Power Rankings: Phil Mickelson Primed to Shine in Hollywood

February 16 2011 Last updated at 03:25 PM ET

The PGA Tour travels down the California coast to Los Angeles for the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club. Surprisingly, the weather won't be perfect this week, but that's nothing new for this season. Forecasts call for a chance of rain everyday but Sunday, which might help soften and slow down the greens.

It's another strong field, with a number of players making their 2011 debut. Here's how we see the week shaking out, beginning with our favorites:

1. Phil Mickelson -- He's regaining confidence in his game and no one has earned more money at the Northern Trust Open, which makes him the easy choice this week. While it would be nice to see Lefty close out an event, we won't pick against him as he tries to become the first three-time winner at this even since Arnold Palmer did it in 1967.

2. Steve Stricker -- Last year's winner mainly makes it on track record. Stricker took this tournament off for three years before returning to finish T11, second and first the last three years. In his only two starts this year, Stricker finished T4 and T9. It's hard to argue that anyone has played as well as the him the last two years -- five total wins and back-to-back runner-up finishes in the FedEx Cup standings. A win this week would make a great birthday gift for the man that turns 44 next week.

3. Matt Kuchar -- Don't forget about Kuchar, who took the last three weeks off. He opened the year with three straight top 10s, where he only shot two rounds outside of the 60s (both of those were only 70). You won't find a flaw in the three-time Tour winner's game right now. He ranks inside the top five on Tour in driving accuracy, greens in regulation, birdie average, and all-around.

4. Bill Haas -- Haas must have taken the AT&T off to work on his game after falling all the way down to a T29 finish at the WMPO. All kidding aside, you could argue that he's played the best golf on Tour this year. A final-round 76 in Scottsdale kept him from his fourth straight top 10 to start 2011. You can ignore his missed cuts the last two starts here because his game is solid.

5. Luke Donald -- The Northern Trust Open is a great place for Donald to begin his 2011 campaign. He's notched three straight top 10s at Riviera, including a runner-up finish in 2010. There shouldn't be much rust to shake off either. When we last saw Donald at the end of the year, he had recorded a top-three finish in four of his final six starts.

*****

When you think of sleepers, these names might not typically be classified that way. Look for these non-favorites to have a good chance:

1. Jason Day -- The young Australian hasn't made a start since the Tour left Hawaii, but he recorded a T9 and a T20 while on the islands. In fact, he has finished outside of the top 20 just once in his previous eight starts. While his sample size is a bit smaller than most of the Tour, Day ranks first all-around.

2. Steve Marino -- He nearly went wire-to-wire last week at Pebble Beach but had to settle for his second top-five finish in four starts this year. Marino is 31 under in 15 rounds this year so he's close to his first Tour victory. He recorded back-to-back top-five finishes a year ago at Pebble Beach and Riviera and has a great chance to do it again.

3. Louis Oosthuizen -- Last year's British Open champion will make his debut as a PGA Tour member this week at Riviera. He commented after a practice round that he enjoys playing on the kikuyu fairways so it should be a smooth adjustment for the South African. He has been playing well to start the year, recording a win last month in Europe.

4. Charles Howell III -- The 2007 winner has been pretty consistent at this event having only one missed cut in his previous nine starts at Riviera. Along with his win, he lost in a playoff to Mike Weir in 2003. Howell missed the cut in his last start at the WMPO, but he took last week off. Hopefully the rest helps him return to the form that produced two top-15 finishes at the end of January.

5. Ryo Ishikawa -- The youngest player in the field at 19, Ishikawa will be making his third start at Riviera, where he tied for 32nd last year. Best known for his final-round 58 on the Japan Tour last year, Ishikawa has all of the talent but lacks the experience. His three wins on the Japan Tour in 2010 should give him the confidence to play with the best in Los Angeles.

*****

These guys might normally make a list of favorites but avoid them this week:

Jim Furyk -- We hesitate to move last year's FedEx Cup Champion to this list so early in the season, but he needs to figure some things out. Furyk averages just three missed cuts per season since 2007 but already has two in three 2011 starts. His stats show it's not a fluke right now with a scoring average over par and a 130th all-around ranking.

Mike Weir -- One of four two-time winners in the field this week, Weir has been struggling in 2011 as he tries to return from a elbow injury that cut his 2010 short. The Canadian has broken 70 just once in 11 rounds, while missing two cuts in three events. His only weekend finish ended in a tie for 77th.

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