IN THE BUNKER WITH MICK THE GRIP

AFTER A TEMPORARY relocation in 2025 due to wildfires, the Genesis Invitational returns to Riviera 19-22nd  February. The club will also host the 2026 U.S. Womens Open.   Reckoned a difficult course, notable exceptions to the list of winners at Riviera are Jack Nicklaus  and Tiger Woods.

Riviera opened in the Santa Monica Canyon, California,  in 1926.  It cost over $200,000 to build, making it one of the most expensive courses in America.  The 1952 film Pat and Mike, starring Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy was filmed at Riviera, as was The Caddy, starring Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin, and Follow the Sun, about Ben Hogan, starring Glen Ford. 

Riviera’s many famous members included Humphrey Bogart, Peter Falk, Dean Martin, Gregory Peck, Howard Hughes, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks.  The actor Conrad Veidt died of a heart attack at the club in 1943, probably after being presented wth his bar bill.

PEDRENA, A NORTHERN SPANISH town near Santander, was where Seve Ballesteros was born on April 9th, 1957 and passed away on May 7th  2011.  In between, he won The Masters twice and The Open three times while also leading Team Europe to four Ryder Cup victories and a retaining tie during eight appearances as a player and one as captain. 

The Spanish legend also achieved 45 European Tour titles, two World Cup wins with Spain and six European Tour Order of Merit victories.

Pedrena commissioned a life-size bronze statue to be placed in the heart of the town, showing Seve’s famous fist-pumping pose after winning the 1984 Open at St Andrews.  His  dramatic birdie on the 18th gave him a 12 under par victory, defeating Tom Watson by two strokes.

 Unbelievably, the statue was recently stolen, and a man was arrested after it was found chopped up in his yard for scrap..  The council said: “If anyone has observed suspicious movements please let the local police know.”   I should think the culprit  suspiciously staggering away with a life size bronze statue probably gave them a hint.

IN THE 1987 RYDER CUP at Muirfield Village Ben Crenshaw got off to a poor start in the singles, and his frustration got the better of him as he went two-down. Walking off the green he slammed his Wilson 8802 putter into the ground, and It snapped.  Whether intentionally or not, Ben had broken his putter in anger, so according to the Rules he wasn’t allowed a replacement.

For the rest of the round he had to putt with his long-irons, and he did so very effectively until Eamonn Darcy holed a heroic putt on the 18th to win one-up.  Under the new 2025 Rules players may now replace a damaged club like for like during a round as long as the damage was not caused by abuse.  Good news for players with short fuses, although the Ben Crenshaws of this world could probably  putt effectively with a broom handle if they had to.

KEVIN NA’s  FOUR-YEAR stint at LIV Golf League ended in January. The 42-year-old five-time PGA Tour winner had previously collected $38 million in prize money and his LIV earnings  have considerably increased his pile of noodles. However, he does not qualify for the PGA Tour’s Returning Member Program and will probably be banned from all their associated tournaments until at least September. 

His short-term options  are either play on the Asian Tour or obtain sponsor’s invites to DP World Tour events, eventually ending up back on the PGA Tour. There will probaby be groans at his reappearance, arguably the slowest player on Tour he reportedly has to wake his opponent to tell him it’s his turn to putt.

IN 1965 LEE TREVINO was mowing the lawn in front of his Dallas home when an expensive car pulled up.  Do you speak English? the lady driver enquired. “Yes Ma’am, can I help you?”  he answered,  “How much do you charge for your work?” she wanted to  know.  Trevino scratched his head.  “The lady in this house lets me sleep with her,” he smiled.  The expensive car promptly accelerated away.

  Until next time: Happy Golfing.

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