Hoffman wins his first PGA Tour title

He sank a 4-foot birdie putt to beat John Rollins on the first playoff hole.
THOUSAND PALMS, Calif. (AP) -- Charley Hoffman was the last man standing on a wind-swept day in the desert.
At the end of a long, gusty Sunday in the weather-plagued Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, Hoffman won his first PGA Tour title by ramming in a 4-foot birdie putt to beat John Rollins on the first playoff hole.
"Definitely the survivor. It was brutal out there, probably the hardest conditions I've played in, for sure," Hoffman said after playing 91 holes over a five-day stretch.
The 30-year-old Hoffman birdied No. 17, eagled the 18th in regulation, then birdied the 18th in the playoff. He closed with a 1-under 71 on The Classic Club course to match Rollins (73) at 17-under 343.
Others had their problems on a day when the wind gusted to 40 mph. Phil Mickelson hit three balls into the water in a three-hole stretch. With two double bogeys, five bogeys and three birdies on his card, the two-time Masters champion, 2005 PGA winner and two-time Hope winner finished with a 78 that left him tied for 45th at 7 under.
Errant shot is costly
Rollins tied Hoffman with a birdie on the final hole of regulation, then his shot into a fairway bunker on the extra hole cost him.
His third shot left him 30 feet from the pin, with Hoffman 37 feet away in two. Hoffman lagged up short, Rollins' try for birdie was left of the cup, then Hoffman sank his to end it.
Although the wind calmed a bit late in the day, it made club selection a guessing game and merely standing over putts a challenge for most of the round. Players' pant legs whipped back and forth and they tried to steady themselves, and sometimes the gusts even rocked the ball on the green.
The wind churned the small lakes around the course, stirred up grit from the adjacent desert and sent it swirling over much of the course.
The players spent a lot of time setting up for shots, then backing off.
"You're standing over putts and the wind is blowing and you're worried about the ball moving, or you're not quite steady over a shot," Rollins said.
Hoffman, in the next-to-last group, put the pressure on when he hit his second shot within 11 feet of the pin on the par-5, 564-yard 18th, then rolled in the putt for an eagle to take the lead. With Hoffman waiting and watching, Rollins, in the last threesome with Justin Rose and Lucas Glover, missed a long try for eagle but made the short birdie putt to tie.
Rose, meanwhile, hit into a bunker off the tee on 18, then ran a long birdie try past the cup before sinking the par putt that left him at 16 under and a shot behind. The Englishman, tied with Glover at the top, was shaky on the greens and finished with a 76.
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.