Els, Woods Head List of Contenders For L.A. Open Title Once again, most eyes will be on Tiger Woods

The PGA's West Coast swing hits its second to the last stop this week with the 2000 Nissan Open. The historic event, which is played at Riviera Country Club, celebrates its 74th anniversary of being managed by the Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce, making it the oldest civic-sponsored event on the PGA Tour.

1999 champion Ernie Els returns to try and defend his title but as it has been for the last six months, most eyes will be on Tiger Woods. The PGA's top player had his consecutive win streak snapped by Phil Mickelson at last week's Buick Invitational, so the golfing world is interested to see how Woods reacts to his first loss in nearly six months of action.

The 1992 L.A. Open was the scene of Woods' first appearance at a PGA event, when he was given a sponsor's exemption as a 16-year-old. The then sophomore at Western High School in Anaheim posted rounds of 72-75 and missed the cut but even then his galleries rivaled the size of any player in the field, including John Daly and Fred Couples.

If weather predictions hold up, rain could be a factor in deciding the outcome. Playing to 7,056 yards, Riviera has always favored long hitters and if rain comes and slows down the fairways, long hitters like Els, Woods and Couples would be even heavier favorites.

Couples is always a factor at Riviera and his game appears to be taking shape as he plays for the third consecutive week. Couples, who finished fifth last week at the Buick, is a two-time winner of the L.A. Open and didn't miss a cut at Riviera in all nine tries in the '90s. In addition, he is beloved by Southern California golf fans and always draws huge galleries of support.

Els is certainly capable of repeating. Possessing length off the tee and a solid short game, he has necessary requirements to tame Riviera. He battled Woods at last month's Mercedes Championships and had it not been for a few dramatic putts by Woods, Els would have walked away with the prize.

Because next week's World Golf Championship's are down the road at La Costa, this year's L.A. Open field features as strong a field as it has in years. Among the players scheduled to tee it up are: Carlos Franco, Tom Lehman, Jesper Parnevik, Nick Price, Hal Sutton, Ted Tryba, Mike Weir and Lee Westwood.

In three starts this season, Lehman has three top-10 finishes, including a win at Phoenix. He also won the unofficial Williams World Challenge, giving him a lot of confidence heading into the tournament. Parnevik also has had top-10 finishes in his first three starts this season, including a win at the Bob Hope. In 17 rounds this year, he is 46-under. In last year's third round, Tryba had a chance to shoot 59 heading into 18th but settled for 61.

With such a strong field it's unlikely that any player will run away and hide over the four days. That means the tournament could come down to the final few holes. Number 17 is a par-5 that features a two-tiered green and gives players a chance to make up one or two strokes late in a round.

The 18th at Riviera, named Hogan's Alley in honor of the legendary Ben Hogan, is a classic finishing hole. Last year Woods had a chance to catch Els as he stood at the tee on 18, but a bad tee shot ended any hope for birdie and the title.

74th Los Angeles Open

When: Feb. 17-20
Where: Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades, CA.
1999 champion: Ernie Els
Purse: $3.1 million ($556,000 first-place prize)
Yardage/Par: 7,056 yards, par 71
Tournament record: 264, 20-under (Lanny Wadkins, 1985)

February 15, 2000