Golf Events / Editor / 21 February 2007 / Leave a Comment

Phil Mickelson was not planning to play this week but his victory at Pebble Beach at the weekend has persuaded him to take on the strongest field of the year at the Nissan Open.

Mickelson was so pleased with his performance in winning the 30th PGA Tour title of his career by five shots that he is itching for the action to start at the Riviera Country Club in California - despite his poor record in the event in the past.

The world number four has never finished better than 15th at the Nissan Open, has not played in the tournament since 2001 and has missed the cut on four of the eight occasions he has played.

But his display at the AT & T Pebble Beach has provided a major boost to his confidence and he will start favourite for this week's event, where he is trading at 11 to win and 3.3 to place in the top five.

Facing him will be a field that oozes class and titles and is the best assembled so far this year, with eight of the world's top ten, 15 of the top 20 and 36 of the top 50 in the world in action.

Past champions Ernie Els and Adam Scott are both fancied to do well and are available to back at 13.5 to win, ahead of Jim Furyk (16), FedEx Cup leader Vijay Singh (18.5) and debutant Retief Goosen (21).

Mickelson's first three performances of the season suggested he was still struggling to banish the memory of his collapse at the final hole of last year's 2006 US Open.

But that was all forgotten last week as he romped to a comprehensive win to take his PGA career earnings over the $40 million mark.

Armed with a new Callaway driver, Mickelson says he has never driven the ball so well and his game was so good at Pebble Beach that he finished in the top five for driving accuracy, distance, greens in regulation and putting - the area of his game that had let him down so far.

If he produces similar statistics this week the Californian will be a difficult man to beat, but backers should remember he is playing a course where he has never excelled in the past and where the onus is very much on accuracy.

The 7,260-yard course is renowned for its cunning dog-legs, shrewd bunkering and small but firm green and that will be the case again this year with very little rain having fallen in the area over the winter.

While Mickelson has struggled at the Nissan Open, Els and Scott have certainly not and have the pedigree of being past winners of the event, in 1999 and 2005 respectively.

Els has been a different player since his victory at the South African Open in December and will be full of confidence as he makes his first appearance on the PGA Tour this year.

The South African, 3.75 to place in the first five this week, has finished in the top ten in his last 11 tournaments while he has not been out of the top three in his last three starts, suggesting he is comfortable with all areas of his game at the moment.

Scott returns to action after a five-week break but is expected to make a bold showing on one of his favourite courses, having finished runner-up to Rory Sabbatini (120 to win) in his defence of his title last year.

The 26-year-old has only played once so far this season but only Vijay Singh was too good for him on that occasion at the Mercedes-Benz Championship, and he is favourite to finish top Australian this week at 3 ahead of Geoff Ogilvy and Robert Allenby (both 7), Stuart Appleby (7.2) and the in-form Aaron Baddeley (11).

Singh, trading at 4.6 to place in the top five, deservedly heads the PGA standings after making a good start to the season, while the Nissan Open could be tailor-made for Furyk's accurate game.

The world number two is ranked first in greens in regulation and third in driving accuracy in 2007 but, uncharacteristically for him, is languishing outside the top 100 for putting.

Despite this, he has still managed top ten finishes in his last two tournaments and if Furyk, who can be backed at 3.9 to finish in the top five and 2.4 to come in the top ten, can find his feet on the greens it could be his week.

Goosen will be brimming with confidence as he tackles the event for the first time after his victory in Qatar on his last outing while Luke Donald (32 to win) and 2006 Order of Merit winner Padraig Harrington (36 to win) will lead the European challenge.

Sergio Garcia will also be back in action in America for the first time this year and is available to back at 46 to win and 9.2 to come in the first five but it may pay to follow Australians Allenby and Nick O'Hern.

Allenby, 48 to win with Ogilvy, has not been successful on the PGA Tour since winning here in 2001 but has finished in the top ten in his three appearances in 2007 while O'Hern's game will be suited by the tight and accurate demands of the course.

The left-hander is a man in form after only losing out to Goosen on the final green in Qatar and looks good value at 95 to win, 15.5 to come in first five and 7 to place in the top ten.

Canadian Mike Weir has won the Nissan Open twice but missed the cut last week and is still coming to terms with changes in his swing, and the prices available on the likes of Jeff Quinney, Baddeley and Bart Bryant make more appeal.

Quinney, available at 120 to win and 19 to come in the top five, should have beaten Baddeley at this month's FBR Open but is a man in form with the putter at the moment and that could count for a lot this week.

Baddeley, trading at the same price as O'Hern, followed up his FBR win with a good showing last week and is playing at the top of his game while Bryant is second in the standings for greens in regulation hit this year and fifth in scrambling and, at 75 to win and 15.5 to come in the first five, appears attractively priced.

It could also be worthwhile paying attention to veteran Corey Pavin, who won here in 1994 and 1995 and showed his well-being with a top ten finish at Pebble Beach last week. He is trading at 24 to place in the first five and 150 to win.

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