The Daily Wrap-up, Round 4: The 50th Bob Hope Classic
LA QUINTA, Calif. (AP) -- Steve Stricker found it hard to believe the number Joe Durant had thrown out.
"Joe Durant was on my flight (from Hawaii) and I asked what his winning score was here and he said 36 under. And I'm like, `That's unbelievable,'" Stricker recalled.
Suddenly it's not so far-fetched.
Stricker shot a 10-under 62 on Saturday to reach 33 under and overtake Pat Perez after 72 holes in the birdie-fest known as the 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer.
With 18 holes remaining, Stricker and Perez, three shots back at 30 under, both have a chance to rewrite the PGA TOUR's 90-hole record Durant set in 2001.
"It almost seems like you can't reach that goal," Stricker said. "But here we are. We're one day away from making, maybe breaking that record, which is incredible."
Stricker shot 61 during the third round Friday to move into contention, and he birdied his final four holes of the fourth round to move ahead of Perez, the leader each of the previous three days.
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TRAHAN GOES LOW, JUST NOT LOW ENOUGH
By Larry Bohannan, Special to PGATOUR.COM
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."
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| Lowest 72-hole totals in PGA TOUR history | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Saturday's Best |
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The par-5 11th on the Palmer Course at PGA West was the easiest with a Saturday scoring average of 4.188.
The par-3 fourth at Bermuda Dunes was the toughest with a Saturday scoring average of 3.281.
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Steve Stricker capped off his round of 62 with a fourth straight birdie en route to setting a new 72-hole scoring record. 
Steve Stricker had 10 birdies and no bogeys in a round of 62 that helped him to a three-shot lead going into Sunday's final round. | QUOTE OF THE DAY | ||
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INSIDE THE ROPES WITH THE PGA TOUR NETWORK
PGA TOUR Network correspondent Bob Stevens offers these observations from Saturday's action. Listen to PGA TOUR Live coverage on XM 146/SIRIUS 209 or right here at PGATOUR.com.
David Berganio Jr. hasn't been this close to winning on the PGA TOUR since this week in 2002, when he shot 30 under and lost the Bob Hope Classic in a playoff to Phil Mickelson. Back troubles have limited him to nine TOUR events since then, yet he says he hasn't had any butterflies at all this week. He doesn't plan on any Sunday either, saying he'll pull out a couple of his favorite cigars and enjoy his final round with the pros the same as he has his amateur partners the last four days.
Last year, UCLA alum John Merrick barely made the field, getting a last-minute sick call. He double-bogeyed his first two holes and still rallied to finish 12th. After a fourth-round 63 Saturday, he's in the third-to-last group and sure to make his tee time Sunday. He's also one of seven guys (joining Pat Perez, Robert Garrigus, Bubba Watson, Chris Stroud, Webb Simpson and Tim Clark are the others) who have never won before but are within single digits of the lead.
Actor Jeffrey Donovan had to play the villian opposite Angelina Jolie, but he said that was cake compared to having to wear a Tampa Bay Rays hat while playing with Rays star Evan Longoria and not because he'd lost a bet to Longoria, but to another friend of his who's a Rays fan. Donovan, who's a big Red Sox fan, took his medicine and actually felt good about supporting the new pal he just met this week.
| What the top finishers said... | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Live Essentials | ||||
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FOURTH-ROUND NOTEBOOK: BOB HOPE CLASSIC
By Joe Chemycz, PGA TOUR Staff
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.
• 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
• To read the remainder of this story, click here.
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