Owning a legendary place on the American golfing landscape, Riviera’s famed George Thomas-designed golf course has hosted one U.S. Open, two PGA Championships and a U.S. Senior Open, in addition to serving as the perennial site of the PGA Tour’s Northern Trust Open.
Legends like Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Sam Snead, Tom Watson, Nick Faldo, Fred Couples and Phil Mickelson have all tasted victory here, while celebrities like Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin and Dean Martin have long graced its fairways.
Humphrey Bogart could often be spotted watching the pros play from under the Sycamore tree by the 12th green, and it was on these historic links that the fresh ocean breezes helped Howard Hughes whittle his handicap down to a four.
Ben Hogan, who won his first U.S. Open at the Riviera in 1948, once remarked, “Some of my most pleasant memories and thoughts are of this wonderful club and magnificent golf course.” Hogan’s feelings are echoed by the world’s best golfers today, most of whom return each year to compete in the Northern Trust Open.
Scheduled to host the U.S. Amateur in 2017, Riviera remains, in its ninth decade, one of the game’s truly iconic venues.