RIVIERA LEARNED LESSON; CLUB WOULDN'T BE BURNED BY TOURNEY OVERLOAD AGAIN.

Byline: Eric Noland Daily News Staff Writer

Faced with the prospect of hosting two professional golf events in the space of six months this year, Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades elected to let the Nissan Open play through. It's an appropriate course of action when you've been once-burned.

Literally.

Three years ago, Riviera played host to the Nissan Open in February, as per custom, then welcomed the PGA Championship in August. For the latter event, new greens were shaved close to achieve a quick putting surface, and the summer sun fried the tender shoots to a brown crisp.

Riviera members, already nudged off the course for extended periods by the twin invasions of pro players, were furious over what had been done to their pastoral retreat.

This year, when the U.S. Senior Open - a major tournament on that tour - made plans for a visit in July, it was an easy call: The Nissan Open would have to make a one-time relocation well to the north, at Valencia Country Club.

``When we had the PGA here after the Nissan Open in February, it's tough on the golf course and obviously hard on members,'' said Dan Stevenson, a Riviera member who is serving as general chairman of the U.S. Senior Open this year. ``When you have a winter tournament, you have to keep carts off the course for a couple of weeks. That's a consideration.''

Riviera, which first hosted the event in 1929 (then known as the Los Angeles Open) and has been its home in 24 of the past 25 years, has a contract with the Nissan through 2000 and looks forward to its return.

It relinquished the tournament this year because of the ``magnitude of the senior tournament,'' Stevenson said. ``The USGA says it is the most important event on their senior tour. It was done by mutual consent. It wasn't forced on us.''

Tom Pulchinski, tournament director of the Nissan, remembers well the one-two punch Riviera received in '95.

``It takes three months to get the course ready,'' he said. ``If you're getting your fairways narrowed, your rough grown up and preparing the greens, that kind of puts a little strain on play (for members).

``When you have another one four months later, you're not going to cut the fairways back. You're going to leave it with fairways tight and rough grown. So members are not playing for three months in a difficult situation, they're playing like that for eight months. That's very disruptive.''

As for the abuse of the greens - er, browns - it was the result of a vicious progression: new greens planted. The PGA wanted them fast, so they were mowed close. But it was a blistering August in Southern California, so they were watered liberally. But that created a seeping of mud between the blades of grass. So watering was cut back. And the sun beat down on them. And the grass burned.

Never again.

``Valencia is a great course,'' said Riviera's Stevenson. ``I think they'll enjoy playing it this year.''

WELL-TRAVELED

The Nissan Open, which has been anchored to Riviera Country Club for 24 of the past 25 years, will make its first appearance at Valencia Country Club this week. The tournament, inaugurated in 1926 as the Los Angeles Open, has moved around considerably over its history, particularly in the early years.

Site Tournaments hosted

Riviera CC, Pacific Palisades 36

Rancho Municipal GC, L.A. 17

Los Angeles CC, L.A. 5

Wilshire CC, L.A. 4

Griffith Park, L.A. 3

Hillcrest CC, L.A. 2

Fox Hills CC, Culver City 1

El Caballero CC, L.A. 1

Inglewood CC, Inglewood 1

Brookside GC, Pasadena 1

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Box

PHOTO The Nissan Open, above, and PGA championship took their toll on Riviera's greens.

Michael Owen Baker/Daily News

BOX: WELL-TRAVELED (see text)