The Making of Hogan’s Alley
There are champions, and then there are legends. At Riviera Country Club, no name compares to Ben Hogan. A three-time winner of the LA Open, Hogan cemented his name in the record books as one of the top professional golfers in the games storied history.
Hogan’s first victory in Los Angeles came in 1942 at Hilcrest Country Club. Hogan’s playoff victory over Jimmy Thompson earned him a $10,000 winners paycheck, one of the largest in professional golf at the time. A year later, Hogan would not have the opportunity to defend his title as the LA Open was not held due to World War II. Hogan used the time away from golf to join the U.S. Air Force and served as a utility pilot with a rank of lieutenant.
Once the tournament returned, Hogan would once again assert his reign over LA.
In a span of 18 months, Hogan claimed victory at Riviera not once, but three times. His winning streak began at the 1947 LA Open, his second tournament win but first at Riviera. Despite shooting an even-par 71 during the final round, Hogan set what was then the tournament record of 280. A year later during the 1948 tournament, Hogan returned to successfully defend his LA Open title, becoming the second player in tournament history to in win back-to-back years.
As if two consecutive victories at Riviera in the LA Open weren’t enough, a mere four months later, Hogan returned to Riviera for golf’s toughest as LA hosted the 48th U.S. Open. Hogan did what he did the previous two times he teed it up at Riviera; he won and left no doubt that Riviera was his stage.
In what would be his first of his four U.S. Open victories, Hogan dominated from tee to green on the course he knew all too well. Winning by two strokes, Hogan shot a final score of 276, a record that shattered the previous mark by five shots and stood for nearly two decades. It was this defining moment and win that would cement him not only as a dominant figure in the game but forever intertwine his excellence with The Riviera County Club.
In the brief window from 1947 to 1948, Hogan was a staggering 21-under-par across three tournaments at Riviera, turning the course’s demanding layout into a personal showcase. It was a stretch so dominant that sportswriters gave Riviera a new nickname— Hogan’s Alley.
Hogan rewrote the standard for what greatness looked like under pressure, in an era when the game was only just beginning to understand what was possible. Today, that stretch of brilliance lives on in the hills of Pacific Palisades.
Just outside the clubhouse, a statue of Hogan stands above the 18th green, the final stage where champions are crowned as echoes from the crowd roar. It’s a tribute not just to a man, but to a mastery that helped define a century of golf in Los Angeles.
CELEBRATING 100 YEARS
The Genesis Invitational continues a longstanding tradition of professional golf in Los Angeles. Debuting in 1926 as the Los Angeles Open at Los Angeles Country Club, the tournament was staged at various courses around the Los Angeles area before finding its permanent home at The Riviera Country Club. For a century the tournament has played host to iconic moments, legendary champions and defining chapters in the game of golf. In this special series, we look back on a century of tournament history and Celebrating 100 years of memorable golf stories.