LA QUINTA, Calif. — Pat Perez's first PGA Tour victory was made even more special by winning with a certain silver-haired gentleman in the crowd at No. 18.

"I feel privileged to win the tournament that Mr. (Arnold) Palmer won 50 years ago, and now he's back hosting it," Perez said Sunday after he shot a 3-under 69 to win the Bob Hope Classic by three shots.

"I feel honored that he was there to shake my hand when I got done, and he's such a legend that it's just a great feeling on top of everything else."

Perez, who had lost leads on windy days in the past, survived a gusty final 18 holes at the Hope to finish the five-day tournament at 33-under 327. He got help from Steve Stricker, who held a three-shot lead going into the final 18 holes only to balloon to a 77 in the finale.

John Merrick, beginning his third year on the tour, challenged down the stretch but finished three shots back with a 67 that left him in second place at 30 under.

Stricker's round included two tee shots into the water and one out of bounds, leading to a triple bogey and a quadruple bogey. He still wound up tied for third at 28 under with Mike Weir, who shot 67. Stephen Ames had the low round on a rare day at the Hope when there weren't many, with his 63 vaulting him into a fifth-place tie at 27 under with Bo Van Pelt (67), Web Simpson (69) and Tim Clark (69).

Conditions for the first four days were perfect, then the wind came up — and scores went up — for the final round on the Palmer Course at PGA West. Perez felt that worked in his favor.

"If the weather was perfect, someone could have shot 61 or 61," he said. "So I actually didn't mind the wind blowing all the way around. But it was definitely tough."

The 32-year-old Perez, in the past considered a bit of a hothead when his game wasn't going well, said he's learned to remain calm and that was a plus during the final round.

"I just tried to stay pretty even-keeled," he said. "I figured if I could just play solid and hit some good shots and kind of stay calm and think about what I'm doing out there, I was going to be fine."

Perez locked up the victory by knocking his approach shot over the water from 200 yards on No. 18 to 3 feet to set up an eagle. Merrick, winless on the tour, already had finished his round with a par on 18.