GOLF / MAL FLORENCE : Riviera Has Everything Going for It as U.S. Open Site--Except Location

It seemed appropriate that the 1998 U.S. Open Championship would be held at Riviera Country Club.

That date would be the 50th anniversary of Ben Hogan’s victory at Riviera--the only Open ever played in Southern California.

But Riviera is now on hold, according to David Fay, U.S. Golf Assn. executive director. “No contracts (for a site) have been executed,” Fay said, adding that a decision will be made by the end of September, at the latest. He wouldn’t identify a favored site.

Riviera will play host to the PGA Championship in 1995, a major event but not of the same stature as the Open. Even though Southern California has been a golfing hotbed for years--the Los Angeles Open has been a tour event since 1926--major events are seldom awarded to the area.

Other than the U.S. Open here in 1948, the only major professional events have been the PGA Championship at Hillcrest Country Club in 1929 and at Riviera in 1983. The U.S. Amateur Championship was held at Bel-Air Country Club in 1976. By contrast, Northern California has had the Open six times: Pebble Beach in 1972, 1982 and 1992--and will again in 2000--and the Olympic Club in San Francisco in 1955, 1966 and 1987.

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To lift the left heel on the backswing, or to keep it planted. Ah, that’s the question.

And, that’s the “controversy” that Golf Digest addresses in its July issue.

It seems that Harvey Penick, Tom Kite’s longtime teacher, was stunned to discover that Kite’s left heel remained on the ground on his backswing.

Penick predicted that Kite, at 43, was putting too much stress on his back and would develop back problems.

A month later, Kite injured his back at an amusement park in Orlando, Fla., and the problem later was diagnosed as a herniated disk.

Kite says that not lifting his heel had nothing to do with the injury. He said he has been keeping it on the ground since 1989, when he widened his stance. That year, he was the leading money winner and PGA player of the year.

Golf Digest editor Jerry Tarde says, “All the great players throughout history--Vardon, Jones, Hagen, Sarazen, Snead, Nelson, Hogan, Palmer, Player, Nicklaus and Watson--have lifted the left heel. What do you think you should do?”

Opinion: Whatever feels comfortable.

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An 88 is a reasonably good score for an average golfer. For pro Kenny Knox, it was a disaster.

He shot an 88 in last week’s Greater Hartford Open, the worst score of his professional life. His round included two quadruple bogeys.

How did he do it?

“I hit it out of bounds twice on 12,” Knox said. “On 13, I hit in the water, dropped it, hit it in the water again. When I got my first quadruple bogey, I knew I wasn’t trying to make the cut. I was just trying to finish.”

Golf Notes

The L.A. Senior Women’s golf tournament will be played July 21-22 at Rancho Park. Deadline for entries is Tuesday. Millie Stanley is the defending champion. She has won 10 City championships in the last 12 years.

The U.S. Senior Open begins Thursday at Cherry Hills CC in Englewood, Colo. Larry Laoretti is the defending champion. . . . Tiger Woods, who has won six age-group titles in the Optimist Junior World Championships, will be in the field for the tournament to be held at five courses in San Diego July 20-23. . . . Free golf instruction for youngsters, sponsored by the City Recreation and Parks Dept., will be available Tuesday through Thursday at the Sepulveda golf complex, Rancho Park and Woodley Lakes course.

By winning the U.S. Open, Lee Janzen moved up to fourth place in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings and seems ensured of being on the team for the matches to be held Sept. 24-26 at the Belfry in Sutton Coldfield, England. . . . The Bobby Hatfield celebrity tournament will be held July 12 at Los Coyotes CC. . . . Marge Callahan of South Pasadena won the low-gross division in the Brookside Women’s Golf Club tournament.