This still feels like the Hope to me

Now that we've watched as all of the changes have been rolled out at the Humana Challenge in partnership with the William J. Clinton Foundation, the first round Thursday was a good chance to remember one thing that hasn't changed at the tournament.

The best golfers in the world are still making a ton of birdies and eagles on the courses of the Coachella Valley.

In the first round, 116 players broke par-72 on the three desert courses being used this week. That's 80.5 percent of the players in red figures. Compare that to last year, when 92 of 128 players, or 71.8 percent, broke par in the first 18 holes.

Runs of three and even four birdies in a row were as abundant as sunshine Thursday. Four golfers had nine birdies each on the day, meaning they made birdies on half of their holes. Anthony Kim made two eagles in a five-hole stretch on the Nicklaus Private Course. Phil Mickelson struggled but still made three birdies and an eagle in a round of 74. It was, in other words, a typical day at the Hope, er, the Humana.

And with all the changes that have come to the tournament in the last eight or nine months, it is kind of comforting to know that the character of the tournament, great scoring on brilliantly conditioned golf courses, hasn't change.

“A great day out there. Obviously the weather is beautiful, golf course conditions, perfect, I had a great group,” said Camilo Villegas, who may be regretting having never come to the desert before after a 63 on Thursday.

“The golf course is in such good shape that if you had birdie putts, you could really start to make them. And that's what I did today,” said David Toms of La Quinta Country Club. Toms also shot 63 and is tied for the lead.

“All three of these courses somebody's going to shoot, you know, 8 or 9 or 10 under every day, so you just have to keep making birdies, obviously,” said Bob Estes, whose 64 Thursday was only good for a four-way tie for third.

From time to time, and the comments have popped up even this week, someone says the golf courses in the Humana are too easy. They say that it's really just a putting contest, that some tougher courses (maybe even a famously tougher course at PGA West) would make the tournament more interesting.

But the tournament tried a few tougher courses in the last few years, and for any number of reasons, it didn't work. But one of the ways it didn't work was in changing the character of the tournament, and the players never seemed to embrace the way the tournament has gone away from fairways lined with homes and littered with birdies.

With all the tweaks that have come to the tournament, it's possible that there are other course changes down the road. But it's also possible that the current rotation that seems to have the approval of the players will stay in place for a while as other things in the tournament continue to evolve.

For now, the scoring in the tournament is not evolving. It's still low, lower and lowest, and maybe the first player to 30-under wins.

Somehow, this year, that's very comforting.

Larry Bohannan is the golf writer for The Desert Sun. He can be reached at (760) 778-4633 or at larry.bohannan@thedesertsun.com.