The Riviera Riddle: Why Golf’s Greatest Players Keep Coming Up Empty in Los Angeles

I’ve been covering professional golf for 35 years now, and I’ve learned that the tour has a way of humbling even its greatest champions. But there’s one course that stands out as a genuine mystery – a beautiful, sophisticated layout in Pacific Palisades that has somehow figured out how to neutralize the best players on the planet.

Riviera Country Club is hosting the Genesis Invitational this week, marking the 60th time in 100 years that this venerable event has been played on these grounds. And here’s what keeps me up at night: Jack Nicklaus never won here. Tiger Woods never won here. And right now, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy are tracking toward the same fate.

That’s not just a statistical oddity. That’s a mystery worth examining.

When the GOATs Come Up Short

Let me be clear about something: both Nicklaus and Woods were dominant forces at other prestigious California courses. They won at Torrey Pines. They won at Pebble Beach. They conquered Augusta National. They basically owned every major championship venue they stepped foot on.

But Riviera? It eluded them both.

In 14 total starts (12 Genesis Invitationals plus two PGA Championships), Nicklaus finished second twice and never won. Woods fared slightly better in terms of close calls – also finishing second twice – but across 16 attempts, he couldn’t put one in the win column either.

I’ve covered enough golf to know that sometimes the best explanation is the simplest one. Nicklaus himself said it back in 1994:

“I’ve had some pretty good rounds here but never four that were good enough to win.”

Woods echoed similar sentiments in 2023:

“I know the golf course. I also know I haven’t a lot of success here.”

There’s something almost refreshing about that honesty from two of history’s greatest competitors. No excuses. Just acknowledgment that sometimes a course can get the better of you.

What Makes Riviera So Devilishly Difficult?

Having caddied for Tom Lehman back in the day, I learned that elite players often gravitate toward courses that suit their eye and their ball-striking patterns. Riviera, it seems, has built-in resistance to the most common dominant patterns in golf.

The course rewards length off the tee – which is why Bubba Watson has won three times here. It demands precision into greens with quirky shapes. And there’s that famous Poa Annua grass on the putting surfaces that creates gnarly, unpredictable speeds.

But here’s what really strikes me: the course has historically favored certain types of ball-strikers. Three of the five multiple winners at Riviera (Mickelson, Watson, and Weir) are left-handed. All three have also won at Augusta National, which suggests there’s something about the shotmaking demands here that align with what works at the Masters.

Jordan Spieth, who loves Riviera as a golf course, explained it better than I ever could:

“It’s one of those rare weeks where you just can’t get away with firing at flag sticks. Precision is so key, but being smart and recognising when even being precise still won’t work out. There’s not much rough, but it does take the spin off enough so you can’t get into pins. So you just have to be so disciplined.”

That’s the Riviera paradox right there. You need to be both aggressive and conservative simultaneously. And apparently, that’s something Nicklaus and Woods – for all their genius – never quite cracked.

The Modern Puzzle: Scheffler and McIlroy

What concerns me most is that we’re watching history potentially repeat itself with this generation’s best players.

Scheffler, who has won multiple majors and practically everything else, has never finished better than seventh here and has never mounted a legitimate Sunday charge. McIlroy has been closer – a fourth-place finish in 2019, a fifth in 2020 – but his recent form suggests the mystery is deepening. He hasn’t been within nine shots of the 54-hole lead in his last three visits.

These are men capable of winning anywhere. Yet Riviera remains an unconquered frontier.

Why This Matters Beyond the Trophy Case

In my three decades covering the tour, I’ve noticed that when a course consistently defeats elite players, it usually means one of two things: either the course is genuinely brilliant in its design and strategy (which Riviera absolutely is), or there’s something ineffable – a je ne sais quoi – that certain types of players simply can’t overcome.

I believe it’s the latter here. Riviera isn’t just testing golf skills. It’s testing temperament, imagination, and the willingness to accept that sometimes being the best player in the world isn’t enough.

That’s a humbling lesson. And in a sport that often feels dominated by raw talent and firepower, Riviera stands as a beautiful reminder that golf courses still have secrets to keep.

This week’s Genesis Invitational will provide another chapter in this fascinating narrative. Will Scheffler finally break through? Will McIlroy add his name to the champions list? Or will Riviera continue to perplex the very best our game has to offer?

Either way, that’s what makes great golf courses – and great tournaments – worth following.