan said. "Without any wind, you know you have to make birdies out here. The scoring conditions are perfect. In the past three years that I've played here, there's been a little wind, and that certainly plays a factor. Look at the scores the past three, four, five years compared to this year."

Indeed, Trahan won the Bob Hope Classic title last year with a 26-under total, meaning he only needs a 69 in Sunday's pros-only final round on the Palmer Course to reach that number. But that number might not put Trahan in the top-10 this year.

"It's going to take someone to go really low to catch (the leaders) Sunday," Trahan said.

Trahan is naturally hoping that person will be him, which would make him only the second player in the tournament's history to win consecutive titles. Johnny Miller won the Bob Hope Classic in 1975 and 1976 when Miller won seemingly every tournament played in the California or Arizona desert.

If Trahan made a mistake Saturday, it was making two bogeys in his round in addition to six birdies.

The surprising part of Trahan's run in the Bob Hope Classic the last two years is how poorly he played in his first two Hopes. In both 2006 and 2007, Trahan missed the cut, breaking par in the event just four times in eight rounds.

"You have to remember that back then, I couldn't putt it into the ocean, and the ocean is a pre tty big thing," Trahan said. "So if you can't putt it in the ocean, you are going to have trouble out here."

Trahan's putting began to improve in the middle of the 2007 season, and he surprised even himself when he led the field in putting when he won the Bob Hope Classic title with a 65 in the final round to overcome a four-shot deficit to Justin Leonard."

"Now that I have more confidence in my putting, I can play this kind of tournament better," Trahan said. "You have to make a lot of putts to make this many birdies. You have to hit it good, too. Pat Perez isn't so low because he is hitting it like crap. But you have to make some putts, too."

Trahan made enough putts in his 2008 season to not only win the Hope but to post a strong fourth-place finish in the U.S. Open, a tournament that would seem to be the polar opposite of the birdie-fest that is the Hope. The strong 2008 had Trahan in contention for a captain's pick for the U.S. Ryder Cup team. That pick never came from Paul Azinger, but Trahan resolved to not only win another tournament in 2009 but to also make the U.S. Presidents Cup team.

That win, which would be his third on the PGA TOUR, might not come this week. It's not that Trahan hasn't put up a spirited defense. It's just that players like Stricker and Perez (30 under) are breaking tournament records with every round.

"I'd have to go 10 under to have any chance," Trahan said.