5 Questions About The Riviera Country Club And The LA Open

Driving around the UCLA/Brentwood/Pacific Palisades/Malibu area this weekend you could tell the tournament at the Riviera Country Club was coming up. The Northern Trust Open, or "L.A. Open" as we call it around here, has events that start today. Maybe. The weather is actually not cooperating very much at all. We are actually having a good storm in Southern California today. A reader that would like to remain enigmatic asked if I would address the following five questions about the Open and Riviera:


1. Is Tiger Woods in the tournament?

Tiger will not be one of the golfers in this tournament as he is still recovering from knee surgery. Interestingly enough, Tiger has never won this event.

2. Who is the reigning champ of the Open?

Phil Mickelson won in 2008 and graces the banners on every light post around the area. When he won last year everyone thought it was a sign that he would have a great year. He ended up not doing so well and went from the number two position in the rankings to his current place at fifth. I must say, as a lefty it is nice to see someone plastered all over the Westside that has a golf swing that goes in the correct direction!

3. Can I play at the Riviera Country Club?

As the "Country Club" part of the name suggests, the Riviera is private. One can only play golf or tennis there if hosted by a member or if you are a member yourself. The nice thing about the Northern Trust Open is that anyone can get tickets for as little as $20 and see this course and the PGA Tour players.

4. How long has the Riviera been around?

The Club was established in 1926 and has been open for play since 1927. There is quite a bit of rich history that is interesting to read including where the nickname Hogan's Alley came from.

5. Has the Open always been played at the Riviera?

Indeed it has. The event has seen historic milestones, such as Babe Didrickson-Zaharias becoming the first woman playing in a PGA men's event. 1962 saw Jack Nicklaus get his first professional paycheck ($33.33) and 1992 was when Tiger Woods played in his first PGA event as an amateur at age 16.



5 Questions every Monday has evolved from being only interviews to general questions about a sport or sporting event. If you have five burning questions about one such topic please send me an email. You can click the "View my complete profile link" and then the "Email" link to do so.

Thank you to everyone who has written so far. There are more interviews and questions scheduled for the future - keep those suggestions coming!