Who the bookies rate at the Bob Hope Classic

While the majority of us have yet to pull out our clubs from their winter hibernation the US Tour boys continue to live it up at this week's Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

After a two-week cruise through Hawaii, the US Tour hits the west coast of America for the first of the year's celebrity bashes.

So as well as David Duval and Fred Couples, there's a host of top names from the world of sport and showbiz with Samuel L. Jackson, Andy Garcia, Alice Cooper, Jack Lemmon, Emmitt Smith and Jimmy Connors this year's top attractions. And Michael Bolton's playing too.

Four courses are used this year with the Arnold Palmer Private Course at PGA West the host. The other courses are Bermuda Dunes Country Club, Indian Wells Country Club and Tamarisk Country Club.

The format for the tournament is pro-am play for the first 72 holes. Each of the 128 pros will play with a different set of three amateur partners each day on different courses for four days. On Sunday, the low 70 pros and ties will play the final round of the 90-hole event on the Palmer Private Course at PGA West.

David Duval, after his huge win in the Mercedes Championship, is one of the biggest favourites in the tournament's history with nothing even close to a single figure quote for the man who has won eight of his last 27 tournaments.

LEADING CONTENDERS

David Duval: Just two months after he ended a spectacular 1998, Duval opened the season with a stunning nine-shot victory in the Mercedes Championship in Hawaii? It seems there is no stopping him at present and the world number one tag is surely deserved already even if the rankings don't say so yet. And his rivals better watch out again this week. Duval was second on his debut here in 1995 and was tied fourth last year.

Fred Couples: Defending champion Couples will be playing in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic for the 16th time and no-one has earned more money from this event in its history. His last three efforts are tied seventh, tied ninth and first so he's almost sure to be thereabouts and he started the season promisingly with a 10th place in the Mercedes.

John Huston: The Florida man made a brave defence of his Hawaiian Open title last week before fading away from tied third (just two off the lead) at the end of round three to tied 12th. Could make amends this week as he has an excellent record in this event. His finishes between 1994 and 1998 read T9-T28-2-T30-T8.

John Cook: Cook won a five-man play-off to capture this title in 1992 and then grabbed a second title in 1997 after a stunning 62-63 finish over the weekend. He was also tied second in 1986. His 1999 form has been inconsistent so far but he's capable of striking it hot at any time and this could be the place.

Scott Hoch: Another former winner (1994), who can also boast a third place in 1996 and another top ten the following year. Lack of a victory in 1998 meant he missed the season-opening Mercedes Championship and as this is his seasonal debut he may just need a run before hitting top form.

Fred Funk: Funk has started the season strongly with a tied fifth and a tied 12th in the two Hawaii tournaments. But to counter-balance that form is his record at this tournament. Only twice has he shown up in the top 50 in the last five years - tied 28th in 1995 and tied 43rd last year.

Jeff Maggert: Maggert has lost 20 pounds and his wife (divorce) in the last year but he certainly hasn't lost his game. He showed that last week when he charged into the lead in the final round in Hawaii last week only to be pegged back late on. His tied second was the 13th time he's occupied the runners-up spot. A tied seventh here in 1996 is his best although you get the feeling that his introverted personality isn't suited to this event.

Jeff Sluman: Sluman, like Maggert, has been plagued by seconditis for most of this decade but his victory in Hawaii last week was his third victory in less than two years. It suggests there will be more wins to follow although back-to-back seems highly unlikely especially as he has no recent form in this event.

Stewart Cink: Cink has made a real impression in this tournament in the last two years. In 1997 he finished tied ninth and last year he improved to tied sixth. All those ten rounds were in the 60s so we should expect his name high up on the leaderboard again.

Steve Jones: If you could pick a player to mix it with the celebrities then Jones would probably be the man and his record in this event bares that out. He won this tournament during his career-best season in 1989 and he's had successive top tens here for the last two years. Has played the first two events of the season, finishing tied 22nd and tied 25th.

Loren Roberts: After an injury-ridden 1998 Roberts produced an eye-catching start to 1999 with rounds of 69-69-69-67 giving him a tied seventh place finish in the Hawaiian Open last week. A top 20 here last year bodes well and he has the right temperament to do well here.

BEST OF THE REST

Tommy Tolles was an excellent tied second last week and has twice made the top five here. Mark Calcavecchia shot 32-under to finish second two years ago while Kenny Perry (winner 1996) and Paul Stankowski (two top eights) have outside claims.

SUMMARY

If David Duval has won eight of his last 27 tournaments then the 6-1 on offer looks a good price.

With such an impressive record in this event it's hard to overlook him following his nine-shot win in the season's opener.

But after a week off skiing and a win already under his belt he may just not be fully focused or charged up enough to take the top prize.

The presence of Duval and defending champion Fred Couples means there's plenty of excellent value on offer and that's especially the case with the 40-1 over Steve Jones.

Jones loves the pro-am format and won this event in 1989 and finished in the top ten in both 1997 and 1998. Seven US Tour titles shows he's a proven winner.

Another trait of Jones is that he tends to shoot hot and cold so we'll go win only in the belief that he'll find one of those irresistible streaks of form that saw him win the Phoneix Open by 11 shots in January 1997.

Loren Roberts is a man punters should watch carefully this year and he's already shown his hunger to make up for his injury-ridden 1998 by finishing tied seventh, just two shots off the winner, in Hawaii last week.

Roberts, thanks mainly to his fantastic putting stroke, won five times between 1994 and 1997 and has the class and temperament to add plenty more to that tally.

The "Boss of the Moss", who finished tied 19th here last year, looks well worth an each-way interest at 33-1.

John Cook hasn't set the world alight this year but there have been some encouraging signs in the opening two tournaments and two of his ten US Tour wins have come here.

As well as those triumphs in 1992 and 1997, Cook was also runner-up in 1986 and to prove his liking for 90-hole tournaments he is also a past winner of the Las Vegas Invitational.

Cook, who lives at Bermuda Dunes, one of the four courses used for this event, is as low as 20-1 in places so the 33-1 on offer looks great value.

John Huston is another in the experienced pro category who has shown some excellent form here in the past and his play in the opening events of the season suggests he's ready for a big week.

Huston has a runners-up spot and two other top tens here in the last five years and comes to California on the back of a fine week in Hawaii when he finished just four off winner Jeff Sluman.

Huston gave us a 50-1 pay-out in Disneyland at the end of last year and although you won't get those odds this time he's still definitely worth a punt at 20-1.

The final place on our staking plan goes to Tommy Tolles.

Tolles has been something of an enigma in recent years.

He's produced some superb performances in the big events, making the top five in the Masters, the US Open, the USPGA and the Players' Championship but for all that good play he's yet to post a US Tour win.

He looked to have a great chance last week when shooting a first round 63 in the Hawaiian Open but although he led by a stroke entering the final round he again lacked the killer instinct and finished tied for second.

However, that was still a promising return to form after he almost lost his Tour card last year and with a tied third here in 1995 and a tied fifth in 1997 he goes to the Bob Hope this week with a compelling combination of course and current form.

With some 50-1 on offer he looks excellent each-way value and although there's still doubts over his temperament he has the ability to grab a top four finish.