Genesis Open: Memorable moments
1 / 10
1. 1948: Hogan goes Hollywood
Ben Hogan already had won L.A. Opens at Riviera in 1942 and 1947, breaking the course record in the latter win. But in 1948 he truly stamped the place as his own. First he won another L.A. Open, shaving five shots off his own course record (down to 9-under 275). A few months later he played at Riviera again, and yes, he won again, claiming his first of four U.S. Open titles. His score of 8-under 276 was an Open record not broken until Tiger Woods shot 12 under in the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. Is it any wonder that there is a statue of Hogan at Riviera?
Getty Images
2 / 10
2. 1961: Arnie goes Tin Cup
Arnold Palmer was in contention when he came to his final hole in the second round of the 1961 L.A. Open at Rancho Park GC – a narrow par 5, sandwiched between a driving range on the right and a street on the left. Palmer went for the green in two with a 3-wood, but the shot sliced into the driving range. Accounts vary as to the exact location of his next three shots, but all went OB. "I had to make a tough putt just to get my 12," he told the Los Angeles Times in 1990. "Instead of being close to the lead, I missed the cut.” Today, a plaque commemorates Palmer’s misadventure.
Getty Images
3 / 10
3.1992: We’ll take foreshadowing for $200, Alex
Tiger Woods, then 16, became the youngest golfer to play in a PGA Tour event in the 1992 Nissan L.A. Open. The L.A. Times article about his first round can be read today as a remarkable preview of Woods’ pro career, from erratic driving (“… he showed his ability to play out of trouble, which he frequently was in.”) to jaw-dropping recovery shots like this one he pulled off despite a restricted backswing (“… he hit a near-perfect draw of about 170 yards, hitting the green about four feet from the pin …”) to a bout with injury (… “Woods hurt his back on the 11th hole, pulling a muscle while trying to hit out of deep rough ...”).
Getty Images
4 / 10
4. 1969: Only fitting - Sifford wins in L.A.
Charlie Sifford was born in Charlotte, N.C., but he became a hero to the African-American community of Los Angeles, where he spent part of his life. After Sifford won the 1969 L.A. Open at Rancho Park GC, defeating South African Harold Henning on the first hole of a playoff, L.A. Mayor Sam Yorty proclaimed a “Charlie Sifford Day.” After meeting Sifford, California Attorney General Stanley Mosk successfully challenged the PGA’s Caucasians-only rule. The rule was removed from the PGA constitution in 1961 and Sifford received full PGA membership in 1964.
Associated Press
5 / 10
5. 1947: Ben Hogan, ‘Alley’ cat
Hogan had finished second to Byron Nelson in the 1946 L.A. Open, but in 1947 at Riviera no one could catch him, as he shot a tournament-record 280, three strokes better than Toney Penna. It was Hogan’s second win at Riviera (he also won in 1942) and the first of three wins there for him in a 18-month period - two L.A. Opens and a U.S. Open – and helped give rise to the course becoming known as Hogan’s Alley.
Associated Press
6 / 10
6. 1938: What a Babe
Babe Didrikson Zaharias won 10 LPGA majors in a hall-of-fame career, but when she entered the 1938 L.A. Open, her golf career was in its infancy. She was better known as a two-time gold-medal winner in track and field in the 1932 L.A. Olympics. The first woman to play in a PGA Tour event, she shot 84-81 and missed the cut. She didn’t go home empty-handed, however; she met pro wrestler George Zaharias, her future husband. She returned to the L.A. Open in 1945, qualifying and making the 36-hole cut, becoming the first (and still only) woman to make the cut in a PGA Tour event.
Getty Images
7 / 10
7. 1967: Palmer puts the peddle to the metal
Arnold Palmer’s five-shot win over Gay Brewer in the 1967 L.A. Open triggered an interesting side effect. Palmer’s iron shafts were made of aluminum, which was trying to gain a foothold against steel. “This shaft could become the greatest contribution to the golf industry since the introduction of the steel shaft,” an executive of Palmer’s equipment company told Golfdom magazine. Of course, we all know how that worked out. As the author of the Golfdom article noted, “Arnie could probably bring any course to its knees using garden tools.”
Associated Press
8 / 10
8. 2007: Beemer wins a … Nissan?
If a guy whose nickname is Beemer were going to do commercials for a car company, wouldn’t you think it’d be, you know, BMW? Well, you’d be wrong. Rich Beem aced the 14th hole on Saturday to win a new Nissan Altima (hmm, Nissan Open, Nissan Altima – there might be a pattern here). Beem hotfooted it to the back of the tee and dove onto the Altima displayed there, embracing its roof in a joyous hug. The folks at Nissan, being no fools, later made the scene into a commercial.
Getty Images
9 / 10
9. 2003: Weir heats up for Augusta
After winning once a year in 1999, 2000 and 2001, Canadian Mike Weir experienced a drought in 2002, failing to register even a single top-10 finish. He was encouraged, then, early in 2003 when he returned to the winner’s circle by taking the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Three weeks later he had his second win of the year, coming from seven shots behind on the final day of the Nissan Open and beating Charles Howell III on the first hole of their playoff. Two months later he bagged the biggest prize of his career, the 2003 Masters.
Getty Images
10 / 10
10. 2001: Allenby and the six-pack
Raise your hand if you WEREN’T part of the 2001 Nissan Open playoff. Put your hand down, Brandel Chamblee. Yes, Golf Channel’s own analyst was part of a rain-soaked, six-man, PGA Tour record-tying playoff field, which also included eventual winner Robert Allenby, Toshi Izawa, Bob Tway, Jeff Sluman and Dennis Paulson. Allenby needed just one extra hole to win, hitting a choked-down 3-wood from 220 yards to 5 feet to set up only the second birdie of the day on Riviera CC’s 451-yard closing hole. “I hit the perfect shot, especially in those conditions,” Allenby said.
Getty Images
Recent Galleries
