Tournament: Northern Trust Open
Where: Riviera Country Club, Los Angeles (7,349 yards, Par 71)
Designer: George C. Thomas, Jr. (1926)
Purse: $6.6 million
Winner’s share: $1,188,000
Fed Ex Points: 500
TV coverage: Golf Channel (Today-Friday, 3-6 PM ET/ 2-5 CT; Saturday-Sunday (GC, 1-2:30 PM ET, 12-1:30 CT). CBS (Saturday 3-6 PM ET, 2-5 CT), Sunday (3-6:30 PM ET/ 2-5:30 CT).
Potential winners:
Keegan Bradley:
One of the best in the game. Played pretty well this year and ready to break out. Drives the ball extremely well and is a top 10 putter on the tour. He was in a playoff for the championship here last year. Could be ready to break through. Another major could be coming this year as well.
James Hahn:
Top five two weeks ago at Waste Management and tied third last week at Pebble. Young player who’s got a chance for greatness. It’s highly competitive out there, maybe moreso than ever, but this guy’s got a chance to do some good things if he can stay focused.
Matt Kuchar:
One of the most consistent players on the tour in the last three or four years. Koooch always has a shot with his length, accuracy and his terrific putter. Could see him breaking through this week. Another guy on the verge of winning a major. He’ll certainly be in contention at Augusta. Can’t wait for that.
Chris Kirk:
Second last week at Pebble. Solid game. Ready to break through soon.
Phil:
Was another one of the three players in the playoff last year with Keegan and Bill Haas, the eventual winner. Phil sank a highly clutch birdie putt on 18 to make the playoff. Phil playing very well despite the aberration last week at Pebble Beach, where he wasn’t so good on Saturday and Sunday. His new Calloway RAZR Fit Xtreme driver is really doing him right at present. Phil can definitely win in LA.
Charl Schwartzel:
Finished second last week at the Joburg Open in South Africa on the European Tour. Excellent player. Another major contender this year after having won a green jacket two years ago. Solid all around game. Drives it well, solid approach game and really good putter. Clutch player.
Webb Simpson:
Always like Webb in every tournament he’s in. He’s had a solid year so far and could break through this weekend. Another big time major contender this year. Wow, this major season is going to be awesome.
Key holes:
Par five 1st; 503 yards
Tee sits 70 feet above a narrow fairway flanked by trees on the right and rough and out of bounds on the left. One of the most famous opening holes in golf. Can be a birdie, even an eagle hole. Or it could be a double bogey.
Par-3 4th: 236 yards
Ben Hogan called it “the greatest Par-3 hole in America.” A direct shot goes across a 60-yard long bunker fronting the green or you can draw an approach safely right avoiding the hazard. Par is a good score here.
Par-3 6th: 199 yards
Quite a unique hole with a bunker cut within the putting surface. Bunker sits in back center of the green and divides it into four quadrants with two on the higher left side and two on the lower right. Back left is the toughest pin placement. If it’s back left and you hit it to right side of the green, you have an option of chipping over the bunker (tough shot) or putting around it. Par is another good score here. Birdie is a bonus.
Par-4 10th, 315 yards
Jack Nicklaus called it the greatest par-four in golf. The hole doglegs right. It’s reachable from the tee for some players, but a ball missed slightly right generally results in a bogey or worse. The smart play is a fairway metal down the left side, but the temptation is to go for it. Should be interesting.
Par-4 18th, 475 yards
One of the best finishing holes in golf. The challenge is a semi-blind tee shot to a fairway hidden beyond a steep, Kikuya (kind of grass)-covered hillside. Second shot is a mid iron or long iron to a challenging, drama-filled amphitheater green. Steve Elkington won a memorable PGA here over Colin Montgomery in 1995 in a playoff with heroics on the final hole both in regulation and in the playoff. Should be an epic finishing hole this weekend, particularly Sunday.
Predicted winner:
Keegan
Just think he’s ready to win this year and is primed for another major. At some point he, Webb, Ernie and some others are going to have to figure out what to do about their belly putters with those becoming illegal in 2016. But like his chances to get it done this weekend.