Course Overview

Few courses on the PGA TOUR elicit as much or more respect than Riviera Country Club, the George C. Thomas gem in Pacific Palisades, Calif. Debuting as the site of the Nissan Open in 1929 and almost exclusively the tournament home since 1941, Riviera, which plays to 7,260 yards and a par 71, features narrow fairways, tiny greens and Thomas. trademark flashed up, finger-laden bunkers. Three different par 4s have been among the 50 toughest on TOUR the last three years: Nos. 2, 8 and 18, the latter a 475-yard dogleg left which is among the more famous in golf. Another well-recognized hole is the 200-yard par-3 sixth with its distinctive doughnut green complex . a bunker in the middle of a two-tiered putting surface. Tiger Woods calls Riviera, "one of the best designed courses we play."

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#1	#2	#3	#4	#5	#6
#7	#8	#9	#10	#11	#12
#13	#14	#15	#16	#17	#18

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COURSE HISTORY

Riviera Country Club, built in 1926 and opened the following year, is considered the best of George C. Thomas. architectural works and one of the most historic in TOUR history. Riviera is nicknamed Hogan.s Alley, in honor of Ben Hogan, who won consecutive Los Angeles Open titles in 1947 and .48 there, as well as the 1948 U.S. Open. The course also has hosted two PGA Championships, won by Hal Sutton in 1983 and Steve Elkington in .95. Ben Crenshaw oversaw a greens renovation in 1992, and the 17th and 18th holes were lengthened in .04 to bring the course to its current 7,260 yards. Further renovations were performed last summer, including a new sub-air drainage system under half of the greens. (The other half will be completed after this year.s 81st Nissan Open). More important was the upgrade of several bunkers. Additionally, greenside bunkers at Nos. 11, 14 and 17 were moved closer to the putting surfaces.