NISSAN OPEN NOTEBOOK: RIVIERA SPOTLIGHTS TRADITION.

Byline: JILL PAINTER

Staff Writer

PACIFIC PALISADES -- Riviera Country Club is oozing with tradition, but there weren't enough reminders of that for general manager Michael Yamaki.

He took care of that in the recent clubhouse renovation, although it will be an ongoing project. Now, the public can take a jaunt down memory lane by viewing old black-and-white framed photos that line the clubhouse walls. Instead of collecting dust, people can view the first golfers teeing off at Riviera when it opened for play in 1927.

They'll find a shot of Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn while filming "Pat and Mike" in 1952. Ben Hogan, Sam Snead and other greats can be found, too.

"We have so much history and we just had piles of stuff," Yamaki said. "We had to start putting stuff up. There's a lot of shots I'd still like to get. I'd like to get kikuyu shots and bunker shots. I think that would be great to see the successes and failures of people here. They show you how tough it is here."

When Hogan and Snead and Byron Nelson played, the tournament was known as the L.A. Open. Even though it's now known as the Nissan Open, the great moments in history never will be forgotten.

A dedication plaque for Hogan was placed at the fourth hole, the site of his only commercial for Hogan clubs.

"The story is that it took him three days to do it," Yamaki said. "He wanted it perfect. A lot of people don't know about that."

Hogan won the L.A. Open three times, in 1942, 1947 and 1948. He also won the U.S. Open here in 1948. His success at Riviera is why it's known as Hogan's Alley.

A Hogan statue now overlooks the 18th hole. Riviera has had the statue since 1998, but found a good base for it.

Els making comeback: Ernie Els is back on the comeback trail after knee surgery in 2005. He played last year but struggled. When Els had surgery in 2005, he was the world's No. 3 golfer and now sits at No. 5. Els, who held the world's No. 1 ranking for a brief period nearly 10years ago, believes he can still win the two majors -- Masters and PGA Championship -- that he doesn't have on his r(hrt)sum(hrt). The South African won the U.S.Open in 1994 and 1997 and the British Open in 2002.

"I've got to play consistently very well, and that means I want to play at a higher level than I've played in the past, and I want to win golf tournaments," Els said. "I want to try to win majors. I want to complete my own Grand Slam. -- I still feel if I play my best, I'm pretty tough to beat."

Rolling, rolling, rolling: The greens are moving fast at Riviera this week. They're firm and should stay that way, especially if it doesn't rain.

"The greens are going to only hold the well-struck golf shots," Adam Scott said. "-- I like it just how it is. It's going to be a good test. I think it will be harder this way."

Also: Els, Retief Goosen and Sergio Garcia are making their first PGA Tour start of the year at the Nissan Open. -- Dudley Hart withdrew and was replaced by Jason Dufner.

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