Riviera Country Club Names General Chairman, Tournament Director for 2017 US Amateur

(LOS ANGELES, CA) — The Riviera Country Club corporate officer Michael R. Yamaki has been named the General Chairman and Thomas Pulchinski has been selected tournament director for the 2017 United States Amateur Golf Championship to be played at Riviera from August 14-20, 2017.

Michael R. Yamaki

In addition to Yamaki’s duties in managing one of the most prestigious golf clubs in the country at The Riviera Country Club, he is one of the most active community and civic members in the city of Los Angeles.

Yamaki has been very involved in the world of sports and entertainment as he currently serves as a Board of Directors for the Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission. He is a former member of the Los Angeles Convention Center Commission and is the former Director of Golf for the State of Hawaii.

Yamaki has been a member of the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation, a member of the Board of Directors for D.A.R.E America, a member of the Los Angeles Advisory Board for the Children’s Scholarship Fund; and legal counsel for the Japanese American Citizen League, which is the oldest Japanese American civil rights organization in the United States.

In addition to the above, he has also held active roles in the Los Angeles Fire Department as President of the Los Angeles Fire Commission, and in the Los Angeles Police Department.  As a former member of the Los Angeles Police Commission, he was specifically responsible for the review of all officer involved shootings.  He was also a member of the Use of Force Task Force for the Los Angeles Police Commission.  He is currently a member of the International Association of Chief of Police and a Board of Director for the DEA Educational Foundation.

Yamaki was the Senior Advisor to Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca. Previous to that he was the Appointments Secretary to California Governor Gray Davis.  In addition he was a member of the California Medical Assistance Commission and former public advisory director of Blue Cross of California. He was a Commissioner to the Department of Justice Commission on Peace Officer Standards & Training. He was the administrative coordinator of the Narcotics Information Clinic California Council Criminal Justice Department.

Yamaki has been named as one of the 100 Most Influential attorneys in California by the Daily Journal. He was AV rated by Martindale-Hubbel and a former Master of the Bench of the Inn of Court. He is a member of the California State Bar Association and a delegate to the State Bar for two years.  He is a past President of the Japanese American Bar Association and he is currently a member of the LAW-HELP-CALIFORNIA Task Force which provides pro bono services to disaster victims.

Yamaki is a life member of the Magic Castle and a former student of famed Bruce Cervon.

Pulchinski is very familiar with The Riviera Country Club and running major events.

For the past 25 years, Pulchinski has been instrumental in playing a part in the success of the Nissan Open and Northern Trust Open.  He was the Tournament Director for the Nissan Open and Northern Trust Open as a member of the Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce staff from 1992 to 2010.  When the PGA TOUR took over management of the tournament in 2010, Pulchinski became the Tournament Manager of the event.

Pulchinski has served as the tournament manager in a volunteer capacity for the 2012 NCAA National Golf Championship held at Riviera and the 2015 Special Olympics World Games at Griffith Park Golf Course.

Pulchinski’s sports career also has include professional baseball, where he worked for the Houston Astros at Covington, VA in 1972; and then served as General Manager of the Waterloo Baseball Club (1975-77) and the Wichita Aeros Baseball Club (1978). He joined the Cleveland Indians front office and was Director of Sales and Marketing from 1979 to 1985.

In addition to baseball, Pulchinski worked at the Hollywood Park Race Track in Inglewood, where he was Director of Marketing in 1986 and he also was the Executive Director of the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, LA in 1987 and 1988.

Pulchinski, who resides in Los Angeles, earned his B.S. degree in Business Management from Arizona State University. He played baseball there for two years and served as an assistant coach for two years.

The U.S. Amateur was first played in 1895 and is the USGA’s oldest championship. The championship is open to amateur golfers with a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 2.4.

Riviera will become the 11th course to have hosted the U.S. Open, U.S. Senior Open and U.S. Amateur.

Riviera, designed by George C. Thomas Jr. and opened for play in 1927, has played host to two PGA Championships in 1983 and 1995, one U.S. Open in 1948 and one U.S. Senior Open in 1998.

Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles will serve as the companion course for the stroke-play rounds for the 2017 U.S. Amateur. Bel-Air has hosted two USGA championships—the 1976 U.S. Amateur and the 2004 USGA Senior Amateur.

For further information on tickets, sponsorship packages and merchandise for the U.S. Amateur at The Riviera Country Club, call (213) 236-239. Anyone interested in volunteering for the event can do so by emailing Tiffany Rockman at trockman@lasec.us.