Riviera’s Open History Might Be Closed for Good

We know the U.S. Open is coming back to California in 2008, when it’s going to be played at Torrey Pines in La Jolla.

The U.S. Golf Assn., which runs the U.S. Open, must like California a lot, because it has already scheduled two more California courses for the U.S. Open, in 2010 at Pebble Beach and in 2012 at the Olympic Club near San Francisco.

There’s no real secret why the USGA keeps California on its short list of venues for its biggest tournament.

First, the weather in June is usually mild and there’s no chance of players or equipment melting, which seemed like a real possibility a couple of times, at Oakmont in Pennsylvania and at Southern Hills in Oklahoma.

Playing a golf tournament in Oklahoma in the summer is like spending the day in a self-cleaning oven.

But much more compelling to the USGA than player comfort, there’s the fact that portions of the golf would be telecast in prime time on the East Coast. It’s all about the TV and the ratings.

What it’s not about, apparently, is Riviera Country Club.

The last time the U.S. Open was played at venerable Riviera was in 1948, when Ben Hogan was in the midst of his quest to establish himself as a legendary player. He succeeded.

The next time the US. Open will be played at Riviera is anybody’s guess, so here’s a reasonable estimate: never.

It’s certainly not through a lack of effort on Riviera’s part.

Michael Yamaki, the club’s chief corporate officer, has spent so much time lobbying the USGA, he’s probably going to start wearing its familiar ensemble of starched white shirts, pressed khakis, red ties and blue sports coats.

Riviera was pitched for 2008, and Torrey Pines got it.

It was pitched for 2009, and Bethpage Black got it.

It was pitched for 2010, and Pebble Beach got it.

It was pitched for 2012, and the Olympic Club got it.

That’s the way it has been going. Riviera keeps pitching, and somebody else hits a home run.

Riviera backers thought they had a chance for 2012 when the USGA held a meeting last week at Santa Barbara and Yamaki had his talking points down pat. Because the USGA wanted California and specifically Southern California, he pointed out that San Diego isn’t exactly Los Angeles, that an Open at Torrey Pines isn’t part of Los Angeles County, or Orange County for that matter.

Yamaki called the USGA brass, the “back East guys” and thought things sounded pretty good, probably right up to the moment they chose the Olympic Club.

So it’s probably safe to assume that Riviera’s U.S. Open moment is past. Maybe it’s too small to hold the big carnival, with all its corporate villages, merchandise tents, hospitality areas and parking lots.

The U.S. Open needs some elbow room, which is why Torrey Pines will do well because it has an extra golf course, the North Course, that’s not going to be used. But Torrey Pines isn’t perfect, and there probably will be some traffic headaches.

To those who follow the process of selecting the venues, the U.S. Open is as much about available space as it is the golf course.

Despite its setbacks, Yamaki isn’t giving up on putting Riviera together with the Open, although he said he was starting to get a little nervous about his chances.

The politics are tough to sort out, he said, but maybe there’s still a chance for the place.

When the Nissan Open is played next week at Riviera, all the things that make the place special are going to be on display. From the kikuyu grass to the barrancas to the elevated first tee to the long par-three fourth hole to the drivable 10th to the uphill 18th with its natural amphitheater, Riviera is a jewel and always will be, U.S. Open or not.

Besides, 1948 wasn’t so long ago, was it?