Best field of year this week at Northern Trust Open

You know that spring and the Masters are right around the corner once the PGA Tour finishes off its California Swing, and that will be the case following this weekend’s Northern Trust Open, which is held at historic Riviera Country Club just outside Hollywood.

This field is easily the best of the season so far on the PGA Tour. With five of the world’s Top 10 and 29 of the Top 50 overall. No, the top three in the world, Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Tiger Woods aren’t here. But Top 10 players Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker, Paul Casey, Jim Furyk and Luke Donald are. The field would have been even stronger but likely contenders Ernie Els and Nick Watney withdrew early this week.

There are really two reasons why this such a strong field. First off, many of the top Europeans are playing – sans Westwood, Kaymer and Rory McIlroy – so they can get accustomed to U.S. golf conditions ahead of next week’s WGC-Match Play (plus the Euro Tour event isn’t great this week). Secondly, Riviera itself has an allure. The course known as Hogan’s Alley is one of the most popular stops on tour and it has hosted three majors in its history, including the 1948 U.S. Open won by Hogan.

Mickelson has opened as the 10/1 favorite. He finished T45 here last year but the three previous to that finished: 1^st, 1^st and runner-up. Lefty is still chasing his first victory since last year’s Masters but has been in contention twice already this season. Since playing his way onto the PGA Tour in 1991, Mickelson has never gone back-to-back years without a victory on the West Coast swing. He didn’t win one last year and doesn’t have one this year.

Stricker (18/1) was dominating the field last year with a six-shot lead after 54 holes before nearly coughing it up. He ended up winning by two over Donald. Stricker is probably the best value on the board considering he has finished in the Top 10 in his only two tournaments this year, although both came in the tame conditions of Hawaii.

Donald (25/1) is one of the Euros playing their first U.S. tournament in 2011. He hasn’t shot an above-par round here in his last three appearances, going T3 in 2008, T6 in ’09, and runner-up last year.

What about Mike Weir as a long-shot bet at 33/1? The Canadian hasn’t been the same for a few years but showed some signs of life last Thursday at the AT&T with a 68, and he’s returning to a tournament he’s won twice. The expected rainy weather could suit his game perfectly.

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