The final round of the Genesis Invitational at Riviera didn’t really get interesting until the final few holes, but in many ways, the tournament was perfect.
Not perfect if you wanted a superstar winner, not perfect if you wanted Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler to duel it out, and not perfect if you wanted to see one of the best golf courses on the PGA Tour circuit stand up to game’s elite.
No disrespect intended to Jacob Bridgeman who may well be a superstar in the making – and his post-tournament comments about the weight of pressure he felt coming down the home stretch were a breath of fresh air – but many casual fans would struggle to pick him out in a police lineup, even if he’s decked out in his TaylorMade hat.
It was, however, perfect if you were Tiger Woods, Chairman of the PGA Tour’s Future Competitions Committee and pushing to reschedule the Los Angeles event for August and have it part of the FedEx Cup playoff series.
Weather is the one thing that no tournament organiser is ever in control of. It doesn’t rain often in California, but it seemed as though an entire year’s worth was dumped on Riviera last week. That’s unfortunate, because pro golfers generally take soft golf courses and eat them for breakfast. Sure, they play a little longer, but 7,300- or 7,400-yard par-71s are cannon fodder when the fairways and greens are as receptive as they were, and the pros get to give themselves a perfect lie every time they find the short grass.
There’s no guarantee that the heavens won’t open if the event is staged in August, but you’ll get shorter odds on Jon Rahm accepting that his DP World Tour fines are justified.
Unlike most golf courses on the PGA Tour rota, Riviera doesn’t have any water hazards – not really. The ‘barrancas’ – deep gullies that serve as drainage channels when needed – are usually dry and can often be played from, but apart from that, it’s a simple and pure test of golf. A to B, and occasionally to C.
But how much better would A to B and occasionally to C be if the ball didn’t land and stick? I don’t really care whether the opening hole is a par-4 or a par-5, but when the course is soft, it’s just too easy because all the pros just smash driver or 3-wood down to the end of the fairway and it doesn’t matter if they’re in the fairway or not. It’s still a mid-iron at most to the green.
It’ll still be a mid-iron in August, but if they allow the golf course to get fiery as they could and should, then the premium for hitting the fairway goes up significantly.
As for the 10th? Widely regarded as one of America’s great short par-4s, it’s still a simple equation for just about all of the pros. Go for the green and take your chances. We still get the odd eagle – Ryan Fox this year – and multiple bogeys, but the risk/reward factor would be increased significantly and would make it a much better hole.
You can rinse and repeat that for almost every one of the 16 other holes, though the new back tee on the fourth would make the hole nearly impossible, as Rory McIlroy pointed out, if the green were like concrete.
But losing a 270-yard par-3 is no major loss. From 230 – or even from the Senior Tees at 200 – it would be a wonderful hole, asking for pure precision if you’re to find the green.
But don’t just take my word for it.
Adam Scott finished fourth, is a previous course winner, and has a runner-up and two other top-10 finishes at Riviera in the past decade, and even somebody who’s made hay in January would welcome a little more fire in Riviera’s belly.
“I guess there’s more chance of it being firm and fast,” he said when asked about the prospect of an August date. “I think it would be a good thing.”
So, here’s hoping that the hints that Tiger and co. are dropping prove to be much more than just that. And here’s hoping that the tournament committee let the hot August sun do its job.
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