PGA TOUR Northern Trust Open Preview

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Northern trust Open at Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades , California

With back-to-back wins and a runner-up performance in 2007, World No 2 Phil Mickelson is the favorite this week to capture his third consecutive victory at Riviera CC.

Last year, Mickelson had built a four-stroke lead over Argentine Andres Romero going into the last round, but a 1-over 72 Sunday saw Phil barely hang on when Steve Stricker came charging, beating him ultimately by a stroke.

Mickelson, after a thorough preparation, opened his 2010 season last week at the Farmers Insurance Open in La Jolla, where he finished 19th. Besides the Northern Trust Open, Mickelson captured the WGC-CA Championship and THE TOUR Championship titles in the fall last year to finish second in the Fedex Cup.

Mickelson is the only modern player to win all four current California PGA TOUR events. He’ ll be trying to become the first player to win the Northern Trust Open three years in a row.

He will face tough competition, with Stricker, Rory Sabbatini who has always done well at Riviera CC, and the 2010 debut of Ireland’s Padraig Harrington and Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa among others.

Robert Allenby came close in his two starts this year. The Australian, one of the best ball-sticker in the game, hasn’t won since 2001, but his improve putting stroke should pay dividends pretty soon.

World-ranked No 5 Jim Furyk is looking to return to the winner’s circle, as does other Major winner world No 8 Harrington after droughts.

With a perfect forecast for the first round, and a course that held up well after all the rain it got the last two weeks, the players should be off to a hot start at Riviera.

With the deepest field since the start of the season, this should be an exciting tournament.

Check out the odds and the pairings at BetPhoenix.com Sportsbook, and have fun backing your favorite players.

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PGA TOUR Northern Trust Open Preview

PGA TOUR Northern Trust Open Preview

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