This week on PGA Tour: Northern Trust Open
With the news that Tiger Woods is close to a return to the PGA Tour and the first WGC event teeing it up next week in Arizona, this week’s stop on the PGA Tour, the Northern Trust Open, is being lost in the shuffle a bit.
But it’s played at Riviera, one of the most historic courses on Tour. Riviera has narrow fairways, changes in elevation and smaller-than-average sized greens – thus shotmaking, creativity and precision are more important than raw power. In 2008, Riviera ranked as the 13th toughest course on Tour, producing 1,313 birdies and eagles and 1,661 scores of bogey or worse. So this should be the toughest challenge for the pros so far this year.
(Here’s an interesting stat about Riviera, even though it involves two players not in the field: Tiger and Jack Nicklaus have never won there)
You might want to put some money down on Mike Weir on WagerWeb.com this week. He won this event in 2003 and 2004, and he has started 2009 strong with a second at Pebble Beach last week and a tie for third at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. He did miss the cut here last year but enters ranked in the top 10 in scrambling and proximity to the hole.
Phil Mickelson is the defending champion of this event and is one of five of the world’s top 10 entered this week, joining Padraig Harrington, Vijay Singh, Geoff Ogilvy and Kenny Perry. Eleven former winners of the event are in the field.
A year ago, Mickelson took a four-stroke lead through 36 holes, led Jeff Quinney by one stroke going into the final round and won by two strokes. But Lefty, the WagerWeb.com favorite this week, has struggled in his first three events of 2009, missing the cut, finishing tied for 42nd and finishing tied for 55th. He has yet to break 70 this year.
“I’m making some big mistakes score-wise,” he said. “It’s been more challenging this year, for whatever reason.”
Lefty has won on the West Coast seven of the last nine years, and he has had at least two top 10s on the West Coast during that stretch. The two years he won the Masters (2004, 2006), he had at least four top 10s in California and Arizona. The Tour heads to Florida after next week’s stop in Arizona.
Meanwhile, Harrington, the reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year, has two top-10 finishes in two career starts at the Northern Trust Open, including a tie for third last year.
Don’t forget about Fred Couples, who will be making his 27th start at the Northern Trust Open. Couples is a two-time champion of the event, winning in 1990 and 1992. His record at the tournament includes 24 made cuts, 18 top-25 finishes and 12 top-10 finishes.
Charles Howell III beat Mickelson in a playoff in 2007 and has never missed a cut in seven starts at Riviera, with four top-10s. He enters this week ranking 15th in scoring average.
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