Nissan Open

THE FACTS

Where: Riviera Country Club (7,078 yards, par 71).

When: Today-Sunday.

Purse: $3.7 million. Winner’s share: $666,000.

Television: USA (today-Friday, 1-3 p.m.) and Channel 2 (Saturday-Sunday, noon-3 p.m.).

Last year: Robert Allenby won on the first hole of the tour’s largest playoff in a four-round event, hitting a three-wood in driving rain to five feet for birdie on No. 18. The Australian beat Jeff Sluman, Dennis Paulson, Toshi Izawa, Brandel Chamblee and Bob Tway.

Last week: Spain’s Jose Maria Olazabal won the Buick Invitational for his sixth PGA Tour title, closing with a seven-under 65 on Torrey Pines’ long South Course to beat J.L. Lewis by a stroke. Lewis three-putted the 18th hole for a bogey.

Notes: Tiger Woods is skipping his hometown tournament to rest for next week’s Match Play Championship in Carlsbad.... . John Daly, fourth in his last two PGA Tour starts, is closing in on a spot in the Masters. He’s 40th in the world rankings, with the top 50 after the Honda Classic (March 7-10) earning berths at Augusta National.... Olazabal is in the field along with fellow European stars Sergio Garcia, Darren Clarke, Lee Westwood and Bernhard Langer.... Steve Elkington won the 1995 PGA at Riviera, beating Colin Montgomerie on the first hole of a playoff.... Fred Couples won in 1990 and 1992, and finished second in 1993, 1994 and 1996. Former UCLA star Corey Pavin won in 1994 and 1995.... Ben Hogan stamped the course as “Hogan’s Alley” with three Riviera victories in 17 months--the 1947 and 1948 Los Angeles Opens and 1948 U.S. Open.

On the Net: www.pgatour.com