A look at the star-studded history of Riviera Country Club, site of this week’s Genesis Open in Los Angeles.
A look at the star-studded history of Riviera Country Club, site of this week’s Genesis Open in Los Angeles.
Approximately eight years before he joined forces with Bobby Jones to create the Augusta National course, Mackenzie worked with chief designer George C. Thomas Jr. and William P. Bell to build what was originally known as the Los Angeles Athletic Club golf course. It opened in 1926.
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Conveniently located just off Sunset Boulevard, Riviera over the years has counted many Hollywood icons among its members, including Humphrey Bogart.
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Riviera member Glen Campbell was such a golf nut, he lent his name as title sponsor to the L.A. Open from 1971-83.
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Hollywood’s most famous Dino (if you don’t count The Flintstones’ pet), Rat Packer Dean Martin was a Riviera member.
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In 1938, almost six decades before Annika Sorenstam, Suzy Whaley and Michelle Wie competed against men on the PGA Tour, Babe Didrikson Zaharias became the first woman to do it. She missed the cut in the Los Angeles Open at Riviera, but seven years later she qualified for the field, then made the 36-hole cut.
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The 1952 movie, ‘Pat and Mike,’ starring Katharine Hepburn (pictured) and Spencer Tracy, was shot at Riviera.
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In 1953, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, joined by Donna Reed, shot ‘The Caddy’ at Riviera.
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Here’s Ben Hogan trying to show actor Glenn Ford how to portray his swing in the 1951 film, ‘Follow the Sun,’ parts of which were filmed at Riviera.
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Animated characters were not allowed to be members, but their creator, Walt Disney, was.
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Riviera became known as ‘Hogan’s Alley’ as Ben Hogan won two of his three L.A. Opens there (and finished second once), as well as the 1948 U.S. Open.
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... that they erected a statue of him outside the clubhouse.
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Long before Hal Sutton became famous for talking to a 6-iron, Hal Sutton became famous for winning the 1983 PGA Championship at Riviera. Everybody thought “the next Nicklaus” would win plenty more majors, but that didn’t happen. The PGA was his only major, as it turned out. And for “the actual Nicklaus,” whom Sutton edged by one shot, it was his 19th and final runner-up finish in a major.
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Tiger Woods made his PGA Tour debut at Riviera in 1992. He shot 72-75 and missed the cut. Wonder what ever became of him?
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Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles has been a part of the U.S. golf scene since it opened in 1926. Following are some highlights:
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Steve Elkington won the 1995 PGA Championship at Riviera, defeating Colin Montgomerie on the first hole of their sudden-death playoff.
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Brandel Chamblee, 69-78--147 (MC)
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Hale Irwin hoists the trophy after winning the 1998 U.S. Senior Open at Riviera by one shot with a final-hole birdie.
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Hale Irwin REALLY thought he had made this putt in the final round of the 1998 U.S. Senior Open at Riviera.
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