While Rory McIlroy deemed the extended 4th hole horrible, he stopped short of calling it unfair. But that wasn’t the case for Matt Fitzpatrick on the 10th hole on Friday, all because of a missed shot.

“I don’t know about crying on each other’s shoulders, but I just don’t think it’s a fair golf hole, so I’ll just leave it at that,” said Matt Fitzpatrick after the second round.

On Thursday, Fitzpatrick made a birdie on this hole after hitting a wedge to just thirteen inches from the cup for a tap-in. But on Friday, Fitzpatrick’s wedge shot missed its landing spot by a single inch, only to catch a contour and roll into a front bunker. Higgo suffered a nasty break of his own after driving into the front bunker. He hit an ‘excellent’ recovery that failed to hold the narrow green and rolled off the back into another bunker.

Aaron Rai, who had the best result in the whole group after day one, also carded a bogey on that particular hole. Even World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was not immune to the 10th hole’s volatility. During his opening round, Scheffler also struggled here and made a bogey.

The 10th hole at Riviera is widely celebrated as one of the world’s premier short par-4s, measuring approximately 315 yards. George C. Thomas Jr. designed it, and the 12th hole at Pine Valley inspires it. Though Thomas initially omitted bunkers because he felt the Pine Valley version was too difficult. But over time, deep bunkers were added to guard the narrow, ‘cigar-shaped’ green, which is sloped from back to front and side to side. In the weather-plagued Riviera, it just became more dangerous.

Before the tenth hole stole the show, the fourth hole was the main talk as officials lengthened this par-3 to a massive 273 yards. This made it one of the longest par 3s on the PGA Tour.

Rory McIlroy called it a horrible change because the grass does not help players. He argued that the sticky Kikuyu grass stops the ball from rolling onto the green.

“I actually think it’s a horrible change,” McIlroy said before the start of the event. “Well, like 15 percent of the field hit the green last time when it was played at its original yardage at 230.”

Jordan Spieth called the hole the only weak spot on this course. Collin Morikawa said players have to hit and hope for luck. Morikawa noted that nobody can really control where the ball lands from that far away.

Even the 15th tee wasn’t spared from complaint. So, in 2022, Viktor Hovland decided to drive it down the 17th fairway off the 15th tee at Riviera to give a better angle to the green. The following year, the organizers had placed a scoreboard in the way to “protect the integrity of the hole,” but the Norwegian pro still hit it down the 17th twice by moving to the left side of the tee box. However, this year, they’ve actually placed 2 large trees that seemingly take the option fully out of play. The golfer shared this on Instagram, expressing disappointment.

However, despite his frustration with the 10th, Matt Fitzpatrick remains a significant contender. After opening with a 69 (-2), he posted a stellar 66 (-5) on Friday. He currently sits at 7-under par and is tied for 5th place heading into the third round.

Fitzpatrick’s and Scheffler’s struggles are just the latest chapter in a long history of Riviera humbling the world’s best. The course has developed a reputation as a riddle that even the greatest players, from Jack Nicklaus to Tiger Woods, have failed to solve.

The Riviera riddle ranges from Jack Nicklaus to Scottie Scheffler

Since Ben Hogan celebrated his last win, the Riviera Country Club continues to exert its unique power over the game’s greatest legends. The Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus, played here several times and never won. Even the great Tiger Woods, who hosts the $20 million Genesis Invitational, is zero for fourteen. This is the most starts he has made at any course without a win.

Scottie Scheffler is currently falling into the same trap as the legends before him. He had a nightmare start with a five-over-par early on. It was statistically the worst 10-hole start of his entire PGA Tour career, surpassing his 4-over start at the 2014 Byron Nelson when he was a 17-year-old amateur.

Scheffler struggled uncharacteristically on the greens, lipping out short putts and even chipping into a bunker from just off the green at the 10th. However, he began a gritty recovery on Friday morning, birdieing holes 13 and 14 to finish his first round with a 74 (+3). He has since managed to claw his way back to even par (T43) and looks likely to keep his streak of 67 consecutive made cuts alive.