The Desert Classic (currently known as The American Express for sponsorship reasons; previously known as the CareerBuilder Challenge, Palm Springs Golf Classic, the Bob Hope Desert Classic, the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, and the Humana Challenge) is a professional

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

tournament in

southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

. Played in mid-winter in the

Coachella Valley The Coachella Valley ( ) is an arid rift valley in the Colorado Desert of Southern California in Riverside County. The valley has been referred to as Greater Palm Springs and occasionally the Palm Springs Area due to the historic promine ...

, it is part of the tour's early season "West Coast Swing." It previously had five rounds of competition (90 holes) rather than the standard of four rounds, and was known for its celebrity pro-am. For many years, the event was named for and hosted by entertainer

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...

and featured a number of celebrity participants. In 2012, the Desert Classic changed to a traditional 72-hole format over three different courses with a 54-hole cut, similar to the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and ended their celebrity pro-am. The tournament is organized by the nonprofit Impact Through Golf, which took over from Desert Classic Charities in 2020.

History

Founded in 1960 as the Palm Springs Golf Classic, the tournament evolved from the Thunderbird Invitational that was held in Palm Springs the previous six years, from 1954 to 1959, but with a much smaller purse. The event was renamed the Bob Hope Desert Classic in 1965 and the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in 1986. Until 2012, its format remained unique among PGA Tour events, being played over five days and four different courses. In its first three years, the tournament was played at

Thunderbird Country Club The Thunderbird Country Club is a country club in Rancho Mirage in California's Coachella Valley. Its signature 18-hole golf course has hosted the Ryder Cup and the Palm Springs Golf Classic (now known as the American Express). Opened in 1951, th ...

and Tamarisk Country Club, both in

Rancho Mirage Rancho Mirage is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The city is a low-density desert community with resorts, golf courses, and country clubs within the Colorado Desert section of the Sonoran Desert. Nestled along the foothills ...

; Bermuda Dunes Country Club in Bermuda Dunes; and Indian Wells Country Club in Indian Wells. Bermuda Dunes was used through 2009 and Indian Wells through 2005. In 1963 Eldorado Country Club, also in Indian Wells, replaced Thunderbird Country Club. From 1964 until 1968 La Quinta Country Club in La Quinta, replaced Tamarisk Country Club, but in 1969 Tamarisk Country Club rejoined the event and alternated annually with Eldorado Country Club until 1986 (Tamarisk Country Club's last turn being in 1985). An evolution towards courses more suited to modern professionals began in

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

. From 1987 until 1994, and again from 1998 to the present, a course at PGA West in La Quinta, (the TPC Stadium Golf Course in 1987 and the Arnold Palmer Private Course thereafter) became a permanent member of the roster; from 1995–97, Indian Ridge Country Club in Palm Desert replaced PGA West. To make room for a new permanent member, Eldorado Country Club and La Quinta Country Club alternated from 1987–89 (Eldorado being used in 87 and 89), after which Eldorado Country Club was dropped from the roster. From 1990–2003 Tamarisk Country Club and La Quinta Country Club followed a "1–2" alternating arrangement, where Tamarisk was played the first year and La Quinta CC the next two; this pattern was deviated from when Tamarisk was used in 2004 (a La Quinta CC year by the pattern), although the 2005, 2006 and 2007 events were then played at La Quinta CC. In early 2005 a local charitable foundation gave its new course, The Classic Club in Palm Desert (an

Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Since embarking on a professional career in ...

-designed track) to the tournament, making the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic the only event on the PGA Tour that owns its own facility. The Classic Club took the place of Indian Wells in 2006, but the course was dropped from the Hope course field after the 2008 event, citing players concerns over high winds. The 2009 course rotation consisted of the Arnold Palmer Private Course and the Nicklaus Private Course (both at PGA West in La Quinta), SilverRock Resort (in La Quinta), and the Bermuda Dunes Country Club. In 2010, La Quinta CC replaced Bermuda Dunes CC. In 2012, SilverRock Resort dropped from the rotation due to the tournament shortening to 72 holes. In 2016, the main course was Pete Dye's PGA West Stadium Course, and also used PGA West’s Nicklaus Tournament course (originally designed for the 1991 Ryder Cup, the

European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; , UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations in countries within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) or who are member states of the Council of Europe, members of the ...

objected because of the European domination of the tournament and a nine-hour time difference from

Central European Time Central European Time (CET) is a standard time of Central, and parts of Western Europe, which is one hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The UTC offset, time offset from UTC can be written as UTC+01:00. It is used in most parts of Eur ...

was inconvenient; the tournament moved east where only a six-hour time difference allowed the event to air in primetime hours), and La Quinta Country Club in the first three rounds. The tradition of choosing the tournament's "Classic Girls" from among the area's collegians began in those early years, with the earliest tournaments having a celebrity dubbed "Classic Queen." The earliest titleholders included

Debbie Reynolds Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer and entrepreneur. Her acting career spanned almost 70 years. Reynolds performed on stage and television and in films into her 80s. She was nom ...

Jane Powell Jane Powell (born Suzanne Lorraine Burce; April 1, 1929 – September 16, 2021) was an American actress, singer, and dancer who appeared in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals in the 1940s and 50s. With her soprano voice and girl-next-door image, Powel ...

, and Jill St. John. The queens of the 1970s included

Barbara Eden Barbara Eden (born Barbara Jean Morehead; August 23, 1931) is an American actress and singer, who starred as the title character in the sitcom ''I Dream of Jeannie'' (1965–1970). Her other roles included Roslyn Pierce opposite Elvis Presley in ...

and

Lynda Carter Lynda Jean Carter (born July 24, 1951) is an American actress, singer, and beauty pageant contestant, best known for her portrayal of Wonder Woman in the television series ''Wonder Woman'', aired on ABC and later on CBS from 1975 to 1979. Befo ...

. The Classic's biggest draw, both then and now, has been the celebrity Pro-am competition which has attracted some of the era's biggest celebrities. According to the official website, those celebrities have included: *

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor. Initially known for playing tough characters with tender hearts, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-year caree ...

Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in '' The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. ...

* Phil Harris *

Desi Arnaz Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III (March 2, 1917 – December 2, 1986), known as Desi Arnaz, was a Cuban-American actor, musician, producer, and bandleader. He played Ricky Ricardo on the American television sitcom ''I Love Lucy'', in whi ...

(one of the founders of the aforementioned Indian Wells Country Club) *

Ray Bolger Raymond Wallace Bolger (; January 10, 1904 – January 15, 1987) was an American actor, dancer, singer, vaudevillian, and stage performer (particularly musical theater) who started his movie career in the silent-film era. Bolger was a major B ...

Hoagy Carmichael Hoagland Howard "Hoagy" Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American musician, composer, songwriter, actor, author and lawyer. Carmichael was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930s and 1940s, a ...

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...

Don Adams Donald James Yarmy (April 13, 1923 – September 25, 2005), known professionally as Don Adams, was an American actor. In his five decades on television, he was best known as bumbling Maxwell Smart (Secret Agent 86) in the television situa ...

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

(the first

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

to play in the pro-am) The first edition in 1960 was won by Arnold Palmer at 338 (–22), a record that stood for twenty years. He had won the last Thunderbird event the previous year, which had a $15,000 purse with a winner's share of $1,500. The purse in 1960 was over six times larger at $100,000, and the $12,000 first prize was Palmer's biggest check to date. Hope, who was possibly Hollywood's greatest golfer, added his name to the tournament in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

, and became its chairman of the board. The 1970s saw stars like

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

make their debuts. Less than three weeks out of office,

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...

played his first pro-am in

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

, making him the second former president to play in the tournament. More recently celebrities such as

Jimmy Fallon James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an Americans, American comedian, television host, actor, singer, writer, and producer. Best known for his work in television, Fallon's breakthrough came during his tenure as a cast member on the ...

Don Cheadle Donald Frank Cheadle Jr. (, ; born November 29, 1964) is an American actor. Known for his roles in film and television, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Don Cheadle, multiple accolades including two Golden Globe Award ...

, and Samuel L. Jackson have competed in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, before its subsequent renames. History was made at the tournament in 1995 when the pro-am team of

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

, Gerald Ford, Bob Hope and defending champion

Scott Hoch Scott Mabon Hoch ( ; born November 24, 1955) is an American professional golfer, who represented his country in the Ryder Cup in 1997 and 2002. Early life Hoch was born in Raleigh, North Carolina. While attending Needham B. Broughton High Scho ...

teed up for the tournament's opening round. The event marked the first time a sitting president – Clinton – had played during a PGA Tour event and perhaps the first time three presidents had ever played together. Its long history has made the event synonymous with golf in the Coachella Valley. Additionally, the allure of Hope's name, even after his death, has convinced the Hope estate, tournament organizers and corporate sponsor Chrysler to include the legendary entertainer's name on the tournament for as long as a substantial portion of its proceeds are given to charities. Before 2012, the tournament's five-round format was a "tough sell" for many players, such as

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...

, who has never played there. It took place over five days, four of which include celebrity players. That meant rounds take far longer and the presence of so many spectators out to catch a glimpse of their favorite TV, film or music star, can turn even an early round into a far more informal endeavor, which many golfers did not enjoy. Starting in 2012, the tournament was narrowed to a four-round event played on three courses with a 54-hole cut. The tournament is the first continental stop of the calendar year, but is still a hard sell because network television coverage of the PGA Tour starts the ensuing week. The tournament was called the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic until the 2009 tournament, when George Lopez was let go as host and Chrysler dropped their name from the tournament's name, but continued to sponsor the tournament. Instead, the tournament was hosted by the only 5-time winner of the event,

, for the tournament's 50th anniversary. In 2010,

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

Hall of Famer

Yogi Berra Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra (born Lorenzo Pietro Berra; May 12, 1925 – September 22, 2015) was an American professional baseball catcher who later took on the roles of Manager (baseball), manager and Coach (baseball), coach. He played 19 seas ...

served as the first "Classic Ambassador".

Professional field

The professional field consists of 156 players selected using (slightly reordered) standard eligibility rankings except that the following are also eligible: #

The Players Championship The Players Championship (commonly known as simply The Players, stylized by the PGA Tour as THE PLAYERS Championship) is an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour. Originally known as the Tournament Players Championship, it began in 1974. The ...

winners prior to 1996 # PGA Tour members who played on the most recent

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...

and

Presidents Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world except Europe as that continent competes against the United States in a similar but ...

teams of both sides. # Winners of the tournament prior to 1999 and in the previous ten seasons There is no open qualifying for the tournament. The event also reserves an exemption for the winner of the Southern California PGA Championship.

Amateur history

Only three amateurs have made starts in this event: Charlie Reiter (2018, 2019, 2020), Caleb Surratt (2023), and Nick Dunlap (2024). Dunlap is the only amateur to have made the cut at the event; he won the tournament by one stroke after a 2-under final round.

Tournament hosts

Winners

''Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.''
Source:

Tournament highlights

* 1960:

wins the inaugural version of the tournament by three shots over Fred Hawkins. Joe Campbell earned $50,000 in unofficial money for scoring a hole-in-one on the fifth hole of the Tamarisk Country Club. * 1963:

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (; born January 21, 1940), nicknamed "the Golden Bear", is an American retired professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greate ...

defeats

Gary Player Gary James Player (born 1 November 1935) is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tour and nine ...

65 to 73 in an 18-hole playoff for the tournament title. * 1964: 53-year-old Jimmy Demaret who rarely played competitive golf any more finishes regulation play tied for first with Tommy Jacobs but loses on the second hole of sudden death. * 1967: Club professional Tom Nieporte birdies the 90th hole to beat Doug Sanders by one shot. * 1972:

Bob Rosburg Robert Reginald "Rossie" Rosburg (October 21, 1926 – May 14, 2009) was an American professional golfer who later became a sports color analyst for American Broadcasting Company, ABC television. Early years, college Rosburg was born in San Fran ...

wins for the first time since the 1961 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am. He beats

Lanny Wadkins Jerry Lanston "Lanny" Wadkins Jr. (born December 5, 1949) is an American professional golfer. He won 21 tournaments on the PGA Tour, including one Men's major golf championships, major, the 1977 PGA Championship. He ranked in the top 10 of the Of ...

by one shot. * 1973: Arnold Palmer wins the tournament for a fifth time by two shots over

and

Johnny Miller John Laurence Miller (born April 29, 1947) is an American former professional golfer. He was one of the top players in the world during the mid-1970s. He was the first to shoot 63 in a major championship to win the 1973 U.S. Open, and he ran ...

. It is Palmer's final PGA Tour triumph. * 1976: Johnny Miller shoots a final round 63 to successfully defend his Bob Hope title. He wins by 3 shots over Rik Massengale. * 1980:

Craig Stadler Craig Robert Stadler (born June 2, 1953) is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments at both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour level, including one major championship, the 1982 Masters Tournament. Early life Stadler was bo ...

wins for the first-time on the PGA Tour. He beats Tom Purtzer and Mike Sullivan by 2 shots. * 1982: Ed Fiori, expecting to become a first-time father any day, rolls in a 35-foot birdie putt on the second hole of a sudden death playoff to defeat

Tom Kite Thomas Oliver Kite Jr. (born December 9, 1949) is an American professional golfer and golf course architect. He won the U.S. Open in 1992 and spent 175 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking between 1989 and 1994. Early life a ...

. * 1985: Lanny Wadkins plays the last five holes of regulation in five under par to tie Craig Stadler, then goes on to beat him on the fifth hole of a sudden death playoff. * 1989: Steve Jones becomes the first golfer since

Gil Morgan Gilmer Bryan Morgan II, OD (born September 25, 1946) is an American professional golfer. Early life Morgan was born in Wewoka, Oklahoma. He graduated from East Central State College in Ada, Oklahoma in 1968. Professional career In 1972, ...

in 1983 to sweep the first two events of the PGA Tour Schedule. He defeats Paul Azinger and

Sandy Lyle Alexander Walter Barr "Sandy" Lyle (born 9 February 1958) is a Scottish professional golfer. He has won two major championships during his career. Along with Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam, he became one of Britain's top golfers during the 1980s. ...

on the first hole of a sudden death playoff. * 1990:

Peter Jacobsen Peter Erling Jacobsen (born March 4, 1954) is an American professional golfer and commentator on Golf Channel and NBC. He has played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. He has won seven events on the PGA Tour and two events on the Champion ...

birdies the 90th hole to win the Hope by one shot over Brian Tennyson and Scott Simpson after NBC golf announcer Johnny Miller talked about how easy it would have been for Jacobsen to choke his second shot to the par-5 finishing hole. * 1991: Corey Pavin holes a 35-foot wedge shot on the first hole of sudden death to defeat

Mark O'Meara Mark Francis O'Meara (born January 13, 1957) is an American retired professional golfer. He was a tournament winner on the PGA Tour and around the world from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. He spent nearly 200 weeks in the top-10 of the Offici ...

. * 1992: John Cook holes a chip shot from 100-feet to defeat Gene Sauers in sudden death. The playoff, originally composed of five players, also involved Tom Kite, Mark O'Meara, and Rick Fehr. * 1993: Tom Kite, who had twice previously lost the tournament in playoffs, shoots 325, a PGA Tour record for 90 holes at the time. He beats Rick Fehr by 6 shots. * 1999:

David Duval David Robert Duval (born November 9, 1971) is an American professional golfer and former World No. 1 Golfer who competed on the PGA Tour and currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. Duval won 13 PGA Tour tournaments between 1997 and 2001; inc ...

shoots a final round 59 to beat Steve Pate by one shot. * 2001 Joe Durant shoots a record score for a 90-hole PGA tournament with a 36-under-par score of 324 (65-61-67-66-65). * 2003: Mike Weir birdies the final three holes to win by two shots over Jay Haas. * 2009: Pat Perez shoots 124 to set a new PGA Tour record for the first 36 holes of a tournament. He goes on to win the Hope by three shots over John Merrick. * 2011: In just his fifth PGA Tour start and second as a Tour member, Jhonattan Vegas became the first Venezuelan to win on the PGA Tour. It was also the last year the tournament was a five-round event. * 2014: Patrick Reed shot 63s in his first three rounds, a PGA Tour record 27-under-par for 54 holes. * 2017: Adam Hadwin shot a 59 in the third round. He is the first Canadian on the PGA Tour to accomplish this and only the third player to shoot 59 on a par-72 course. * 2024: Nick Dunlap becomes the first amateur to win the event and the first amateur to win on the PGA Tour since 1991.

Records

* Low 18-Hole record 59 –

(1999), Adam Hadwin (2017) * Low 36-Hole record 123 –

Steve Stricker Steven Charles Stricker (born February 23, 1967) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. He has twelve victories on the PGA Tour, including the WGC-Match Play title in 2001 WGC-Accenture Match Pla ...

(2009) * Low 54-Hole record 189 – Patrick Reed (2014) * Low 72-Hole record 259 – Joe Durant (2001), Nick Dunlap (2024) * Low 90-Hole record 324 – Joe Durant (2001) (PGA Tour record) * High winning score 349 – Doug Sanders (1966), Tom Nieporte (1967) * High finish by winner 72 –

Billy Casper William Earl Casper Jr. (June 24, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American professional golfer. He was one of the most prolific tournament winners on the PGA Tour from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s. In his youth, Casper started as a caddie a ...

(1965) * Low finish by winner 59 –

(1999) * Low start by winner 63 – Jay Haas (1988) * High start by winner 76 – Tom Nieporte (1967), Steve Jones (1989) * Largest victory margin 6 strokes – Rik Massengale (1977),

(1993) * Low cut 273 – 15-under-par (2009) (PGA Tour record) * Wire to wire winners – Rik Massengale (1977), Bruce Lietzke (1981) * Best turn around – Jonathan Kaye (1999) 2nd – 83 3rd – 62

Timeline of courses used

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:1100 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1959 till:2029 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph, use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<# Colors = id:line value:black id:bg value:white id:Non value:rgb(0.8,0.8,0.8) # Use this color to denote a non-host course id:1rh value:rgb(0.7,0.3,0.7) # Use this color to denote a host course that was not part of the pre-cut rota id:Host value:rgb(0.95,0,1) # Use this color to denote a host course PlotData= width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:Host from:1960 till:1961 text:Thunderbird Country Club bar:1 color:Non from:1961 till:1963 bar:2 color:Non from:1960 till:1962 text:Bermuda Dunes Country Club bar:2 color:1rh from:1962 till:1963 bar:2 color:Non from:1963 till:1965 bar:2 color:Host from:1965 till:1966 bar:2 color:Non from:1966 till:1968 bar:2 color:Host from:1968 till:1969 bar:2 color:Non from:1969 till:1971 bar:2 color:Host from:1971 till:1972 bar:2 color:Non from:1972 till:1973 bar:2 color:Host from:1973 till:1974 bar:2 color:Non from:1974 till:1975 bar:2 color:Host from:1975 till:1976 bar:2 color:Non from:1976 till:1978 bar:2 color:Host from:1978 till:1979 bar:2 color:Non from:1979 till:1981 bar:2 color:Host from:1981 till:1982 bar:2 color:Non from:1982 till:1984 bar:2 color:Host from:1984 till:1985 bar:2 color:Non from:1985 till:1986 bar:2 color:Host from:1986 till:1987 bar:2 color:Non from:1987 till:1989 bar:2 color:Host from:1989 till:1990 bar:2 color:Non from:1990 till:1992 bar:2 color:Host from:1992 till:1993 bar:2 color:Non from:1993 till:1995 bar:2 color:Host from:1995 till:1996 bar:2 color:Non from:1996 till:1998 bar:2 color:Host from:1998 till:1999 bar:2 color:Non from:1999 till:2000 bar:2 color:Host from:2000 till:2001 bar:2 color:Non from:2001 till:2010 bar:3 color:Non from:1960 till:1963 text:Indian Wells Country Club bar:3 color:Host from:1963 till:1964 bar:3 color:Non from:1964 till:1966 bar:3 color:Host from:1966 till:1967 bar:3 color:Non from:1967 till:1969 bar:3 color:Host from:1969 till:1970 bar:3 color:Non from:1970 till:1972 bar:3 color:Host from:1972 till:1973 bar:3 color:Non from:1973 till:1974 bar:3 color:Host from:1974 till:1975 bar:3 color:Non from:1975 till:1976 bar:3 color:Host from:1976 till:1977 bar:3 color:Non from:1977 till:1979 bar:3 color:Host from:1979 till:1980 bar:3 color:Non from:1980 till:1982 bar:3 color:Host from:1982 till:1983 bar:3 color:Non from:1983 till:1985 bar:3 color:Host from:1985 till:1986 bar:3 color:Non from:1986 till:1988 bar:3 color:Host from:1988 till:1989 bar:3 color:Non from:1989 till:1991 bar:3 color:Host from:1991 till:1992 bar:3 color:Non from:1992 till:1994 bar:3 color:Host from:1994 till:1995 bar:3 color:Non from:1995 till:1997 bar:3 color:Host from:1997 till:1998 bar:3 color:Non from:1998 till:2005 bar:4 color:Non from:1960 till:1961 text:Tamarisk Country Club bar:4 color:1rh from:1961 till:1962 bar:4 color:Non from:1962 till:1964 bar:4 color:Non from:1969 till:1970 bar:4 color:Non from:1971 till:1972 bar:4 color:Non from:1973 till:1974 bar:4 color:Non from:1975 till:1976 bar:4 color:Non from:1977 till:1978 bar:4 color:Non from:1979 till:1980 bar:4 color:Non from:1981 till:1982 bar:4 color:Non from:1983 till:1984 bar:4 color:Non from:1985 till:1986 bar:4 color:Non from:1990 till:1991 bar:4 color:Non from:1993 till:1994 bar:4 color:Non from:1996 till:1997 bar:4 color:Non from:1999 till:2000 bar:4 color:Non from:2002 till:2003 bar:4 color:Non from:2005 till:2006 bar:5 color:Non from:1961 till:1964 text:Eldorado Country Club bar:5 color:Host from:1964 till:1965 bar:5 color:Non from:1965 till:1969 bar:5 color:Non from:1970 till:1971 bar:5 color:Non from:1972 till:1973 bar:5 color:Non from:1974 till:1975 bar:5 color:Non from:1976 till:1977 bar:5 color:Non from:1978 till:1979 bar:5 color:Non from:1980 till:1981 bar:5 color:Non from:1982 till:1983 bar:5 color:Non from:1984 till:1985 bar:5 color:Non from:1986 till:1988 bar:5 color:Non from:1989 till:1990 bar:6 color:Non from:1964 till:1967 text:La Quinta Country Club bar:6 color:Host from:1967 till:1968 bar:6 color:Non from:1968 till:1970 bar:6 color:Host from:1970 till:1971 bar:6 color:Non from:1971 till:1977 bar:6 color:Host from:1977 till:1978 bar:6 color:Non from:1978 till:1980 bar:6 color:Host from:1980 till:1981 bar:6 color:Non from:1981 till:1983 bar:6 color:Host from:1983 till:1984 bar:6 color:Non from:1984 till:1987 bar:6 color:Non from:1988 till:1989 bar:6 color:Non from:1991 till:1993 bar:6 color:Non from:1994 till:1996 bar:6 color:Non from:1997 till:1999 bar:6 color:Non from:2000 till:2002 bar:6 color:Non from:2003 till:2008 bar:6 color:Non from:2010 till:2021 bar:6 color:Non from:2022 till:2025 bar:7 color:Host from:1987 till:1988 text:PGA West Stadium Course bar:7 color:Host from:2016 till:2025 bar:8 color:Non from:1988 till:1990 text:PGA West Palmer Private Course bar:8 color:Host from:1990 till:1991 bar:8 color:Non from:1991 till:1993 bar:8 color:Host from:1993 till:1994 bar:8 color:Non from:1994 till:1995 bar:8 color:Non from:1998 till:1999 bar:8 color:Host from:1999 till:2000 bar:8 color:Non from:2000 till:2001 bar:8 color:Host from:2001 till:2006 bar:8 color:Non from:2006 till:2009 bar:8 color:Host from:2009 till:2016 bar:9 color:Non from:1995 till:1996 text:Indian Ridge Country Club bar:9 color:Host from:1996 till:1997 bar:9 color:Non from:1997 till:1998 bar:10 color:Host from:2006 till:2009 text:The Classic Club bar:11 color:Non from:2008 till:2012 text:SilverRock Resort bar:12 color:Non from:2009 till:2016 text:PGA West Nicklaus Private Course bar:13 color:Non from:2016 till:2025 text:PGA West Nicklaus Tournament Course ScaleMajor = gridcolor:black unit:year increment:5 start:1960 TextData = fontsize:L textcolor:black pos:(0,30) tabs:(550-center) text:^"Desert Classic courses" Legend:

Television broadcast and cable history

From the mid-1960s through 1998,

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

broadcast the fourth and fifth rounds of the tournament. ABC took over the coverage in 1999 through 2006, with

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

covering the tournament in 2003 due to ABC's involvement with

Super Bowl XXXVII Super Bowl XXXVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Oakland Raiders and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champio ...

. On the cable side, the first three rounds were covered by

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

through 2002. From 2003–06,

USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...

covered the early action. Beginning in 2007, the tournament lost its network coverage and the

Golf Channel Golf Channel (also verbally referred to as simply "Golf" or "NBC Golf") is an American sports television network owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Founded in Birmingham, Alabama, it is currently ba ...

showed all five rounds on

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

. Even with the move to four rounds and the reduction in celebrity involvement, the tournament is still exclusive to cable, as it is usually the last full-field stop restricted to cable-only coverage, as network television coverage of the PGA Tour currently does not begin until the week after the NFL's Conference Championship Games, which is two weeks before the Super Bowl.

Coverage style

Prior to 2007, USA and ESPN/ABC consistently covered all four courses used for the event, with the primary camera crew covering PGA West, but live coverage still emanating from the other courses. However, when Golf Channel took over coverage, the network only assigned live coverage to PGA West (both the Palmer and Nicklaus courses). All other courses used did not receive live coverage at all, with an hourly highlights package sent in and played, but none of it live. This has been the approach consistently taken by Golf Channel in regards to tournaments with multiple courses, including the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and the Walt Disney World Golf Classic.

Notes

References

External links

*
Coverage on the PGA Tour's website
{{coord, 33.643, -116.268, display=t, type:event PGA Tour events Golf tournaments in California Sports competitions in Riverside County, California La Quinta, California Pro–am golf tournaments Recurring sporting events established in 1960 1960 establishments in California