Riviera has a long history and a long par 3 for Genesis Invitational

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Riviera has evolved over its 100 years as one of the best golf courses in America, no greater example than the fourth hole that now has a scorecard yardage of 273 yards that makes it the longest par 3 among regular PGA Tour stops. Not everyone likes the change, or has been willing to publicly say they do. "A horrible change," Rory McIlroy said, the most blunt assessment of the hole Ben Hogan once called the greatest par 3 in America. "Hit and hope," Collin Morikawa said. "I think it's just a very long par 3. There's not a lot of thought to it other than just kind of hitting the green and moving on, unfortunately." The other change for the Genesis Invitational, which starts Thursday, is adding 24 yards on the 18th tee — now roughly where the fourth tee used to be — to make it 499 yards. Someone forgot to tell Scottie Scheffler, or maybe he never looked. He didn't realize the closing hole at Riviera had been lengthened until he climbed the steep hill to the fairway and wondered why he was having to hit a 4-iron to the green. What hasn't changed at Riviera is the history. Hogan won three times, including the U.S. Open, leading to the nickname "Hogan's Alley." Byron Nelson and Sam Snead won at Riviera, as did Tom Watson and Johnny Miller and Fred Couples. McIlroy has Riviera on his list of places he wants to win, now that he has won at Augusta National and Pebble Beach. Equally noteworthy is who didn't win. Tiger Woods, the tournament host of the Genesis Invitational, went 0 for 11 as a pro at Riviera, making it the PGA Tour course he played the most times without ever winning. Jack Nicklaus has Woods beat again. He played Riviera 14 times — twice in majors, including a runner-up to Hal Sutton in the 1983 PGA Championship — without winning. "There's places I haven't won that I would love to, St. Andrews being one of them. Riviera would be another," McIlroy said. This is the 100-year anniversary of the club and the tournament, though what began as the Los Angeles Open was not held at Riviera until 1929. Even more special is just being back at the fabled course off Sunset Boulevard following the devastating Pacific Palisades wildfires last year that led the tournament to moving south to Torrey Pines. Ludvig Aberg won the Genesis Invitational a year ago at Torrey Pines. This is only his second time competing at Riviera, but he liked what he saw from 2024. "I think it's one of the best golf courses we play all year," Aberg said. "Obviously it's a small property. It's not crazy long. You'll have some strong holes and some longer par 4s. But what I like about it is a hole like No. 10 kind of puts the stamp on this golf course in terms of working the angles, fast greens, and everything going down towards the ocean is really quick and you have to place your second shots into the greens. "That's the part about this golf course that I really like, and that's why you'll see a lot of different good players winning here." The par-4 10th is the most famous hole, reachable off the tee and yet no one ever complains about making a 4 and moving on to the next hole. It's all about angles off the tee with an iron, and even where to miss when trying to drive the green. As for the fourth hole, that was long and hard, and now it appears to be longer and harder. The idea for his Redan-styled hole is to carry the bunker fronting the green, or using the shoulder on the right that feeds down to the green — except this is February, cold and usually damp, and the kikuyu grass can be sticky and not allow balls to roll. This would explain McIlroy's definition of "horrible change." "Well, like 15% of the field hit the green last time when it was played at its original yardage at 230," he said. "If you want it to be a 275-yard par 3, you have to change the apron leading up onto the green. It can't be kikuyu, it has to be another type of grass that can help you run it onto the green because again, in the right conditions, you try to fly that ball on the green with a 3 iron, it's going to finish up on the fifth tee box. "That's sort of what I mean by why it's not a great change." U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun might borrow a page from his college coach at San Diego State. "If this was a par 4, you'd make 3 every time," Spaun said. "You know what I mean? It's kind of a mindset. If this was a drivable 290-yard hole but really a par 4 and you didn't walk away with a birdie, you'd be kicking yourself."