Northern Trust Open

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Tournament information
Northern Trust Open

Location	Pacific Palisades, California
Established	1926
Course(s)	Riviera Country Club
Par	71
Yardage	7,279
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Format	Stroke play
Purse	$6,200,000
Month Played	February
Tournament record scores
Aggregate	264 Lanny Wadkins (1985)
To-par	-20 Lanny Wadkins (1985)
Current champion
Phil Mickelson

The Northern Trust Open, formerly known as the Nissan Open and originally known as the Los Angeles Open, is a regular golf tournament on the PGA Tour. It is played annually in February in Pacific Palisades, California. The tournament has been contested at the Riviera Country Club on a near-continuous basis since 1973. Chicago based Northern Trust Corporation, a leading provider of investment management, asset and fund administration, fiduciary and banking solutions for corporations, institutions and affluent individuals worldwide is the current sponsor of the event.

1 History
2 Winners
3 References
4 External links

[edit] History

Prior to World War II, the event led a nomadic existence, moving from course to course. The inaugural event in 1926 was played at Los Angeles Country Club in Los Angeles, California; in 1927 the event moved to El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana, California for the first and only time. In 1928 the event moved again to Wilshire Country Club, also in Los Angeles. 1929 and 1930 saw the event's first foray to Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades before returning again to Los Angeles for the next decade. From 1931-33, the event alternated between Wilshire CC and Hillcrest Country Club, before returning to Los Angeles CC from 1934-36. From 1937-39 the event was played at Griffith Park before returning to Los Angeles CC in 1940. Babe Zaharias played in the 1938 event, being the first woman to play in a professional golf tournament for men.

In 1941, the event returned to Riviera CC and in 1942 was played again at Hillcrest CC before World War II intervened.

The event started up again in 1944 at Wilshire CC before spending the next 9 years (1945-53) at Riviera CC. In 1954 the event was played at Fox Hills Country Club on land that is now in Culver City, California and in 1955 moved to Inglewood Country Club in Inglewood, California. From 1956-72, the event returned to Los Angeles, being played at Rancho Park Golf Course, with the exception of 1968 when the event was played at Brookside Golf Course in Pasadena, California.

In 1973, the event began its current relationship with Riviera CC, where it has been played every year since with the exception of 1998. In that year, Riviera CC was hosting the U.S. Senior Open later that year and, in an effort to preserve the course, the event was played at Valencia Country Club in Valencia, California.

In 2005, the tournament was shortened by 36 holes due to rain. Adam Scott defeated Chad Campbell on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff on a Monday. Due to the event's length, this win is counted as unofficial for Scott.

In September 2007, it was originally announced that Bearing Point, a McLean, Virginia based consulting firm, would become the new title sponsor of the tournament.

However, on October 15, 2007, Northern Trust, one of the nation's largest personal trust companies and a leading provider of wealth management services, became the title sponsor of the PGA Tour's tournament at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, beginning in February 2008.

The five-year agreement, which extends through the 2012 event, was announced October 15, 2007, by PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem and William A. Osborn, Chairman and CEO of Northern Trust Corporation^[1]. The tournament will be known as the Northern Trust Open, and the new partnership marks the beginning of a process of transformation for this high-profile tournament.

As part of the initial move to enhance the tournament, the Northern Trust Open will increase its purse to $6.2 million in 2008, an increase of $1 million over this year. Additionally, the tournament pro-am will go from four amateurs to three per group. Further changes and upgrades are planned and will be announced at a later date.