And with a new sponsor: Farmers Insurance came on board within the past 10 days, at a reduced fee, saving the tournament from going sponsorless and replacing Buick (hence the change in name from Buick Invitational to Farmers Insurance Open).
But while Woods isn't playing this week, the tour's other superstar, Phil Mickelson, is.
There are big expectations for Mickelson in 2010, expectations based not only on Woods' absence (the length of which nobody can know) but also on how strongly Mickelson finished 2009. Phil the Thrill won three times on the PGA Tour last year, closing the FedEx Cup season beating Tiger by three strokes to win the Tour Championship.
Mickelson then headed to China and won the WGC HSBC Champions, beating runner-up Ernie Els by one and Woods by five strokes.
Torrey Pines starts a three-week stretch of golf for Mickelson, who will then play the Northern Trust Open and the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Mickelson has three career wins at the Farmers, will be going for a three-peat at the Northern Trust, and has three wins in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
In other words, Mickelson appears primed for a great start to a great 2010. But how great? The most wins Mickelson has had in one PGA Tour season is four (2005, 2000 and 1996).
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