LA QUINTA, Calif. — Remaining calm despite the swirling wind and a tense duel for the lead, Pat Perez finally got his first PGA Tour victory — with a lot of help from Steve Stricker.

Perez won the Bob Hope Classic yesterday, taking advantage of Stricker's collapse and holding off John Merrick by three strokes. The winner shot a 3-under 69 for a 33-under 327 total in the five-day event.

"I just tried to stay pretty even-keeled," Perez 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."

In the past, "calm" wasn't necessarily a word used about Perez and his play. He seemed quick to anger and grow frustrated when he wasn't playing well.

"I just got tired of getting upset all the time," the 32-year-old Perez said. "It's a lot of energy. I learned how the best guys do it."

After hitting into the water and dropping to 29 under on the fifth hole, Perez steadied and still made the turn at 35.

Merrick, who began the day eight shots behind Stricker but moved in front briefly on the back nine, shot a 67.

Stricker, 33 under at the start of play after rounds of 61 and 62, had a 77 to tie for third with Mike Weir (67) at 28 under. Stricker had a triple bogey on No. 7 and a quadruple bogey on No. 10, hitting into the water on both holes.

The wind gusts took their toll on Stricker.

"We would feel it in our face on one hole, and the same hole it would feel downwind. So it was all over the place and difficult to pick a correct club," Stricker said. "It was hard for me to feel comfortable with anything, and it showed for me a couple of times today."

Perez earned $918,000, while Stricker took home $295,800.

Hawai'i's Dean Wilson shot a final-round 71 and finished at 340. He earned $12,818.

ELSEWHERE

Qatar Masters: Spain's Alvaro Quiros won the Qatar Masters for his third European tour victory, making five birdies on the back nine for a 3-under 69 and a three-stroke victory over Louis Oosthuizen and Henrik Stenson in Doha, Qatar.

HSBC LPGA Brazil Cup: Catriona Matthew, a 39-year-old Scot expecting her second child in May, won the HSBC LPGA Brazil Cup exhibition event, shooting her second straight 3-under 69 for a five-stroke victory over Kristy McPherson in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.