TOUR Insider: Mother Nature a factor at Riviera  PGATOUR.com Senior Correspondent One of the most storied courses in American golf and arguably one of the most popular on the PGA TOUR, Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif., has been more like River CC the past few years, so inundated has it been with rain during the annual Nissan Open.  Adam Scott finished second in last year's Nissan Open. (Badz/PGA TOUR/WireImage)
But the game's best players keep showing up. Tiger Woods, who has never won at Riviera in his 11 appearances, is taking a pass, but eight of the denizens of the top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking -- including AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am champion Phil Mickelson -- will be in attendance for the 81st playing of what began in 1926 as the L.A. Open. In all, 36 of the top 50 in the world rankings are entered. Riviera, home to the 1948 U.S. Open and the 1983 and '95 PGA Championships, first hosted the LA Open in 1929 and has been the most utilized host of the Nissan Open since 1941. The par-71 George Thomas creation, stretched to 7,260 yards, is known for its strong strategic properties including numerous doglegs, brilliant bunkering and small, undulating greens. Sitting atop a sandy basin in the Santa Monica Valley, Riviera drains extremely well -- a blessing amid the heavy precipitation the last three years. Water is in short supply this year, however, and that should have a profound effect on what transpires. The combination of a record cold spell that brought the first snowfall to the area in 20 years (Malibu got three inches) and a drought stretching back to April has left Riviera without much protective rough, but has sharpened its other defenses: fast fairways and firm greens. Matt Morton, in his fifth year as Riviera's superintendent, reports that the course's Kikuyu grass in the fairways has begun to fill in, boosting the condition of fairways and greens. But the spotty rough consisting primarily of Bermuda grass with a rye overseed will be a nuisance at best, just as it was three weeks ago at the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines Golf Course near San Diego. "It's going to be a strong test," said Morton, who was happy to see a half-inch of rainfall Saturday "to green it up," but has no plans to apply more water this week. "Riviera is going to show its true self. Even without much rough, it's going to come down to shot-making and short game." Worth knowing Phil Mickelson makes his ninth appearance at the Nissan Open this week and his first since 2001. A California native, Mickelson added the L.A. stop to his schedule after an up-tick in his play at Pebble Beach, which resulted in his 30th TOUR victory and a jump from 122nd to seventh in FedExCup points. Lefty has never finished better than a tie for 15th, and he missed the cut at the 1995 PGA held at Riviera. Mike Weir, winner in 2003-04, remains the only left-handed champion. Experience pays off at most venues, and it's certainly true at Riviera. In the last 20 years only three men made the Nissan Open their first PGA TOUR victory: Len Mattiace (2002), Kirk Triplett (2000) and Chip Beck (1988) Australian Robert Allenby, who won the Nissan Open in 2001 in a playoff, has finished in the top 10 in each of his three starts this year -- as many as he had in all of 2006 when he was hampered by a hand injury. Allenby, second behind Heath Slocum in scoring average at 69.05, only twice has shot higher than 73 at Riviera. For the second year in a row Ernie Els begins his PGA TOUR season at the Nissan Open. He won the 1999 edition and tied for third in the 1995 PGA Championship held at Riviera. Els is the highest finisher from the major playing this week, followed by Brad Faxon (fifth), Bob Estes (T6), Justin Leonard and Jeff Sluman (T8) and Jim Furyk (T13). Others making their FedExCup debuts include Retief Goosen, David Howell, and Sergio Garcia. Goosen, winner of the Qatar Masters in his last start, has never played in the Nissan Open. Howell missed the cut in his only previous start, in 2005. Garcia returns for the first time since he tied for 20th in 2004. J.B. Holmes stopped a streak of three missed cuts in a row with a tie for 16th at Pebble Beach and may have turned the corner on his problem area, which, incredibly, had been driving. Holmes, who was second on TOUR last year in driving distance at 318.8 yards, went into Pebble ranked 58th averaging less than 290 off the tee. But in wet conditions on the Monterey Peninsula, his power returned; he averaged 299 yards to bump his average to 292 for the year. And he's dangerous now, tops on TOUR in birdie average. Another statistical anomaly comes courtesy of Furyk, the No. 2 player in the world and perennially one of the game's best putters. Thanks to brilliant ball-striking -- first in greens in regulation, third in driving accuracy -- Furyk has finished in the top 10 in his last two starts, so watch out when his putting turns around. He ranked eighth in the category last year but is mired in 116th currently. That should change -- and it well might this week on Riviera's small and quick greens. A streak of 25 consecutive starts is in jeopardy if Fred Couples, a two-time Nissan Open champion, can't get to the tee this week. Couples has had to withdraw from three of his last four intended starts because of back and calf troubles, and his only appearance resulted in a missed cut at the FBR Open. Couples has 12 top-10 finishes during his remarkable run, including joint fourth last year. He's made the cut 23 of 25 times. Sean O'Hair is off to a slow start with three missed cuts in as many starts, but it's not for lack of effort. In the off-season he had an indoor hitting area of 900 square feet added onto his house that includes a practice putting green and video equipment. |
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