Daily Wrap-up: Bob Hope Classic, Round 4

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LA QUINTA, Calif. -- Gary Woodland and Jhonattan Vegas realize the marathon Bob Hope Classic will come down to a sprint.

Fourth-round coverage

HAAS IN THE HUNT: Defending champion Bill Haas had a special Saturday round going until a late bogey. Still, a 10-under 62 sent him soaring up the leaderboard and into contention. Story SCORING AVERAGES: Which of the four courses has been the toughest this week? Who's had the lowest round of the tournament? Story

BOB HOPE

Rd. 4 Scores
Celebrity scores
TOUR Report
Transcripts

ROUND 4 VIDEO

Woodland eagles No. 5
Howell birdies No. 9
Interview: Woodland
Interview: Haas

KODAK CHALLENGE

This week's results
Images from No. 17
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Challenge schedule
Challenge coverage

At least the weather will be perfect for a good run at their first PGA TOUR victories.

Vegas birdied the final five holes Saturday to rejoin Woodland for the second straight day atop a leaderboard dominated by hungry, inexperienced 20-somethings.

Woodland and Vegas shot 66s to set up a fifth-round showdown between two 26-year-olds with tremendous driving power and little experience in such pressure-packed situations. Neither slugger had ever held a lead on TOUR until this week.

"This deal is still long from over," Woodland said. "It's going to be a shootout again. The conditions will be perfect again. The greens are perfect. You're going to have to go low and get that putter hot."

Vegas fell several shots behind Woodland with a rough start on the La Quinta course before his flurry of birdies to get to 6 under, matching Woodland at 24 under for the week. Woodland was as steady as the postcard-perfect weather on the Palmer Private course in the TOUR's only five-day, four-course event.

"I saw the leaderboard and saw that Gary was (ahead), so I really tried to push it a little bit, and things went my way," said Vegas, who finished his round with an 18-foot birdie putt. "I stayed patient, stayed positive throughout the round, and was able to hit some really good shots in a row."

Vegas and Woodland will play together Sunday with Scotland's Martin Laird, who was two shots back, on the generous Palmer course. The ideal Palm Springs conditions, described by more than one golfer as playing in a dome, are likely to make near-perfection necessary.

"You know right from the first hole you've got to keep firing away," said Laird, who has only one TOUR win. "You can't play defensive golf. ... You've got to fire at flags. I don't know what it's going to take, but I think last year, 30 under won, and I would not be surprised if it was that or lower tomorrow."

Laird also shot a 66 to stay right behind the leaders, and defending champion Bill Haas jumped into a tie for fourth place with a 10-under 62 on the Palmer course. Haas, Chris Kirk, Keegan Bradley and Daniel Summerhays were 21 under.

With most of the sport's top names taking the week off or playing in Abu Dhabi, the Bob Hope Classic is a prime opportunity for a young player looking to make a mark in a historically important tournament fallen on leaner times despite its $5 million purse. None of the Bob Hope Classic's top seven leaders are older than 28 -- and Vegas, Kirk, Summerhays and Bradley all were members of the Nationwide Tour's graduating class last year.

The prospect of a frantic finish intrigues both Woodland, the former college basketball player playing in his 28th TOUR event, and Vegas, the Venezuelan golf pioneer making just his fifth appearance. Woodland never even won on the Nationwide Tour, but plans to draw on his basketball experience and on his four tournament victories during his senior year at Kansas.

"You've got to stay in the moment, that's the main deal," said Woodland, who has never finished higher than 21st on TOUR. "Even if you have a six-shot lead, these guys out here on this golf course, that's nothing. You can make up six shots in four or five holes."

Their formidable power off the tee actually hasn't been much of an asset on two of the courses, with the simpler holes requiring smaller clubs that won't overpower the holes.

Just how tantalizing are these courses? Vegas has 32 birdies in four rounds, two shy of Steve Stricker's 34 at the Hope in 2009. The TOUR record for birdies in a 72-hole tournament is 32.

"I didn't feel great the whole day, compared to (Friday)," Vegas claimed. "I didn't feel comfortable, but I just found a way to get it on the greens."

Although the modest Bob Hope Classic field -- which features just six of the world's top 50 players -- provides a prime opportunity for a youngster, there's a movement afoot to help the tournament regain some of its lost luster from the days when Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Clint Eastwood and a handful of U.S. presidents played in the desert. The Bob Hope Classic is being held without a title sponsor for the third straight year, with ever-fewer pros deigning to play in the lengthy pro-am.

After Joe Ogilvie suggested to Golf Digest that the Bob Hope Classic should draft Bill Clinton as its tournament host, with a commitment to expanding its charity outreach to the former president's Clinton Global Initiative, the TOUR issued a statement Saturday acknowledging discussions over the past several months with Clinton's various charities.

Explorations of a broad partnership include the potential for "leveraging the Bob Hope Classic as a focal point," the statement read.

Bob Hope Classic: Round 4

EASIEST HOLE TOUGHEST HOLE The par-5 6th hole at the PGA West Palmer Course was the easiest with a Saturday scoring average of 4.258. EAGLES: 1 BIRDIES: 21 PARS: 9 BOGEYS: 0 OTHERS: 0 The par-3 3rd hole at La Quinta CC was the toughest with a Saturday scoring average of 3.344. EAGLES: 0 BIRDIES: 2 PARS: 21 BOGEYS: 6 OTHERS: 3

About the leaders

• Jhonattan Vegas led the field in Fairways Hit (39 of 41, 95.1 percent) through the first three rounds but had some trouble during the fourth round, hitting only 6 of 14 fairways at LaQuinta CC. Despite his errant ways today, he is still T3 in the category this week (45 of 55, 81.82 percent) • Vegas closed his round today with five consecutive birdies. • Vegas had 10 birdies during his round today, giving him a tournament-leading 32 through 72 holes. Brandt Jobe is second on the list with 27. • This is the fifth career start on the PGA TOUR for Jhonattan Vegas the 2010 Nationwide Tour graduate and former Texas Longhorn. He made the cut at last week's Sony Open in Hawaii but did not qualify for the final two rounds and finished T57 (67-71-138). • Vegas won the 2010 Argentina Open in mid-December, cruising to a six-stroke win in the Tour de las Americas event in Buenos Aires. • Gary Woodland posted a 6-under 66 today at Palmer Private to reach 24-under par. He shares the lead with Vegas, the same pair that shared the lead after the third round. • Playing in his 28th event on the PGA TOUR, the former Division II basketball player at Washburn University (Kansas) is not only seeking his first career title, but he is also looking for his first career top-10 finish. Woodland's best PGA TOUR finish is a T21 at the 2010 John Deere Classic. His career-best finish in 20 starts on the Nationwide Tour is a T11 at the 2010 WNB Golf Classic in Midland, Texas. • Woodland hit 14 of 18 greens today, giving him 62 of 72 (86.11 percent) thus far this week. He ranks No. 3 in that category this week behind Kevin Sutherland (64 of 72, 88.9 percent) and Keegan Bradley (63 of 72, 87.50 percent) • Woodland's career best 72-hole score prior to this week was 273 (11-under) at the 2010 John Deere Classic (T21). • Woodland played only 18 events during his rookie season in 2009 due to a left shoulder injury that required surgery. He finished T11 at 2010 TOUR Qualifying School in December to earn his card for 2011. • Woodland has made 11 cuts in his previous 27 PGA TOUR starts and missed 16 cuts.