When people talk about The Genesis Invitational host Riviera Country Club, they use the nickname Hogan's Alley almost interchangeably.
Why, though, do golf fans and historians refer to Riviera Country Club at Hogan's Alley?
There are two Hogan's Alley clubs
The Los Angeles-area country club is actually one of two clubs bearing the Hogan's Alley nickname, the other being Colonial Country Club in Ft. Worth, Texas, home to the Charles Schwab Challenge PGA Tour event.
However, Riviera Country Club earned the nickname Hogan's Alley because of what Hogan did there in in 1947 and '48. In '47, Hogan won the second of three Los Angeles Opens (the original name of The Genesis Invitational) at Riviera. The next year, he again won the Los Angeles Open in February and then took the 1948 U.S. Open there, his second of nine career major championships.
Hogan won that Open by two shots over Jimmy Demaret at 8-under 276, beating the prior U.S. Open scoring record, set by Ralph Guldahl in 1937, by five shots. Jack Nickaus beat Hogan's record in 1967 by a shot at Baltusrol in New Jersey.
It was also the U.S. Open scoring record in relationship to par until 2000, when Tiger Woods won the Open at Pebble Beach at 12-under 272.
The dominance that Hogan showed at Riviera in that 24-month stretch led lots of golf observers to name the Pacific Palisades club as a special place in the Texan's career. However, beyond that run, Hogan didn't do a whole lot more at Riviera. There have been players who have been more successful at this venue, including Bubba Watson, Adam Scott and Phil Mickelson.
Riviera Country Club is one of the most venerated host clubs on the PGA Tour schedule. While Tiger Woods now hosts the PGA Tour event played there, Riviera will forever be known as Hogan's Alley.
