L.A. Story: Southern Californians Relishing History at Iconic Riviera C.C.

The Riviera Country Club, one of the most iconic golf venues on the West Coast, has been the site of many historic championships. Ben Hogan won the first of his four U.S. Open titles here in 1948. Hal Sutton and Steve Elkington captured PGA Championships in 1983 and 1995, respectively. Hale Irwin cemented his name in the annals of the game with his 1998 U.S. Senior Open triumph. Doc Redman rallied from 2 down with two to play to defeat Doug Ghim in 37 holes in the lone U.S. Amateur contested at the club in 2017.

And champions in the PGA Tour’s annual Genesis Invitational (formerly the Los Angeles Open) enjoys a Who’s Who list of champions, names like Nick Faldo, Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Hideki Matsuyama, Adam Scott, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Fred Couples, Corey Pavin, Lanny Wadkins and Tom Kite.

Notice a pattern here?

All of the above-mentioned champions are male.

That narrative changes this week when the 81st U.S. Women’s Open Presented by Ally comes to the venerable George C. Thomas Jr. masterpiece. For the first time in the club’s illustrious history, a female champion will be crowned.

To many, especially some of the great past and present women’s golfers, it’s long overdue.

This week, 17 players with ties to Southern California will make history, getting a chance to walk the same fairways that many of their heroes have done in men’s competitions. Many watched the likes of World Golf Hall of Famers Tiger Woods, Mickelson and Els compete on this classic course.

Now, the world will be watching them.

Several players discussed the importance of having the U.S. Women’s Open in Los Angeles, and specifically Riviera:

Lilia Vu, Fountain Valley, Calif., UCLA

Because Vu was a collegiate star just down the road in Westwood, many LPGA Tour players have assumed the two-time major champion played Riviera “at least 50 times” during her tenure at UCLA. The 28-year-old had to inform her fellow competitors that “we were lucky if it [was] once every couple of months.” Vu had the fortune of playing the course a couple of times in the lead-up to the championship.

That’s one reason Vu was ecstatic to see the USGA announce it was taking its biggest women’s championship to this historic venue. Her coach (Brett Lederer) and caddie (Cole Pensanti) both are Southern Californians, with the former having missed the cut in the Northern Trust Open (now Genesis Invitational) at Riviera in 2010.

It’s also given Vu a chance to drive down memory lane. En route to the course on Monday, she and her mom passed several former haunts she frequented as a UCLA student from 2015-18.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Vu. “It’s the right time for us to play here.

While the course certainly presents a difficult test, Vu’s toughest challenge this week might be procuring enough tickets for friends and family. While some caught her in action at the JM Eagle LA Open at nearby El Caballero Country Club earlier this year, attending a major in your backyard brings a totally different dynamic.

“I have to figure it out,” the 2018 USA Curtis Cupper said. “I might just purchase them on my own … because [the championship] is so close and I want them to come and enjoy the tournament as well…This will be a very cool experience.”

Catherine Park, Irvine, Calif., USC

Nine years ago, a precocious 13-year-old from Orange County walked the ground of Riviera for the first time at the Genesis Open (now Invitational). Park, a fledgling junior golfer, watched Dustin Johnson take the title. A couple of years later, she got to see Tiger Woods for the first time. Now Park, who shared low-amateur honors two years ago at Lancaster (Pa.) Country Club, will make her own history at Riviera. Not only is it the first women’s event at the club, but will also be Park’s professional debut after an All-American career across town.

“That was kind of an emotional moment for me,” said Park of attending those two PGA Tour events. “Riviera has a lot of emotional moments in my life. I saw the greatest players for the first time in person and the fact that it was so close to home … that is what makes this golf course special.”

While the USC men’s team had full golf privileges at Riviera, the women’s team played at other area courses. Park, the runner-up in the 2022 NCAA Championship to fellow Irvine resident Rose Zhang (Stanford), would often join her male USC counterparts as a guest.

That gave the 22-year-old Park a sense of what to expect when the competition begins Thursday. She just knows Riviera is a special venue.

“Anyone who asks me what my favorite hole is, I can’t really tell them,” said Park. “It changes every time [you play it]. All the holes are so difficult. It’s not like there’s a stretch of easy holes. It’s a unique golf course with all its quirks. It’s a golf course where your game needs to be sharp.”

The Super 17 in Field With Southern California Ties

Andrea Lee, Hermosa Beach, Calif.

Growing up some 25 minutes south of Riviera, Andrea Lee had the opportunity to attend the Genesis on several occasions. She saw Tiger Woods and all the other PGA Tour greats. Back then, Lee was forging a name for herself in the golf world, qualifying for the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst at 15, and finishing runner-up in the 2016 U.S. Girls’ Junior. But the two-time USA Curtis Cupper and ex-Stanford University star never dreamt of the Women’s Open coming to Los Angeles.

When the announcement came down four years ago, Lee, 27, was ecstatic. Not only was the championship coming to Southern California, but at an iconic venue.

“Very unique golf course,” said Lee, a one-time LPGA Tour winner who tied for third in the 2024 U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster C.C. “It’s probably one of my favorites in the L.A. area. It just requires part of your game to be firing.”

Rose Zhang, Irvine, Calif.

A month ago, the former Stanford All-American and two-time NCAA champion didn’t know if she would be competing in the one U.S. Women’s Open she had circled since 2022. One of nine players to have won the U.S. Women’s Amateur and U.S. Girls’ Junior titles, Zhang had fallen outside the top 75 in the Rolex Rankings when entries closed in April. She remained outside that magic number as the second cutoff approached, and to make matters more complicated, Zhang was the first alternate from her qualifying site (Essex County Country Club, in West Orange, N.J.). Would one of the best amateurs in modern history miss out on Riviera?

Alas, Zhang did get inside the top 75 as of May 25 to book a tee time at a course she had heard so much about but rarely played.

With fellow Irvine resident Catherine Park also in the field, one can expect a streamline of cars up the 405 Freeway. Zhang is just grateful for the chance to play in the historic event.

“That’s why I am taking this week in stride,” said Zhang, who recently earned her Stanford degree after playing just two seasons on The Farm. “Making sure I do my best, but at the same time enjoying it.

“There’s a lot of gratitude this week in being able to play at such a prestigious event at such a prestigious course so close to home.”

Alison Lee, Valencia, Calif., UCLA

The former ANNIKA Award recipient and member of the victorious 2014 USA Curtis Cup Team spent last week in her adopted home of Las Vegas, Nev., playing with a couple of PGA Tour players quite familiar with Riviera. But even as Kurt Kitayama and Maverick McNealy provided some tidbits, Lee wasn’t sure any of it would help this week. After all, the Genesis Invitational is conducted in February, and the men play Riviera much differently.

“It’s hard to pick their brains,” said Alison Lee. “They can reach every par 5 in two. Maybe we can on No. 1 this week. [The course] is so long for us. I played the front nine [on Sunday] and there’s maybe one or two holes where I have a mid- or short-iron for the approach and everything else is a longer club.”

Like her fellow Bruin brethren, Lee rarely played Riviera during her collegiate days, despite the course’s close proximity to campus. But she competed against Taylor Yoshitake, the daughter of Riviera’s director of golf Todd Yoshitake, in junior golf, and he invited her out on a couple of occasions. The rest of the course knowledge will come during practice rounds.

One thing is for sure: Lee should have plenty of support from the 30 or so family/friends making the 45-minute trek from the Santa Clarita Valley. Her parents are even taking care of her 13-month-old son, Levi, to help Alison focus on her prep.

“I’m definitely not surprised,” said Lee of the USGA’s decision to bring the U.S. Women’s Open to Riviera. “Seeing all the amazing things happening in women’s golf … it’s really cool we’re getting the recognition that these gals deserve. There is so much talent out there. Having a stage like this is all we ask for.”

Brianna Do, Lakewood, Calif., UCLA

When Do was starting off in the game, one of her favorite players was the always sartorially dressed Payne Stewart. She watched him compete at Riviera during the Los Angeles Open. As she watched the two-time U.S. Open champion and the other PGA Tour stars, Do never thought about someday walking those same fairways in a women’s professional major. Maybe subconsciously, but definitely not something she obsessed over.

So to see Riviera on the schedule for 2026, Do made a mental note to hopefully qualify, something she hadn’t done since 2017. The now-36-year-old veteran who has bounced between the LPGA and Epson Tours, is a big fan of history and wanted nothing to be part of it.

“There was extra incentive to try and qualify, and I did,” said Do, the 2011 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links champion who was not on UCLA’s postseason roster in a year the Bruins won the NCAA title. “I wasn’t playing super well going into the qualifier [at Galveston Country Club in Texas]. Not that I had low expectations. I just told myself to just go play golf. Somehow, I figured it out and the golf gods were on my side.

“Obviously growing up in L.A. and knowing the history of this place. It’s cool that we are finally getting to showcase our talent at the same historical sites.”

Katelyn Kong, North Hills, Calif., University of California-Irvine

Being located in Orange County, the players on the UC-Irvine golf teams don’t come close to venturing to Riviera. But as someone who grew up in the San Fernando Valley and attending Notre Dame High, in Sherman Oaks, Kong was all too familiar with the venue’s pedigree. She attended “at least” three Genesis Opens/Invitationals, but in her wildest dreams never thought she’d be competing on the same course, at a women’s professional major no less.

Yet after qualifying to play at Erin Hills in 2025, Kong didn’t put unnecessary pressure upon herself to make the field.

Once she qualified, a couple of Riviera members reached out to the 19-year-old, offering the chance to see the course up close.

Her initial impressions?

“You don’t realize how narrow it is off the tee,” said the rising college junior. “Obviously, six. It’s a super-fun par-3 with the bunker in the middle [of the green]. I do like 10. It’s a really cool [short par-4] hole.”

Ina Kim-Schaad, Los Angeles native (now splits time between Metro New York and Florida)

When Kim-Schaad was starring on the Harvard-Westlake High golf team in the San Fernando Valley, a fellow teammate, Emma Stachowicz, had access to Riviera. Her mom worked at the club, so the two often played informal rounds, but obviously not under championship conditions.

But it provided a seed for the future Northwestern University golf and two-time U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion.

At 42, Kim-Schaad understands how precious such opportunities are to compete at places like Riviera or Monterey Peninsula Country Club, where she won her second Women’s Mid-Am last fall to book a spot in the Women’s Open field. This week, with husband, Ian, on the bag, and her parents, older sister (Hana) and niece all in attendance, Kim-Schaad is relishing every moment of this homecoming.

On Tuesday night, she’ll attend the Amateur Dinner where Los Angeles native and 1980 U.S. Women’s Open champion Amy Alcott will be the guest speaker. Alcott used to sneak on to Riviera as a teen, and Kim-Schaad hopes to hear a few more stories from the World Golf Hall of Famer.

“Golf history is golf history,” said Kim-Schaad, who missed the cut in her other Women’s Open start in 2020 at Champions Golf Club. “I think it’s wonderful that women get woven into that now as part of it. Hopefully there will be some really special moments [because] there are so many talented people in this field.”

As for a favorite hole, Kim-Schaad provided a response that most will agree with: “I don’t have a favorite. I treat them all equally with love and care.”

Welcome to Riviera.

David Shefter is a senior staff writer at the USGA. Email him at dshefter@usga.org.