World No.1 Luke Donald returns to the site of one of his two missed cuts from 2011. (Getty Images)
It once was said the PGA Tour season didn’t really start until everyone hit Florida. Then for a while it was Torrey Pines, when Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson kicked off their seasons there.
Now it’s scattered. Mickelson now starts earlier (Humana/Hope); Woods started in Abu Dhabi. Pretty much everyone shows up for the WGC Match Play, but even the most late-starting PGA Tour member has at least one under his belt before that.
Pick-4 nominates the Northern Trust Open. Or more specifically, Riviera Country Club.
Riviera is Classic Hollywood. Like the old Liz Taylor or Paul Newman film you might stumble across flipping past Turner Classic Movies, Riviera lures you in with a timeless quality that still holds its own in modern times.
Riviera boasts the best short par-4 in golf – the 315-yard 10th hole, which despite an assault by the bombers still averaged slightly above par last year. Of the 190 attempts to drive the green, just three stayed on the putting surface. Pros also can lay up short of the bunkers or play to the left of them for the best angle to the green.
There’s also the majestic opening tee shot, practically off the clubhouse balcony with a 75-foot drop to the fairway. And the quirky par-3 sixth, with a bunker in the middle of the green. And one of the tour’s toughest finishing holes, requiring a long blast to clear the rise that cuts across the fairway and yet stay out of the kikuyu rough.
“It’s a great compliment to the golf course to see it withstand the test of time the way it has,” said two-time champion Phil Mickelson.
Little wonder, then, that world No.1 Luke Donald makes it the first stop on his U.S. schedule. As have Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott and Jason Day. This week’s roster features 26 of the top 50 players in the world rankings – best of the West Coast Swing.
With all the new arrivals, though, there’s the matter of jet lag and rust to consider. Not the easiest week to narrow down to a quartet.
Last week: Even with that closing 75, Tiger Woods still finished tops among last week’s quartet at Pebble Beach with a tie for 15th. Through six events: One win, four top-10s.
1) Luke Donald. When in doubt, go with the chalk. Donald was a cash machine almost everywhere he went last year – except Riviera, site of one of his two missed cuts in 2011. Donald’s supreme short game, though, was good for top-6 finishes each of the previous three visits.
2) Kevin Na. Playing solid of late, with ties for 5th at both Pebble Beach and Phoenix the week before that. Though not a California kid in the truest sense, he grew up in SoCal from age 8 after his family emigrated from their native South Korea. Third at Riviera a year ago.
3) K.J. Choi. Not a great run-up to this week with a missed cut and tie for 48th on the European Tour’s swing through the Middle East. But the reigning Players Championship winner has never missed a cut at Riviera, with four top-10 finishes that includes a tie for 7th last year.
4) Ryan Moore. It came down to Moore or Jason Dufner for this week’s longshot, eventually choosing the better red-number option. Moore was second in birdies last week at Pebble Beach, while leading the field in putting. Last year’s tie for 4th also breeds some confidence.
