Why is Riviera Country Club called 'Hogan's Alley'?
PGA Tour

Why is Riviera Country Club called ‘Hogan’s Alley’?



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.

GOLF NEWS NET RADIO

FOLLOW GOLF NEWS NET RADIO: iHEART | TUNEIN

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.

About the author

Ryan Ballengee

Ryan Ballengee is founder and editor of Golf News Net. He has been writing and broadcasting about golf for nearly 20 years. Ballengee lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his family. He is currently a +2.6 USGA handicap, and he has covered dozens of major championships and professional golf tournaments. He likes writing about golf and making it more accessible by answering the complex questions fans have about the pro game or who want to understand how to play golf better.

Ryan talks about golf on various social platforms:

X or Twitter: https://twitter.com/ryanballengee
Facebook: https://facebook.com/ryanballengeegolf
Instagram: https://instagram.com/ryanballengee
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ryanballengeegolf

Ballengee can be reached by email at ryan[at]thegolfnewsnet.com

Ryan occasionally links to merchants of his choosing, and GNN may earn a commission from sales generated by those links. See more in GNN's affiliate disclosure.