Celebrity golf in the California desert has been a tradition in the Palm Springs area for nearly half a century. The 47th Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, to be held January 16-22, 2006, will provide the latest renewal of that pastime.
Early celebrity participants for the 2006 Classic include: Marcus Allen, Yogi Berra, Michael Bolton, Glen Campbell, Don Cheadle, Roger Clemens, Alice Cooper, Carson Daly, Tom Dreesen, David James Elliott, Mike Eruzione, Samuel L. Jackson, George Lopez, Cheech Marin, Craig T. Nelson, Shawn Parr, Joe Pesci, Maury Povich, Darius Rucker, Burt Rutan, Sterling Sharpe and Justin Timberlake.
The celebrity field's schedule is as follows: Wednesday, January 18 – Bermuda Dunes Country Club; Thursday, January 19 – La Quinta Country Club; Friday, January 20 – Arnold Palmer Private Course at PGA West; Saturday, January 21 – Classic Club, which is the Classic's host site for the first time.
Joining the celebrities is a professional field headed up by defending champion Justin Leonard. Other entries to date include Olin Browne, Brad Bryant, Mark Calcavecchia, Tim Clark, Ben Crane, Brad Faxon, Fred Funk, Robert Gamez, Jason Gore, Brandt Jobe, John Cook, Keith Fergus, Lucas Glover, Steve Jones, Donnie Hammond, Billy Mayfair, Geoff Ogilvy, Tim Petrovic, Carl Pettersson, Ted Purdy, Heath Slocum, Vaughn Taylor and Mike Weir.
Browne, Bryant, Calcavecchia, Crane, Faxon, Funk, Gamez, Glover, Gore, Leonard, Ogilvy, Petrovic, Pettersson, Purdy, Slocum and Taylor won on the PGA Tour in 2005. Cook, Fergus, Jones, Hammond, Leonard and Weir are past Bob Hope Chrysler Classic champions.
The Classic will be televised on USA Network during the week and ABC Sports on the weekend. At stake is a tournament-record purse of $5 million, $900,000 goes to the winner.
In 46 years, the tournament has donated nearly $42 million to local charities throughout the Coachella Valley. Tickets are priced at $25 per day, with several packages offering additional savings. Further details are available at www.bhcc.com or by calling 1.888.MRBHOPE (672.4673).
