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 1950: Ben Hogan, Los Angeles Open Riviera Country Club was already known as Hogan’s Alley, thanks to Hogan’s performances in 1947 and 1948 when he set the course record both years. For good measure, Hogan won the U.S. Open at Riviera later in 1948, breaking the low score for that tournament by five strokes. But those performances pale in comparison to the greatest comeback in golf history. In February 1949, Hogan was involved in a near-fatal collision with a bus. The accident saddled him with circulation problems that would affect him the rest of his life. Though doctors told him he might never walk again, Hogan stunned the world by showing up in Los Angeles the week before the 1950 Los Angeles Open and playing a few rounds at Riviera. Unsure if he could even compete, Hogan decided to enter and, had Sam Snead not birdied the last two holes to force a playoff, he would have won in miraculous fashion. The playoff, which occurred a week later due to inclement weather, was won by Snead, but Hogan cemented his reputation as a courageous golfer, something he would prove over the next several years when, unable to play a full season due to circulatory problems, he won 12 more times, including six majors. 1959: Ken Venturi, Los Angeles Open After beginning the final round eight strokes off the lead, Venturi made consecutive eagles en route to a 30 on the front nine at Rancho Park. He wound up shooting a 63 to defeat Art Wall by two strokes. 1960: Arnold Palmer, Bob Hope Chrysler Classic Palmer’s three-stroke victory over Fred Hawkins was significant because it helped legitimize the inaugural event in the greater Palm Springs area, which would ultimately serve as the region’s biggest calling card to the rest of the country. But it also was impressive because his score of 338 would hold up as the tournament’s lowest score until 1977. 1994-95: Corey Pavin, Nissan Los Angeles Open UCLA’s Corey Pavin became only the fifth person to win consecutive titles and joined Hogan as the only person to win both back-to-back at Riviera (Mike Weir joined them in 2004). In 1994, Pavin defeated Fred Couples, who won two of the previous four years. Pavin shot a 271 and overcame a one-stroke deficit in the final round to edge Couples by two strokes. He shot a 268 the next year to defeat Jay Don Blake and Kenny Perry by three strokes. His 268 remains the fifth-lowest total in Rivera’s PGA Tour history. 1994: Johnny Miller, AT&T Pebble Beach Miller’s halcyon days were long gone by 1994, and he’d played in only six PGA Tour events since 1990. But in 1994, the semi-retired, 46-year-old grandfather and master of the West Coast Swing (more than half of his 25 career wins were posted on it) proved he had one more masterpiece in his bag. He won one of the most memorable AT&T’s ever, capitalizing on Tom Watson’s shaky putting down the stretch to win by a stroke. 1999: David Duval, Bob Hope Chrysler Classic By 1999, the courses on the Hope rotation were being demolished by the long drives of the new generation of PGA Tour bombers. And Duval joined one of the most exclusive clubs in golf history by delivering a final-round 59 at the PGA West Palmer Course. Duval matched Al Geiberger and Chip Beck for the lowest round in PGA Tour history, notching 11 birdies and an eagle on the final hole. And he needed every one because he beat Steve Pate by a stroke after beginning the day seven shots off the lead. 1999: Tiger Woods, Buick Invitational After barely making the cut, Woods shot a tournament-record 62 on Saturday to move into first place and closed with a 65 to win by two strokes with a tournament record-tying 266. 2000: Phil Mickelson, Buick Invitational Heading into the event, the golf world was focused on Woods, who was gunning for his seventh consecutive victory. Mick-elson began the final round six shots ahead of Woods, but after Woods’ birdie on the 13th tied him, it looked like Lefty was finished. But in a dominating performance that presaged his dramatic 2004 Masters victory, Mickelson birdied four of the last six holes to win his second Buick title. 2001: Mark Calcavecchia, Phoenix Open Calcavecchia fired a 256 that earned him an eight-stroke victory over Rocco Mediate and the lowest four-round score in PGA Tour history. The previous mark had been set by Mike Souchak’s 257 at the 1955 Texas Open. Calcavecchia’s high point en route to winning the event for the third time was a course-record 60 in the second round. 2002: Kevin Sutherland, Accenture Match Play Championship Sutherland beat Jim Furyk, David Duval, David Toms and Scott McCarron for $1 million and his first PGA Tour victory. Not bad for a guy who barely qualified as the 62nd seed in a 64-man field. Sutherland was 2-down with two to play against Duval in the opening round but birdied the final two holes, and then birdied the second extra hole to win the match. In the final round, Sutherland trailed most of the day and couldn’t hit a straight drive, but he rebounded every time, posting only one bogey over 36 holes. The victory remains Sutherland’s only PGA Tour title. |
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