1999 was the year. Tiger Woods was at the height of his game at the Los Angeles Open, having just won the Buick Invitational with an incredible 22-under 266. But a mishandled putt on the last par-4 left him without a playoff opportunity, and he had to settle for second place. Not fortunate? Indeed. He had no idea, though, that the T2 finish would be his only opportunity to win at the Riviera Country Club.
When 2024 arrives. With 110 career victories in professional competition, including 82 on the PGA Tour, Mr. T has set numerous records. Even still, given that he was also forced to withdraw from the most recent event, a victory at the California Club seems as far-fetched as seeing a ghost for the golfer.
Before the 2024 Genesis Invitational, 48-year-old Woods noted, “I have traditionally not putted well here,” recalling his years of misfortune on the course. “I’ve handled it nicely here. The athlete continued, “My iron game has been pretty good, but at this course, I have never really gotten hot with the putter.” It appears that Lady Luck has averted her gaze from the expert during his hometown competition.
When he was 16 years old and made his men’s circuit debut in 1992, he made his first appearance at the grounds. What was the outcome? At 72-75, a six-stroke deficit led to a missed cut. With the exception of his debut, the golfing legend has since played at the course 14 times in his career. He has, however, only managed eight top-25 rankings and three top-10 finishes, the former of which occurred in 1999, 2003, and 2004 at T2, T5, and T7, respectively.
That was the best he could come up with. What about the other viewpoint? Yes, we are discussing his least successful finishes. In fact, in his 15 starts, the 1997 Masters champion has missed the cut three times in total, including his debut in 1992, 1993, and 2018, the year he took over as the tournament’s host. In 2020, he scored an 11-over par 295 to finish last among those who made the cut, marking his last performance before 2024.
In addition, he has missed two of the events—2006 and the most recent one—due to the virus. Even yet, his worst results on the course still stand in stark contrast to his closest victory.
The two WDs, the missed cuts, and his T68 finish underscore one of the PGA Tour winner’s most unfortunate connections to a course. The athlete, who was 17 at the time, shot 74-78-152, which was seven strokes over the required cutline, and that resulted in the 1993 MC. His 1997 debut round at the course as a professional resulted in a 3-under 281 that left him in a tie for twenty-first place.
And now it is 1999. The year he nearly met Lady Luck. Woods was two shots behind Ted Tryba after a bogey-free third round of 65, putting him in contention for the win. He was unable to take advantage of the same, though, as he missed a number of birdies on the fourth day, the last being the par-4 18th. He lost the opportunity to tie Ernie Els, who would go on to win the tournament, for a playoff because of this error. The eventual 15-time major champion concluded the LA Open in a tie for second place with Davis Love III and Tryba at 12-under par.
Aside from the top-10 finishes, withdrawals, and missed cuts, the rest is just average for the golfer; his worst finishes, though still making the cut, were T18 in 2000, T13 in 2001, T13 in 2005, T15 in 2019, T45 in 2023, and T68 in 2020, even though he made the cut. Regardless of the elusive victory at Riviera, many of his fans would be waiting for another victory from the Hall of Famer, so that he can break Sam Snead’s record of PGA Tour victories, to which he is currently tied.
