Humana Challenge 2012: Mark Wilson Holds On For Fifth Win

Mark Wilson entered the final day at the 2012 Human Challenge in first place, and he would leave that way after winning the wind-interrupted tournament by two strokes over three players tied for second. He shot 3-under for the day to hold off the charging field.

Ben Crane came into the day in second place, but fell back into a four-way tie for eighth after shooting just 1-under at the relatively easy Palmer Private at PGA West. Johnson Wagner, John Mallinger and Robert Garrigus shot 7-under, 6-under and 4-under to make their charge at Wilson.

The 2012 Humana Challenge hit a bit of a rough patch in the third round as weather forced the golfers participating to complete Day 3 early Sunday morning, but it seems everything is back on track. Fourth-round play is expected to begin early Sunday afternoon as Mark Wilson attempts to hold off a foursome of fellow Americans at the top of the leaderboard.

Wilson is 21-under through three days, but his play has been anything but consistent as he’s turned in an excellent score of 62 sandwiched by a 66 and a 67 -- the latter of which came during Saturday’s third round. Wilson leads the pack, but four golfers -- Zach Johnson, Ben Crane, Brandt Snedeker and Robert Garrigus -- are just three strokes back heading into Sunday’s final day of play.

Play will pick back up on Sunday after dangerously high winds forced the third round to be suspended at the 2012 Humana Challenge. The plan is to squeeze in what’s left of the third round as well as the entire fourth round of the tournament in one day.

Amateurs are officially done for the tournament, allowing the pros to pair up and speed things along. Play will begin again at 7:30 a.m. PT (10:30 a.m ET). Tournament officials hope that the fourth round can tee off between 10:00 a.m. and noon on the West coast.

The 2012 Humana Challenge, previously the Bob Hope Classic, should be just another low-scoring early-season shootout for the PGA Tour. High winds on this Saturday have forced a suspension of play, however.

The winds at the La Quinta Country Club course have gusted in excess of 25 miles per hour, forcing players off the course in the middle of the third round and additionally convincing tournament officials to evacuate areas with tents and the media center at the course.

After shooting a blistering 62 on Friday at the Humana Challenge, Mark Wilson is looking to go low yet again on Saturday and has taken a two-shot lead over Ben Crane at 20 under par. The Humana Challenge, formerly the Bob Hope Classic, is notorious for low scores and Wilson’s 62 on Friday was the lowest round of his career. He’s firing away on the La Quinta Course today and looking to extend his lead. In the tour’s third event of the year, Wilson is looking to duplicate the success of his two-win season in early 2011, in which he won the second event of the year at the Sony Open.

David Toms, who like Wilson is another veteran golfer who saw a major resurgence in 2011, is just three shots back but has failed to get any birdie streak going today at just one under. The slow-playing Ben Crane is looking to keep pace and is currently in second at eighteen under.

Saturday will be the final day of pro-am play. The event will be televised on The Golf Channel beginning at 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET.

Here are some of the notable tee times in the final day of this pro-am tournament. (All times Pacific.)

David Toms remains atop the leaderboard at the 2012 Humana Challenge following Friday action, though now he’s joined by two new co-leaders.

Toms, Ben Crane and Mark Wilson are all tied at 16-under for the three-stroke lead after two days at the Humana, formerly known as the Bob Hope Classic.

The first round of the 2012 Humana Challenge, formerly known as the Bob Hope, is in the books and there’s a two-way tie atop the leaderboard. Camillo Villegas and David Toms each finished the first round at 9-under, carding 63s to open the tournament. With a huge field of players and celebrities spread across three different courses, the field will shuffle up again, rotating courses as the second round begins on Friday.

Coverage of the second round of the 2012 Humana Challenge gets underway at 3 p.m. Eastern on Friday as the Golf Channel picks up where it left off. The broadcast window is set to run until 6 p.m., or whenever the last groups complete their rounds.

The official name of the tournament is “The Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation,” but golf fans may be more familiar with it’s old name, the Bob Hope Classic. Whatever you want to call it, the tournament takes place Jan. 19-22 at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif.

The PGA Tour and President Bill Clinton announced the eight-year title sponsorship last April. “The PGA TOUR has always been a leader in philanthropy,” President Clinton said. “I’m so pleased that my Foundation has committed to working with the TOUR and Humana to raise awareness for global health and continue to improve the lives of people around the world.”