The 2015 NoTrust Open Is Ready And Set For Riviera!

/

With the demise of the WGC Match Play as a February event, the 2015 Northern Trust Open field at Riviera took a noticeable star power hit.

In 2014, with the match play the week after the Northern Trust Open, the field included 16 of the world's top 30 and 26 of the top 50.

This year, it's 11 of the world top 30 are in the field and 18 of the top 50.

SB Nation has a nice round up of viewing times and tournament notes.

I discussed Riviera's history with Matt Ginella on Wednesday's Morning Drive.

Earlier in the week we talked Riviera's design.

As always, the 10th hole is receiving much attention and now gets long overdue "Live@" coverage starting at 7 am PT and going all day.

Here's the link. DirecTV subscribers can also watch the coverage all four days on their televisions (the PGA Tour and DirecTV just re-upped for give years). 

Wake Forest Freshman Posts 67 At Riviera First Time Around

/

I could only take in a bit of the inaugural Northern Trust Open Collegiate Showcase Closed To The Public--make sure to hear Gary Williams nit-pick about that last part on Morning Drive--so I can't tell you all of the details of Will Zalatoris' round.

However...just to remind you how wonderful it is to be young, the freshman who hasn't been playing much in because of winter weather posted a 67 around Riviera playing the course for the first time, with alum Bill Haas and two other alums. And did it on a foggy day (adding a few hundred yards to the course) while way, way too many groups of briefcases turned the place into a 6-hour round fest.

John Dell of the Winston-Salem Journal on the first amateur qualifier in years at the event formerly known as the Los Angeles Open.

Zalatoris, the winner of the U.S. Junior Amateur last summer, had a solid fall season for the Deacons. He is part of a Deacons’ team that is ranked in the top 10 by Golfweek heading into the spring.

“I’m excited,” said Zalatoris. “I’m really not even nervous about it. I’m only 18 and I’m learning. I’m enjoying the moment for sure. I played with Bill Haas today, so it was so cool getting advice from him. It’s crazy fun. I’m just going to enjoy myself and be in the moment. I’m here to play golf, not think about winning the tournament. It’s my first PGA Tour event, so I’ll see how my game stands up and we’ll go from there.”

In the group best ball portion of the proceedings, Will Gray reports that Oregon's ringers were just one shot better than A&M's.

In an unprecedented event, college players teamed with one professional and two amateurs from their university. While the collegians played their own ball in a de facto 14-for-1 qualifier, the other three players in each group played a best-ball tournament where a $50,000 donation was awarded for first place. The Oregon team led by Casey Martin took top honors, defeating Ryan Palmer's Texas A&M squad by one shot.

Robert Allenby’s Credit Card Thief Nabbed; His Kidnappers To Remain At Large In Perpetuity

/

Honolulu strip club regulars and tourists walking of the Amuse Wine Bar can breathe a big sigh as police have caught the man who took Robert Allenby's credit cards while the Australian PGA Tour golfer lay passed out after hitting his head on a rock.

Though Allenby concocted for multiple television interviews a story of kidnapping and ditch dumps and what sounded like offspring of the Manson family beating him up for national television, the Honolulu Police Department spokesman tells the Herald Sun's Aleks Devic that the media exposing the contradictions made their job more difficult.

A Honolulu PD spokesman said Allenby’s version of events as “very consistent” throughout and criticised media coverage of the incident, which he said had made the police’s investigation more difficult.

When asked if police believed the suspect had obtained the cards from a passed out Allenby, the police spokesman said: “We’re not speculating as to how he got it. We know he had it and he used it.”