PGA's roar muted by missing Tiger

ShareThis

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. -- Ten of golf's top 12 players, and 17 of the top 20, are here at historic Riviera Country Club this week for the latest edition of what once was known simply as the Los Angeles Open. But to the casual fan, the PGA Tour has one recognizable name. "Will Tiger be there?" someone asked when the subject came up earlier this week. Uh, no. But can they interest you in a Charles Howell III, a Padraig Harrington, maybe an Anthony Kim or a Fred Couples or a Tom Pernice Jr.? Tiger Woods is the elephant in the room. When he plays he's the favorite, regardless of when or where. When he doesn't, the audience is a little smaller, the charisma quotient a little lighter. "He is the guy that moves the needle the most," Howell said Tuesday. "These chairs in the media room seem to be a little more filled when he's here. There is a little more attention and the fan interest is a little bigger, and when you see this mass of humanity on the golf course, you always know where he is. "We all owe the guy, you know. A percentage of what we make should just go to him." But you're not volunteering it, are you? "If he asks for it," Howell continued. "He deserves it." Howell, may we remind you, is the defending champion of this event, now sponsored by something called Northern Trust. A year ago, the event's last as the Nissan Open, Howell defeated Phil Mickelson in a playoff to end a five-year victory drought in which he'd finished second nine times (including a playoff loss to Mike Weir here in 2003). Recent winners Rory Sabbatini ('06), Adam Scott ('05), Mike Weir ('03 and '04) are here. So are two-time winners Couples and Corey Pavin. So are Mickelson, John Daly, Vijay Singh, British Open champ Harrington ... well, you get the point. They're playing on one of the most historic courses on the tour, the 7,279-yard Riviera layout that has tested most of the game's legends and has been the host course to this tournament for 48 of its 82 editions, including the past 36. Ben Hogan won here three times, Sam Snead twice. "Obviously, you can walk through the clubhouse and look at all the photographs on the wall and the history and the players and the events that have been here," Scott said. "Yeah, it's a classic golf club." Or, as Howell put it: "It wasn't built for a housing development. It wasn't built for golf carts. It was built just for pure golf. That's a rarity these days on the tour." Speaking of legends, let's not forget the Orange County kid that played here as a 17-year-old amateur in 1992, shooting 5 over par and missing the cut. He was back the next year at 18 and missed the cut again. He grew up to be Tiger Woods. Yet while Woods has won 85 career tournaments, including 13 majors, since turning pro in 1996, he has never won at Riviera. His best finish was 1999, when he tied for second, a couple shots behind Ernie Els. More recently, he missed the cut in '05, withdrew due to illness in '06, and skipped this tour stop in '07 and again this year. But the LA tournament organizers shouldn't feel alone. Woods doesn't play the Bob Hope or Pebble Beach, either. If not for Torrey Pines, which hosts the U. S. Open this June as well as the Buick Invitational every January, Woods' only California action would be his own silly season tournament in Thousand Oaks at the end of the year. "I think he'll be back here," Howell said. "He's too competitive to go through his career without a win at Riviera. I think he would want it on his resume, just (because of) his competitiveness." For his opponents, it's a double-edged sword. If he shows up, they're probably playing for second place. If he doesn't show up, will their accomplishments be noticed? "The way he's been playing, you probably feel like you have a little bit of a better chance to win if he's not in the field, just to be honest," said Australian Luke Donald. "Every time he's played, he's finished first or second since the middle of the summer, so he's obviously the dominant player in the game right now. "I don't think I approach an event any different whether he's in the field or not. I'm going out there trying to play my own game. ... I would say in general, though, I'm playing a lot of events that he's playing in. And whether that's why I've only won two tournaments on the PGA Tour, I'm not sure." Memo to Luke: Try the Bob Hope next January. You're sure to avoid him there.(Contact Jim Alexander at jalexander@PE.com.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)