Hoch’s Handicap Was His Fivesome

PALM DESERT — If Scott Hoch had been playing with anybody else Wednesday, what would have happened?

“He deserved to be 10-under par, and he would have been if he hadn’t been playing with three politicians who were distracting him and Bob Hope doing a soft-shoe,” President Clinton said.

Hoch settled for a two-under-par 70 at Indian Wells Country Club, where several thousand watched Presidents Clinton, Bush and Ford, Hope and one other guy play the first round of the Bob Hope Chrysler tournament.

The other guy was Hoch, in the group because he is the defending champion.

“The gallery didn’t even know I was out there,” he said.

Playing in such company took him a while to get used to.

“They were just waiting for the Presidents to hit and started talking when I was hitting,” Hoch said. “Finally, I got pretty good at it.”

He said the experience reminded him of a movie.

“The Longest Day,” he said.

After dealing with metal detectors, secret service agents, a large media contingent and a large gallery, Hoch said he is relieved to move on to something familiar.

“Well, sure, I can get back to kind of a normal game,” he said. “But I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I had the thrill of a lifetime.”

Because it was a 5 1/2-hour round, Hoch had enough time to critique each President’s game.

Clinton: “He needs help chipping, needs to hit down on the ball.”

Ford: “Good baseball player. He uses more of the park than most people do.”

Bush: “He likes to play quick.”

Three people were hit with balls during the round, two by Bush and one by Ford. The most serious incident came on Bush’s second shot on the first hole when he hit a tree.

The ball bounced off a branch and struck Norma Early, 71, of Vista. She needed 10 stitches above her left eye.

Early said she had just moved to the spot along the fairway and heard the ball hit the tree before it hit her.

“I never saw it coming,” she said.