Things you may or may not know about Riviera Country Club, host of the PGA Tour’s Genesis Invitational
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — Riviera Country Club is approaching its 100th birthday and if the fairways and greens could talk, it’d probably take weeks to hear all the amazing stories.
Situated in the hills just off Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, the club has a long and distinguished history.
Originally established in 1926, “The Riv” as it’s affectionately called, will host the U.S. Women’s open in 2026 as part of its centennial celebration.
Riviera hosts the Genesis Invitational, a tournament that was originally the Los Angeles Open. Like many events on the PGA Tour, the tournament has had several names over the years but one thing that has remained constant is the golf course. It’s a favorite of most players on Tour, a timeless layout in a canyon four miles from the Pacific Ocean.
It’s also a hot spot for the who’s-who of Hollywood. Mark Wahlberg is a member. So is Adam Sandler. Conan O’Brien, Michelle Pfeiffer and Larry David are among the celebrities who own a home on the course.
Thousands of words have been written about the course but maybe there’s a story or two here that you haven’t heard before.
Founded in 1926
Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. (Photo: Todd Kelly/Golfweek)
Founded in 1926, Riviera opened after an 18-month construction process. George C. Thomas, an amateur architect who agreed to design the golf course free of charge, was commissioned by the Los Angeles Athletic Club, according to the club’s website. The total construction cost was $250,000, a lot of money in those days. Coming in 2028 will be the Olympics. The city of Los Angeles was elected host of the Games in 2017 and Riviera will host the men’s and women’s golf competitions. When L.A. hosted the Olympics in 1984, golf wasn’t part of the program.
Breaking down gender, race barriers
Babe Zaharias hits a shot from a sand trap on the ninth hole at the Los Angeles Open on January 5, 1945. (Photo: Associated Press)
In 1938, Babe Didrikson Zaharias became the first woman to play in the L.A. Open. It would be the first of her three starts in the tournament. She made her final start in the event in 1946.
In 1948, Bill Spiller and Ted Rhodes became the first Black golfers to compete in a PGA Tour event. They both made the cut, as Rhodes tied for 22nd and Spiller tied for 29th.
Hogan's Alley
Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. (Photo: Todd Kelly/Golfweek)
The course is well known for Ben Hogan, and has been called “Hogan’s Alley” (a moniker shared with Colonial Country Club in Texas) after he won the 1948 U.S. Open. Hogan won the L.A. Open three times in all, twice (1947, 1948) at Riviera.
Seventeen golfers have won the now-Genesis Invitational more than once. Macdonald Smith (1928, 1929, 1932, 1934) and Lloyd Mangrum (1949, 1951, 1953, 1956) each won it four times. Ben Hogan (1942, 1947, 1948), Arnold Palmer (1963, 1966, 1967) and Bubba Watson (2014, 2016, 2018) each have three wins. But in terms of the most wins at Riviera, Hogan (including his U.S. Open win), Mangrum and Watson are tied with three.
Hogan earned $2,000 for his 1948 U.S. Open victory. The Genesis Invitational now has a total purse of $12 million, with $2,160,000 going to the winner.
Jack's first payday
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On Jan. 8, 1962, Jack Nicklaus finished in a tie for 50th at the Los Angeles Open, netting him a grand total of $33.33 in prize money. It was the first payday for Nicklaus as a professional. His best L.A. Open finishes were in 1978 when he finished solo second by a shot. In 1983, he finished at shot back of Hal Sutton in the PGA Championship. But he never did win at the Riv.
PGA Tour debut but no Tour wins
Tiger Woods watches his shot during the 1992 Los Angeles Open at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. (Photo: Gary Newkirk/Allsport)
Also never to have won at Riviera: Tiger Woods. He did famously make his PGA Tour debut there as a high school sophomore in 1992. Playing on a sponsor exemption as an amateur, Woods shot 72–75 and missed the cut by six strokes. He finished tied for second in 1999 and had top-10 finishes in 2003 and 2004. Woods is now tournament host for the Genesis Invitational.
Drivable par-4 10th hole
Riv has a pretty great finishing hole (more on that in a minute) and a much-talked about donut-shaped green with a bunker in the middle (the 6th), but the 10th hole is perhaps the hole here.
The legendary Los Angeles Times sports writer Jim Murray once wrote these words to describe what many consider the greatest drivable par-4 in golf:
“This is a shameless little harlot that just sits there at the end of the bar in her mesh stockings and miniskirt and winks at you. It’s only a little over 300 yards long and looks as drivable as the 405 Freeway. Don’t go for it. Take your four-iron and hit it safely and sensibly left. The peninsula green will open up from there. If you try to drive it, you will find the green as narrow as a burlesque runway.”
And that’s how Hogan used to play it. In fact, according to a caddie at the Riv who goes by the name MJ, there used to be a metal cover leading to a sewer line that Hogan used as his target area off the tee box.
A view of the fairway on the 10th hole at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. (Photo: Todd Kelly/Golfweek)
The cover is gone now, or perhaps just grown over with grass, but there is a visible indentation in the fairway. From there, about 125 yards away, you’ll get the best angle of attack to a tricky green.
Bogey's tree
A large tree dubbed “Bogey’s Tree” for actor Humphrey Bogart near the 12th green at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. (Photo: Todd Kelly/Golfweek)
Actor Humphrey Bogart was a big fan of the L.A. Open. The story is that he’d make his way down the hillside and sit in a chair near a large tree near the 12th hole and heckle the heck out of the pros as they made their way through. The giant Eucalyptus tree is one of dozens on the course and they’re actually trimmed of all their leaves to give them their unique look.
Stockton's 3-wood
A plaque just left of the 18th fairway of Riviera County Club commemorates a shot hit by Dave Stockton in 1974 to set up a win in the L.A. Open. (Photo: Todd Kelly/Golfweek)
A 61-year-old Sam Snead was in contention to win the 1974 Glen Campbell L.A. Open. Snead won the event in 1945, some 30 years earlier, and was tied for the lead heading into the final round. Stockton led by one with one hole to go but pulled his tee shot left of the fairway. From 244 yards out and in the rough, Stockton pulled a 3-wood, took a rip and knocked it to 12 feet. He then made the birdie putt to win by two. A plaque was later laid in the grass to commemorate the shot.
Host of majors, NCAAs; U.S. Women's Open and Olympics up next
A case in the clubhouse of the Riviera County Club. (Photo: Todd Kelly/Golfweek)
Riviera has hosted some prestigious events in its history: the 1948 U.S. Open, the 1983 and 1995 PGA Championships, the 1998 U.S. Senior Open and the 2012 NCAA men’s golf championship.
In 2026, the Riv will host the U.S. Women’s Open during the club’s 100th anniversary celebration season. In 2028, the club will host men’s and women’s competitions in the Summer Olympics.
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