Fred Couples is grouped with youngsters Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas for Northern Trust Open

Fred Couples is 56 years old. He last won the Los Angeles Open at Riviera Country Club in 1992.

Jordan Spieth was about 18 months old at the time. Justin Thomas was about 15 months old.

Together, the two PGA Tour pros’ ages add up to 44, which should provide them with plenty of respectful needling because they are grouped with Couples in the first two rounds of the Northern Trust Open that begins Thursday.

“That’s cool. That will be fun,” Spieth said.

“Played with Freddie here before. I always know what to expect out here with him with these crowds. They love Freddie here.”

As professionals, Spieth and Thomas, both 22, have played in a combined three Northern Trust Opens. This will be Couples’ 34th appearance at Riviera, where he first competed in 1982. He became a fan favorite when he won twice in a three-year span in 1992 and ’94.

Playing this year on a sponsor’s exemption, Couples last contended in 2011, when he tied for seventh.

Mixed memories from NCAA

The pairing of Spieth and Thomas by the tour is inspired, given their brief but eventful history at Riviera.

As standout freshmen for their respective teams, they faced off in match play in the NCAA Championship here in 2012. Spieth won 3 and 2, helping lift Texas to the title over Thomas’ Alabama.

“Yeah, me and [caddie] Mike [Greller] will probably bring up our past here,” Spieth said with a smile. “But there will be nothing better for Justin than trying to kick my butt on this golf course after all the things we’ve gone through letting him know about it here.”

Thomas, who has said he turned pro early because of Spieth’s success once he left, was a rookie last year and scored his first PGA Tour victory in November, beating Adam Scott by one shot in the CIMB Classic in Malaysia.

Spieth a Trojan?

A Dallas native, it seemed a no-brainer that Spieth attended Texas. But he said he looked at a number of California schools, including USC, UCLA and Stanford.

USC was appealing “because I heard that they had four playing memberships at Riviera,” Spieth said. “So when I came on my visit, I was offered one of the memberships at Riviera for the time you’re at USC, and that’s a pretty awesome perk.”

Rivera plays tough

Riviera is far from a lengthy beast, but it more than makes up for it with small greens and strategic tee shots. Last season, the par-71 layout played as the third-toughest non-major course on tour, behind only the TPC San Antonio (Valero Texas Open) and PGA National (Honda Classic).

James Hahn won last year at six under par, and Bubba Watson won the previous year at 15 under. The tournament-record is 20 under by Lanny Wadkins in 1985.

“To be honest, it is incredible,” Spieth said of the score. “You know in that amount of time, the course has certainly played softer. It’s certainly played firmer. You’ve seen all the conditions. It’s amazing [the record] can hold. I don’t think it will be broken this week.”

tod.leonard@sduniontribune.com