One of my favorite tournaments of the year is being held this week at the Riviera Country Club, in the Pacific Palisades.
Not only is the golf course spectacular, but the field is amongst the best you will find on tour. This year, however, the field has a bonus that we haven’t seen in quite some time.
The return of Tiger Woods.
Woods has won seemingly everywhere — except for here. The idea that Woods has never won a professional tournament at Riviera Country Club is baffling to me. Not only did he grow up attending tournaments here, but the golf course ought to be very receptive to his game.
Riviera Country Club is a pure ball-strikers golf course.
The length of the course, along with the punishing Kikuyu rough, would seem to favor a player like Woods back in his prime.
Why has he never won here? I’m not sure, but the list of past winners is the best you will see.
Three of the past four tournaments at Riviera have been won by Bubba Watson (twice), and last year by Dustin Johnson. Do you need more evidence of the quality of this golf course?
Dating all the way back to 1942, the tournament went through an eight-year stretch that saw Ben Hogan win three times, Sam Snead win twice and Byron Nelson win once.
Pretty awesome stuff.
If you’ve never been to the Riviera Country Club, you should try to make it out this weekend.
This year’s field includes Woods, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and defending champion Johnson. There are so many great players on tour now, that I can’t possibly list them all. But trust me, you won’t have an opportunity to see a stronger field of players outside of a major.
Another nice aspect of attending this tournament is that the golf course is relatively flat, as well as wide open. Unlike many venues, Riviera Country Club allows you to view quite a few different holes from one spot.
You might see Woods teeing off on #10, Spieth putting out on #9, Johnson teeing off on #3 and McIlroy putting out on #18 all at the same time.
You can’t beat that.
I don’t anticipate Woods winning this year’s Genesis Open. There are just too many talented players better prepared for this moment.
However, having the opportunity to watch Woods play at Riviera Country Club for the first time in many years is one that you should take advantage of. You never know when, and if, it will happen again.
