• COURSE: Riviera Country Club, 7,349 yards, par 71. Nestled
in the rolling hills just outside Los Angeles, Riviera opened in 1927
and remains one of the best at requiring a player to use every club in
his bag. Designer George Thomas labored over 15 possible layouts before
deciding on one that includes some of the TOUR's most iconic holes. The
par-3 sixth is famed for its bunker in the middle of the green, and
No.10 may be the best drivable par-4 in golf. The Los Angeles Open first
arrived in 1929, and Ben Hogan's three wins in an 18-month span - two
L.A. Opens and the 1948 U.S. Open - earned Riviera the nickname "Hogan's
Alley."
• FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points.
• FIELD WATCH: Defending champion Bubba Watson and FedExCup
leader Jimmy Walker are joined by seven others among the top 25 for the
final stop on the West Coast Swing. … World No.7 Sergio Garcia and No.16
Victor Dubuisson make their 2015 U.S. debuts as the PGA TOUR's
international faction starts to come across for a key seven-week run
leading to the Masters. … Two-time NTO winner Fred Couples returns again
on a sponsor invite, extending his own record with his 33rd appearance
at Riviera. He was the 36-hole leader four years ago, eventually tying
for seventh.
• 72-HOLE RECORD: 264, Lanny Wadkins (1985).
• 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, George Archer (3rd round, 1983 at Rancho Park GC), Ted Tryba (3rd round, 1999 at Riviera CC).
• LAST YEAR: Watson ended a 22-month winless drought by
shooting 64-64 on the weekend, going from four shots off the lead
entering the final day to a two-shot victory. The lefty needed just six
holes to make up the deficit, pushing in front with a birdie at No.8 on
the way to a front-nine 30. He wound up going the final 39 holes without
a bogey, turning in the lowest closing round by a winner in 28 years.
It was his first victory since the 2012 Masters, a span of 41 starts
that included a runner-up in Phoenix two weeks earlier, done in by two
late bogeys. Dustin Johnson (66) took runner-up honors for the second
consecutive week.
• STORYLINES: The West Coast Swing wraps up with 10 of the
2014-15 season's winners thus far in the lineup, as the TOUR still
awaits its first multiple champion. Just once in the past 10 years has
the schedule gone 14 events without a two-time winner - 2012, when
Hunter Mahan won his second in the 15th stop. … The top 50 in the world
rankings after Riviera will officially lock up berths for the
WGC-Cadillac Championship two weeks hence. Among those trying to hang on
above that cut line: Luke Donald and J.B. Holmes. … TOUR rookie Carlos
Sainz Jr. will play on the Northern Trust Exemption created to promote
diversity. Sainz, who grew up in Chicago, is of Filipino and Peruvian
descent.
• SHORT CHIPS: Pat Perez is set to tee it up in his 49th
consecutive West Coast Swing event for which he has been eligible, a
streak going all the way back to 2008. He sat out the Bob Hope Classic
that year - an event he won 12 months later. … With Phil Mickelson
sitting out for his kids' spring break, he'll finish without a West
Coast win for the second consecutive year. ... Riviera is the only PGA
TOUR venue Tiger Woods has played at least five times without a victory.
Woods made 11 attempts, including two as an amateur, but hasn't entered
since 2006.
• TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 5-8 p.m. ET (Golf Channel).
Saturday, 1-2:30 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). Sunday, 1-2:30 p.m. (GC),
3-6:30 p.m. (CBS).
Last week's winner Bobcat. Congrats! (Three in a row? May be time for Bobcat to pee in a cup)
Updated Standings
1. Sea - 3296
2. Bobcat - 3063
3. Ed - 2778
4. dfs - 2775
5. 2952 - 2457
6. Liz - 2418
7. NiA - 2097
8. DL - 1988
9. NMT - 1673
10. 67810 - 1644
11. Ocala - 1385
11. Bill - 1385
13. Baldy - 904
14. KT - 845
Good Luck!
This post was edited on 2/23 6:51 PM by DFSNOLE
Field
