As I walked the practice tee, talking to the players and caddies, it once again felt like a PGA Tour event. No more nervous amateurs hitting balls everywhere and no more celebrities bantering with a laughing gallery. The atmosphere was very serious and it should be — there was $5 million in prize money at stake!

After four rounds of play, long-hitting Bubba Watson and rookie Alex Prugh were tied with the lead. A stroke behind was Bill Haas, whose father won this event in 1988, and South African Tim Clark, who achieved national recognition with his brilliant play in last year’s Presidents Cup. None of these players had ever won on the PGA Tour.

Because of the ideal weather conditions, any of the top 15 players had a chance to win. I knew someone was going to start out fast and that someone was Matt Kuchar. Matt’s putter was, as usual, on fire. He started the day three shots behind the leaders, but after birdying eight of his first 11 holes, he was in the lead all by himself.

Playing two groups behind Kuchar, young Bill Hass was also playing steady golf. He shot a solid 31 on the front nine and was only a shot off the lead. Bill’s father Jay, who is now playing on the Champions Tour, flew in from Hawaii to watch is son compete in today’s final round. In the gallery, Jay said that he didn’t want his son to know he was there — he didn’t want to make him any more nervous than he already was.

I also noticed Bill’s great uncle Bob Goalby standing next to Jay. Goalby won 11 times on the PGA Tour, including the 1968 Masters. This is a great golf family.

Going into the final nine holes, Canadian superstar Mike Weir was also just a few shots off the lead. Mike won this tournament in 2003 and he always attracts a large Canadian gallery. On this day, he had the largest gallery in the field. When he chipped in for eagle on number six, you could hear the roar all over the golf course. Unfortunately Mike’s chance for victory came to an end on the 13^th hole, where he hooked his tee-shot into the water and made a double-bogey six.

As Weir faltered, Tim Clark was making a late surge with five birdies on the back nine. Going into the final hole, Matt Kuchar, Tim Clark and Bill Hass were all tied for the lead.

The 18th hole is a reachable par 5 with water guarding the green and the left side of the fairway. You could go for the green on the second shot, but it’s entirely over water.

Matt Kuchar was the first to play the hole. He hit the green in two, but his second shot was long, more than 70 feet past the hole. He left his first putt 12 feet short and then just missed his birdie try. He shot a 63, the lowest round of the day, but it was one shot short.

The next to play the hole was Tim Clark. Tim decided not to try to carry the water and played his second shot safely to right of the green. He hit a good third shot, to about 8 feet from the pin, but he also missed his birdie putt and ended the day tied for second.

Bill Hass was in the final group. After a good drive, he hit a great 206-yard 3-iron 27 feet from the hole. It was the shot of the tournament. He made an easy two-putt birdie and picked up his first victory in 141 career starts. He earned $900,000 for the win.

At the press conference following the tournament, Hass said that the week before he had played just terribly. He credited his victory to a swing tip he received on Monday from swing instructor Billy Harmon. Harmon simply told him to turn his right foot slightly outward. With that tip alone, he went from playing as badly as possible to his first PGA Tour victory.

It was the eighth time in PGA Tour history that a father and son have won the same event.

So the 51st Bob Hope Classic is in the record books. It was a rainy, but fun week and a great deal of money was raised for local charities. Now the PGA Tour is off to San Diego for the Farmers Insurance Open at beautiful Torrey Pines.