Murrieta's Rickie Fowler will tee off at 8:57 this morning at the Palmer Course at SilverRock Resort.
LA QUINTA - Forgive the Bob Hope Classic if it doesn't have the carefree feel that it so often does.
In its 51st year, the tournament is pressing on without a title sponsor, operating on reserve funds after losing a bankrupt Chrysler from its name.
On Tuesday, PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem expressed support for the long-running celebrity pro-am during a conference call introducing the new McGladrey Classic.
"The Hope has a long history with the PGA Tour," Finchem said. "I'm very bullish about it for next year.
"In the event that we struggle with title sponsorship for another year because of the economy, we will figure out a way to bridge it and work with it for a period of time, because it's an institution on the Tour."
But even that backing didn't do much to brighten the horizon in La Quinta this week, where it's the actual weather forecast that's immediately scary. The weather report calls for rain, showers, wind and more rain over the next few days before clearing up this weekend.
Still, tournament president John Foster expressed optimism.
"We don't get real soggy out here, our courses drain pretty well," Foster said. "We'll probably get some sprinkles. The option is to play until the courses can't take it. If we lose a day, then we might go into a Monday, but it's not really a big worry, it's more of an inconvenience.
"More of a concern is the fans, if everyone hears it's flooding, no one wants to come out. It's more of a psychological problem for us."
Only twice has the tournament -- typically a showcase for the idyllic wintertime conditions in the Coachella Valley -- been delayed on account of weather. In 1978 and 1980, the five-round event ended on Monday.
The subtext to all the drama swirling around the tournament is the golf itself, which will be played on four La Quinta courses -- SilverRock Resort, La Quinta Country Club, the Palmer Private course at PGA West and the Nicklaus Private Course at PGA West.
Former Murrieta resident Rickie Fowler will play his second tournament in his rookie season, teeing off at 8:57 this morning at SilverRock.
Fowler will play in the celebrity rotation, paired today with John O'Hurley, an actor and television personality who had a recurring role in "Seinfeld" and is recognizable as the voice of the Progressive Insurance TV spots.
Defending champion Pat Perez also is back, as is Scott Verplank and Justin Leonard. David Duval returns to the tournament where he famously shot a final-round 59 to win in 1999. Arnold Palmer's grandson, Sam Saunders, makes his second PGA Tour start.
But there are no players ranked in the top 25 in the field this week, and only six -- Mike Weir, Tim Clark, David Toms, Ryan Moore, Brian Gay and Michael Sim -- rank in the top 50.
La Quinta resident Anthony Kim opted to play the Abu Dhabi Championship, as did such other top players as Camilo Villegas, Geoff Ogilvy, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Rory McIlroy.
"We're short on the top 10, but we have some great players," Foster said "We love the field. It's always interesting to see young talents like Rickie Fowler; it's going to be fun to see how they compare."
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