Pacific Palisades, CA
The Riviera Country Club
Los Angeles Athletic Club executive Frank Garbutt sought a golf property away from downtown and settled on a rocky Santa Monica canyon. Land negotiations and financing took almost three years.1
- Location
- Pacific Palisades, CA
- Course
- 18 holes · par 71
- Original architect
- George C. Thomas Jr.
- Club website
- Visit website
A country retreat for Los Angeles golfers
Riviera opened on June 24, 1927, with architect George C. Thomas hitting the first drive. The clubhouse followed in 1928, helping establish the Club’s social life alongside its golf.1
The course
Follow each course for its scorecard, design history, and sources.
Championships
Results and dates 4 editions
PGA Championship
-
Hal Sutton
–
-
Steve Elkington
–
U.S. Open
-
Ben Hogan
–
U.S. Women's Open
-
Nelly Korda
–
Continue through the archive
Follow the course and the people behind it.
Sources and editorial notes7 references
Sources for this story
- The Riv: As Nearly Perfect as Man Could Make It Southern California Golf Association / FORE
History and course description.
Consulted 2026-09-21
Record sources
- Club mark source
- USGA Women's Open Champions and Championship Results The official champions table records the 2026 winner and site. Recorded site text follows that table; no canonical Club or Course identity is inferred. Explicit date span: www.uswomensopen.com
- 2026 PGA Championship Media Guide The official Media Guide directly enumerates the 77th playing, champion, site, and its year-page date span. The recorded venue and champion preserve the official PGA Championship History entry’s published text.
- PGA Championship host record The 1995 PGA record names Riviera. The host Club is verified; the exact course and routing used for this edition have not been confirmed.
- 2026 USGA Championships Media Guide - U.S. Open The official 2026 USGA Championship Record Book directly enumerates the completed 1948 Championship, champion, explicit date span, and site in Championship Results: 1895 to 2025. The recorded champion and site preserve the higher-resolution register text. The current official U.S. Open Champions table independently confirms the year, champion, and site.
- USGA championship host record Official Club or regional association evidence corroborates the historical host identity for The Riviera Country Club; the dated USGA venue wording and canonical locality are retained separately. The dated register identifies the Club. A continuing physical Course identity is not inferred from a single stored Course or an unqualified venue name. Host and competition dates: www.usga.org