Hoffman gets win in wind

Charley Hoffman won the 48th Bob Hope Chrysler Classic on Sunday by making a three-foot birdie putt to beat John Rollins on the first playoff hole.

OK, so it wasn’t Tiger outlasting Phil, but it did put an end to one long-winded affair.

It took Hoffman 6 hours 20 minutes Sunday to secure his first PGA Tour victory.

He did it with his long, blond hair flapping wildly beneath a black cap.

He did it in winds that howled, wearing red-and-black golf (bowling?) shoes that screamed.

In the end, though, Hoffman didn’t mind picking sand out of his teeth -- he was the blow-hard champion of the Bob Hope.

When you just turned 30, and once missed 15 straight cuts on the Nationwide circuit, you’ll take a win in a typhoon -- and Sunday came close.

Was Hoffman the winner or the survivor?

“Definitely the survivor,” Hoffman said.

He played his college golf at Nevada Las Vegas, so desert conditions were not foreign to him.

“I’ve seen the wind this hard before,” he said. “Usually I go inside and seek shelter.”

Hoffman and Rollins, though, were the last players to come in at the Classic Club.

They both finished regulation play at 17-under-par 343 after five days of play on four courses. Hoffman fired a one-under 71 on Sunday while Rollins had a two-over 73.

You talk about hanging around until the end.

Hoffman, who grew up in San Diego admiring Phil Mickelson, took his first lead of the tournament on his final hole, the 90th, when he rolled in an 11-foot eagle putt on the par-five 18th.

It pushed him from 15 to 17 under, one shot ahead of Rollins and Justin Rose, who were coming up from behind in the final group.

Rollins forced a playoff when he reached the 18th green in two shots and then, after his eagle putt for victory was short, tapped in a two-foot birdie.

Rose had held at least a share of the lead all day until Hoffman’s eagle. He needed birdie to make the playoff a threesome but rolled his birdie try past the hole.

He made par to finish four-over 76 on the day and 16-under 344 overall.

Rose checked the weather Saturday night and went to sleep thinking he would face mild winds from northeast.

“I was ready for the challenge,” he said. “But when it blows 40, it’s a whole different kettle of fish.”

Rose finished third, one shot ahead of Heath Slocum and Jeff Quinney, but fell short of winning a tournament many had conceded to him.

“I thought Justin was going to run away with it,” Hoffman said.

Instead, Hoffman and Rollins returned to the 18th for a playoff. Despite dropping temperatures, Rollins, a two-time winner on the tour, played the entire day in a short-sleeve shirt.

“I don’t like playing in jackets or sweaters,” he said. “If I can bear it, I like to wear a golf shirt.”

Rollins hit first in the playoff and let loose his drive.

Hoffman said “good shot,” only to watch Rollins’ ball roll into a fairway bunker.

“I actually felt kind of bad that it went in the sand after I said ‘good shot,’ ” Hoffman said.

Rollins had to punch out on his second shot. Hoffman hit the fairway with his drive and reached the green on his second shot, setting up another eagle attempt.

Rollins got on in three.

Hoffman missed his eagle putt to win, but after Rollins missed his birdie attempt, Hoffman sank his putt for a victory that earned him $900,000.

He took his check and headed to San Diego, where he becomes a hometown hero at next week’s Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines.

Hoffman, who admitted there was nothing stellar about his junior or college career, goes home after a victory in which he, not Mickelson, came out on top.

“Phil was older than me and I always looked up to him,” Hoffman said. “He was always the guy winning all the tournaments, so you obviously knew who Phil was.”

What Phil was on Sunday was struggling.

Mickelson targeted the Bob Hope for his 2007 debut because he figured it would be a nice way to ease his way into the season.

He worked all fall on sharpening his game but had not factored gale-force winds into his plans.

Mickelson needed a birdie on his last hole to salvage a six-over 78, 12 shots worse than Saturday’s 66. Mickelson finished seven-under 353, tied for 45th.

Mickelson said he didn’t want to change his swing for one day of wind-whipped weather.

“I haven’t been hitting these shots yet,” Mickelson said. “So I certainly struggled in these conditions.”

Mickelson hit three balls into the water in one six-hole stretch, No. 7 through No. 12, that he played in seven-over par.

It was the kind of day that knocked over cameramen, made flags bend to 70 degree angles, and forced golf balls to oscillate on greens to the point some thought play should have been suspended.

“We were close,” Rollins said when asked whether play should have been stopped.

Mark Calcavecchia deserved a medal for getting to the clubhouse at 13 under after shooting three-under 69. He tied for eighth place after starting the day tied for 36th.

What a difference a gale makes?

Steve Lowery, who shot five-under 67 on Saturday, shot nine-over 81. He was 12-over 48 on the front and three-under 33 on the back.

Kevin Na, who shot six-under 66 on Saturday, shot eight-over 80 on Sunday.

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chris.dufresne@latimes.com