Riviera Ready: The Final NoTrust Open, Your Comments

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It's another glorious weather day here in LA, the leaderboard is stacked, and let's get the complaining over with now: the potential playoff rota is 18-18-10-14.

After seeing all of John Mutch's back nine setup and most of Stephen Cox's effort on the front nine, the course won't yield the scores it did yesterday. However with greens smoother than the announcers may be suggesting and no wind to speak of, there is a 65 out there for someone to snatch victory away from the 12 players within one of Bubba Watson's lead.

Enjoy the Golf Channel telecast from 10 am to 11:30, followed by the half hour re-entry from outer space circa 1967, followed by CBS showing some college basketball and eventually, the noon(ish) telecast that will mark the last time this 90-year-old tournament is called the Northern Trust Open!

And anyone who fires at this hole location is risking life and limb... 

 

90 Years On, Riviera Ready To Test World's Best

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A much needed storm will take some fire out of the greens for Thursday's opening of the final Northern Trust Open. That's normally a bummer but considering the speed of Riviera's greens and the impact they have on certain holes--namely the par-4 tenth as we discussed on Golf Central--but it should provide room for some aggressive shotmaking that has been missing in recent years. Jordan Spieth might lose a little of his iron play advantage on day one but I still like his chances by day four.

The forecast is excellent for all four days where Spieth and Rory McIlroy bring a rare No. 1 vs. No. 2 3 to the PGA Tour (notes the NY Times's Karen Crouse), while a host of interesting names begin their Masters prep.

McIlroy is not merely making his first Riviera start, but his first West Coast Swing appearance. And while Brandel's getting under his skin, he's otherwise speaking with a confident, almost trash-talking edges, notes ESPN.com's Jason Sobel.

"Sometimes I still get those feelings of -- I don't want to say I have guilt, but sometimes I feel like I haven't had to work as hard to get to where I am as some other people. I don't know if that's guilt or if that's questioning, 'Why is that me? Why am I the one that feels this way?' But I feel now that I definitely have got a ruthlessness on the course that I maybe didn't have a few years ago."

In the demure world of golf, that's as boastful as a player will ever get.

It's hard to believe since I can still remember his drives barely clearing the hill on 18 and just how poor the conditioning was back then, but Lanny Wadkins' 20-under-par scoring record is the oldest on the PGA Tour.

Doug Ferguson caught up with Wadkins about that remarkable week where he broke the tournament scoring record by six. Ferguson also explores why the record has stood so long (hint, rough, then course changes and most recently green speed are probably the culprit).

James Hahn won in a playoff at Riviera last year at 6-under 278. Told the scoring record, he wanted to know who shot it.

"Is he in the Hall of Fame?" he asked. "I think just off of that, he should be."

Not to worry. Wadkins was inducted in 2009. He won 20 other times on the PGA Tour, including a PGA Championship at Pebble Beach.

Memories of that week remain clear for Wadkins.

He didn't have to save par until the par-3 fourth hole in the third round. He never went for the green on the short par-4 10th. And he ran off four straight birdies around the turn.

I reviewed the airtimes in this week's Forward Press, including PGA Tour Live, Golf Channel and CBS times, plus the much needed Featured Group/Featured Hole windows.

And here's a fun, fast look at the 10th:

Video: Players Try Three Generations Of Clubs At Riviera

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To celebrate the 90th anniversary of the first Glen Campbell Nissan Los Angeles Nissan Northern Trust Los Angeles Open, the PGA Tour set up clubs for the curious to try at what will be the final "Northern Trust" Open before Hyundai takes over in 2017.

Rory McIlroy, Kevin Na, Charley Hoffman, and Anirban Lahiri were among those who hit a variety of vintage clubs from the 1920's, 50's and 90's to commemorate the occasion. Many other players I witnessed--including some of the mid-30s variety who not a single person is paying money to see this week--passed.

From Adam Schupak's Golfweek.com roundup:

As if we needed any further proof that golf equipment has evolved, according to TrackMan data, McIlroy’s carry distance with hickory was 226.1 yards; he stepped it up to 269.9 with persimmon; and 270.6 yards with the original Callaway Big Bertha. When the tournament begins on Thursday, McIlroy likely will use his Nike Vapor 3-wood to avoid driving over the green.

The PGA Tour's highlights:

While we're acknowledging this anniversary, how about a shout-out to the folks who started the event with its eye-catching $10,000 purse, post-Rose Bowl date to attract media before they headed back to Union Station, and the inaugural winner at Los Angeles Country Club, Harry "Lighthorse" Cooper.

Here's a fun read from the late Mal Florence on the late Harry Cooper.

NoTrust: Ilini Golfer Qualifies, Spieth Helps Win $50K For UT

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Neither news item will impact your life a bit, but it's still neat for Charlie Danielson to come from University of Illinois to qualify for the Northern Trust Open after a 68 in Monday's collegiate showcase.

University of Texas kept up its good Riviera karma, earning another $50,000 for a program that won the 2012 NCAA's at the course. Jordan Spieth and friends won the pro-am portion of the gloriously warm winter day to kick of tournament week.

The full PGA Tour press release:

Charlie Danielson wins Northern Trust Open Collegiate Showcase, earns tournament exemption in this week’s field

University of Texas wins $50,000 for the school’s golf program
 
LOS ANGELES – Charlie Danielson shot a bogey-free 3-under 68 in today’s second Northern Trust Open Collegiate Showcase, the low score of the 14 collegians in the field – and the only player under par – earning the University of Illinois senior an exemption into this week’s Northern Trust Open at The Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif.  In just the second iteration of the event, top PGA TOUR pros played alongside 14 standout collegiate golfers from across the country and two amateurs, representing their respective universities.  The professional and the two amateurs (not the collegian) teamed up in a best-ball competition and competed for the Collegiate Showcase Trophy and a donation of $50,000 to the university’s golf program.  That portion of the competition was won by the University of Texas, represented by PGA TOUR player Jordan Spieth, with a score of 10-under 61.
 
Each collegian played his own ball.  Danielson, playing with former University of Illinois star Scott Langley, finished three strokes ahead of Will Zalatoris from Wake Forest, last year’s winner of the Northern Trust Open Collegiate Showcase, and Jonathan Garrick from UCLA and will be making his first start in a PGA TOUR event.
 
“This was one of the cooler events I’ve had since I’ve been in college,” Danielson said following his round. “It means a lot to play this week at the Northern Trust Open because I was fortunate enough to be able to come on the trip because our team had such a great year. And to come play with donors and coach Small, it was a treat. To play in my first PGA TOUR event and have it be at Riviera, here at the Northern Trust Open, I am just grateful for the opportunity.”
 
Danielson, a senior at the University of Illinois, is a two-time All-Big Ten First Team selection (2014, 2015). He reached the round of 16 at the 2013 U.S. Amateur at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass. Danielson is also a three-time PING All-American and won the 2014 Les Bolstad Award for having the lowest season stroke average in the Big Ten. In the fall, he finished in the top 10 in all three of Illinois’ tournaments, including two top-5 finishes, and he led the team in stroke average.
 
“He’s a great player,” said Langley, Danielson’s PGA TOUR playing partner for the day. “He’s definitely going to be out on the PGA TOUR someday.”

A few images of Spieth and Texas's Beau Hossler, who had a gallery of a 100 braving the warm, dry weather for a rare chance to watch the World No. 1 golfer coming off of one of golf's all time greatest seasons.


AT&T Saturday Preview: Hide Your Cell Phones From Bill Murray

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Another brutal CBS-produced Golf Channel telecast aired Friday from the otherwise-glorious-looking Pebble Beach. The whole mess reminded us that no plug is off-limits to producer Lance Barrow. (We even got a FedEx VP briefcase going for 3 minutes on the greatness of the FedExCup. In February.)

And I won't even get into all of the other B-listers and missed great rounds from Phil Mickelson (Jason Sobel report here) and Sung Kang (Mike McCallister's PGATour.com report here).

However...there could be drama at AT&T Saturday in between shots of the PNC Chairman and favored CBS Pacific Grove eateries when Bill Murray returns, except with apparent issues (at times) with fans wanting selfies.

A few of you up at the tournament sent in reports, and Gossip Cop was brave enough to report on Murray heaving some cell phones off a restaurant balcony Thursday night.

On Thursday night, Murray was at the restaurant Vesuvio, where Justin Timberlake was throwing a party for his 901 tequila, when a number of fans bombarded the comedic actor and started repeatedly taking flash photos of him. Murray, who’s usually very accommodating, became annoyed with the too-close-for-comfort fans, and grabbed some of their phones and tossed them over the restaurant’s second floor rooftop

Jordan Spieth Rested And Has His Speeds Back

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With a week off following his trips to Abu Dhabi and Singapore where he complained of fatigue, Jordan Spieth says a week off has him refreshed and ready for Pebble Beach.

Will Gray reports for GolfChannel.com:

“I feel great. I feel very rested now,” Spieth said Wednesday. “It’s amazing what a solid week back here of kind of rest and regeneration will do. My speeds are where they need to be, my rest is back, everything feels good.”

Speeds? Could a Spieth linguistics slideshow be looming somewhere down the line?

Spieth and Jake Owen tee off at 11:55 Thursday with Dustin Johnson and Wayne Gretzky. Gray previews that and other notable celebrity/pro groupings.