Nissan LA Open

I am in Los Angeles this week for the Nissan LA Open. Rivierra Country Club is one of my favorite courses in the world. It has hosted US Opens and US PGA's and been the home of the LA Open for many years. Ben Hogan won four times at Rivierra in his career and interestingly Tiger Woods has never won here. This is the only tournament on the US schedule that tiger has played more than once and not won. In fact Tiger has played this event 11 times, with one of those times as a 15 year old amateur. Tiger is not playing this year for the first time in many years. Rivierra is a classic traditional design with subtle doglegs and by todays standards small and often elevated greens. they have lengthened many holes over the years to keep up with the advancements of technology, but this hasn't altered the character of the course. You have to drive it well, place your irons below the hole and as always putt well, if you are going to win. Stuart Appleby's best finish here was 3rd behind Mike Weir three years ago. Stuart finished 3 shots behind Mike, but had 15 more putts than him for the week. Stuart led greens in regulation that week, but just couldn't convert enough birdies.