Way back in 1960, the prestigious PGA golf tournament, known as the Bob Hope Classic, first saw the light of day. Originally known as the Palm Springs Golf Classic, it's ancestry traces back to the popular Thunderbird Invitational golf tournament, which was held in Palm Springs, California, from 1954 up until 1959. Tickets for the Bob Hope Classic have always been a great seller, due to the nature of the tournament, which is played on four different courses in the Coachella Valley, over the span of 5 days.

While the tournament is played on various courses each year, the Bermuda Dunes Country Club has always been one of the locations each year, since the event was moved to the Coachella Valley. The Bob Hope Classic was also played at the Indian Wells Country Club through 2006, but has not been included in the tournament since.

An interesting fact about the Bob Hope Classic, is that it's the only PGA Tour event that has ownership of its own facility, ever since a local charitable foundation donated one of its new courses (The Classic Club in Palm Desert, California) to it in 2005. The addition of this beautiful course became a big draw and helped in selling many tickets for the tournament.

However, by far, the biggest draw of the Bob Hope Classic has always been the Pro-Am event which has annually attracted many famous amateur golfers and celebrities including President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Bing Crosby, Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas. Eisenhower was the first US president to play in the tournament. Sales of Bob Hope Classic tickets that year hit an all-time high. Actor Desi Arnaz also played in the Pro-Am event and in fact, was one of the founders of the Indian Wells Country club, where the tournament was once played for many years.

Quite possibly, one of the best golfers of all time, Arnold Palmer, won the first tournament with a score of 338, 22 under par, meaning he scorched the field and dominated the tournament. That record would stand for another 22 years before it was finally broken. Palmer's huge fan base came out in flocks those years and contributed to a high sale of tickets. In the early years of the tournament, there was also a title for "Classic Queen", in which popular female celebrities at the time were chosen for the award. A couple names who held that title include Barbara Eden and Lynda Carter, who were both very popular during the 1970s.

The tournament officially changed its named in 1965, when world-famous actor and comedian Bob Hope gave his name to the event, re-naming it the Bob Hope Classic. Aside from contributing his name to the event, the superstar also served as chairman of the board for many years. In the 1970s, the second former president to play the event was Gerald Ford. A couple decades later, in 1995, history was in evidence when then-President Bill Clinton, former president George H.W. Bush, former president Gerald Ford, Bob Hope and defending champion Scott Hoch played together as a team, which led to a record selling amount of Bob Hope Classic tickets.

In 2009, golfer Pat Perez become the Bob Hope Classic current champion with a score of 327, 33 under par and won a 1st place prize of $918,000. For over 50 years, this tournament has been a huge attraction for golf fans and will certainly be a big spectacle for many more years to come.