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To my surprise, Phil Mickelson put on a strong performance last week at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. As it turned out he ran away from the field, winning by five shots. He drove it great, putted great and kept the brain cramps to a minimum. Now that's Phil Mickelson golf right there. When he's in the zone like that, he's the best full-time golfer in the world. Bet on Phil Mickelson +7 odds (bet $10 to win $70) to win the Nissan Open!

Mickelson looked like the world-class player he is at Pebble. He was playing so well all week that he upped and signed on for this week's Nissan Open at Riviera, a tournament he wasn't planning on playing in and at which he hasn't had much success. That's how good he feels about his game right now. Bet on the Nissan Open at WagerWeb.com and receive a 30% bonus! 

The 36-year-old Mickelson really does wish Tiger was around. He's confident he can win, even if Tiger has a seven-tournament winning streak of his own. Woods is skipping the Nissan and has played only once on the PGA Tour through the first seven weeks of the season. Lefty seems to believe that his feel-good Sunday feeling is more than a fleeting thing. Mickelson is swinging a new driver, and he said Sunday, "I have never driven it as well as I'm driving it right now." Leading the tour in driving accuracy isn't right around the corner, but he sure is tough to beat when he's playing from the fairway. That could happen again this week, where accuracy at Riviera means more than distance. "I will never lead in driving accuracy. Let's not overdo this," Mickelson said. "But if I could improve 20 or 25 percent in my accuracy, that's going to make a big difference in my scores."

His score at Pebble Beach was 20-under 268, tying the tournament record set by Mark O'Meara in 1997 when he won by one shot. Mickelson won by five, matching the largest margin of victory at Pebble. Kevin Sutherland, Mickelson's good friend who has two top-three finishes on the West Coast already, is impressed. "He drove it for the most part on a string, right down the middle of the fairway," Sutherland said. "If he is driving the ball like that, there's not a player in the world that is not going to have a hard time beating him."

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Mickelson has not played Riviera since 2001, and he hasn't played it very well. The classic course has tight fairways. Lefty has been there eight times, never finished in the top 10 and went home four times before the weekend. Never mind that playing this week will give him six straight tournaments in which he will compete. "I wanted to play a little bit more competitive golf with the way I'm playing before I start my run up for Augusta," Mickelson said. "I'm looking forward to playing at Riviera. It won't be a similar style golf at Augusta, but it's pretty close to a U.S. Open."

Mickelson moved up to No. 4 in the world, which means if the stars align next week in Arizona, he and Woods could meet in the semifinals of the Accenture Match Play Championship. That might be asking too much, for that tournament never goes according to plan. All that really matters is the Masters. Mickelson is the defending champion at Augusta National, and don't think it wasn't sweet to have Woods slip that green jacket on his shoulders. "(The Masters) has been on my mind since the PGA, as it is with everybody," Mickelson said. "Our next thought is the next major, our thought or focus is always the next major."

For now, it's the Nissan. I've learned my lesson with Phil. Don't disregard him this week. He is the WagerWeb.com favorite at +700.

Here are some others to keep an eye on this week:

Kevin Sutherland (+175, field): For the second time in three weeks, Sutherland played well enough to spend Sunday in the final group. And for the second time in three weeks, Sutherland did not play well enough to win -- Tiger won at Torrey Pines and Mickelson prevailed at Pebble Beach. 

Sutherland, 42, won the Match Play Championship in 2002 and has won more than half of his PGA Tour earnings on the West Coast. Riviera suits his game too, so look for him to contend again.

Adam Scott (+800): Scott has played only once this year himself, but he's got a good history at Riviera. He won in 2005 in a playoff and finished second this year. He looked great at the Mercedes in January, finishing second to a red-hot Vijay Singh. He's hard to ignore here.

The South Africans: I'm expecting big things from both Ernie Els (+900 at Riviera) and Retief Goosen (+1800) this year and this could be the week where they start to make some noise. Both are healthy for the first time in over a year and both have been playing well in European Tour events. Both could be a factor this week.

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