The first tee shot at Riviera is high above the fairway, just below the massive clubhouse.
The fairways and rough is kikuyu, whilst the greens and tees are poa annua. Never before have I seen kikuyu cut so neat and tight in the fairways, nor have I seen greens on a kikuyu course without any evidence of fairway encroachment.
There are plenty of iconic views around Riviera. The clubhouse features quite regularly as it dominates the landscape from its location above the valley.
The par 3 6th hole has the famous donut bunker in the middle of the green.
That is my ball just on the bunker edge. Not often to you hit the middle of the green, and be left with a pitch shot over a bunker to the flag!
The bunkering is magnificent, and the conditioning is flawless. The course was in terrific shape only a month after hosting the Northern Trust Open. Playing it today, you find it unimaginable that Bubba Watson shot 64, 64 around here on the weekend of that event.
We battled a very strong wind that added another level of difficulty to an already challenging layout.
One of the great features around the course are the trees. Many holes are flanked by ancient sycamore trees, with some needing supports to prop them up.
The 10th hole is a short par 4 that provides a great level of challenge during the tournament, the green is very, very narrow (only about 7 or eight paces) and sits at an angle across the hole. This makes the green very difficult to hold, and incredibly diificult should you find the rough or greenside bunker. Karen Pritchard is seen rolling her birdie attempt toward the hole.
One of the other great images is the view up the 18th fairway to the green and the clubhouse. This is Alan Pritchard firing his approach to the green.
The course won today, and scoring was difficult. Patrick Carlisle coped with the conditions the best today, his 33 points a very strong result on a challenging day.
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