Perhaps Riviera Needs West Coast Swing Coach
Riviera Country Club might be one of the crown jewels of courses on the PGA Tour, but because of a revamped West Coast swing, it’s no longer a must-play for some top players.
“It used to be there were two or three good tournaments on the West Coast, now there are seven or eight maybe,” said Davis Love III, who plans to skip the Nissan Open this year. “In the old days, you would play Pebble and Riviera and just throw another one or two in there.”
The Nissan Open, to be held Feb. 17-20, still will draw a good field. As of Wednesday, 19 of the top 30 players from the 2004 money list had committed, but there are some notable names skipping the tournament this year.
Phil Mickelson is playing six tournaments in seven weeks, but the one he’s skipping is Riviera, for the fourth year in a row.
“I feel obligated to play a lot of other tournaments,” said Mickelson, who grew up in San Diego and attended college in Phoenix. “I don’t want to play seven in a row.”
In 1998, the PGA Tour added a West Coast Swing bonus incentive to attract more top players to early-season events. The top player on the West Coast receives a $500,000 bonus. It has inspired improvements to other West Coast events, giving players nine solid options to play.
“Now, the greens [at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic] are perfect, you’ve got a much improved San Diego, a much-improved Hawaii and a much-improved [Mercedes Championships],” Love said. “So it’s gotten to be -- instead of the old Greg Norman ‘The tour doesn’t start until Doral’ -- for a lot of guys this is a big part of their schedule.”
The WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, added to the schedule in 1999, has also had an impact on Riviera. It immediately follows the Nissan Open and some players like to play the week before big events and others do not.
“Riviera is probably the best course on the West Coast swing,” said Love, the match-play runner up to Tiger Woods last year. “But it’s a toss-up between playing that one and match play. Match play can be a long week if you win a couple of matches.”
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Woods has not committed to the Nissan Open -- he normally waits until the week before a tournament before committing -- but his caddie might have let the cat out of the bag.
Steve Williams injured his left hand in a auto accident last week in New Zealand and required surgery to repair it. Afterward, he told reporters he hoped to caddie for Woods in the Nissan Open.
Woods, who has played the Nissan Open in seven of eight years since turning pro but has never won, has until Feb. 11 to enter the tournament.
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Craig Stadler finished in the top 10 at the Sony Open in Hawaii, then flew back to the mainland to play the Bob Hope last week because his son Kevin was entered. Craig finished tied for 14th, Kevin tied for 53rd.
Craig Stadler said he would have remained in Hawaii to play the Champions Tour event there last week and the Champions Skins Game this week, but he wanted to play with Kevin.
He plays with Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson in the Champions Skins Game beginning Saturday in Maui.
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Hale Irwin became the first player in PGA or Champions Tour history to win an event five consecutive times at the Turtle Bay Championship last week.
Irwin has 100 top-three finishes in 230 career Champions Tour starts and has won a tournament in 11 consecutive seasons -- another record.
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Bernhard Langer announced Wednesday that he would not return as Ryder Cup captain in 2006, opening the way for Ian Woosnam or Nick Faldo to take over.
“I wish to end all speculation that I will serve a second term as captain,” Langer said in a statement. “I have every intention of being a playing member of the 2006 European team.”
Europe is expected to announce its 2006 captain March 1.
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Paul Holtby of Simi Valley, a teaching professional at the Tom Barber Golf Center in Moorpark, qualified for the Nissan Open through club professional qualifying Monday.
Holtby has successfully qualified for the last four PGA Tour events that had qualifiers for Southern California club pros: the 2004 and 2005 Buick Invitational and the 2004 and 2005 Nissan Open. He missed the cut at Torrey Pines two weeks ago, shooting 76-72.