The tour stop leaves Hawaii and steps back onto the mainland this week as Torrey Pines will be hosting the Buick Invitational for the 39th straight year. The first event on mainland America is fitting since the US players have dominated in San Diego. Since 1952 only two non-Americans have won this event, Jose Maria Olazabal and Gary Player, with Olazabal being the only winner at the Pines since it took over in 1968.

Defending champion Tiger Woods makes his 2006 debut this week and all eyes will be on him after a superb 2005 that put to rest a horrible 2004 season. Besides the Buick win, Woods finished 1st in five other tournaments including The Masters and the British Open while placing in the top five in 13 of his 21 events including an amazing top fives in nine of his last 11 tournaments.

Woods will be looking for an unprecedented fourth Buick win as he and Phil Mickelson are the only three-time champions. Woods is a very strong starter so dont expect the long layoff to affect his play. He has begun his season with a victory on three occasions, in 1997, 2000 and 2003 and he has finished in the top five all but twice in his first start and has yet to post anything outside the top 10. He will be in the hunt as usual.

Mickelson finished in a tie for fifth last week at the Bob Hope and had only one round in the 70s which occurred on Sunday, the overall highest scoring day of the five day event. In his last 13 starts in San Diego, Mickelson has been really good or really average, finishing in the top five seven times while finishing 38th or worse five times. His top five at the Hope was his first since winning the PGA Championship last August.

2004 Buick champion John Daly will also be making his 2006 debut and while 2005 had its ups and downs, he did have a win on the season. Its make or break with Daly as taking out the win, he had only one top 10 finish in his other 22 events. That includes a tie for 72nd last year at Torrey Pines, his worst finish since not making the cut in 1999. The last time he squared off with Woods, he lost in a playoff at the American Express Championship last year.

After a runner-up finish at the Sony Open and his win this past week at the Bob Hope, Chad Campbell is the hottest player three tournaments into the 2006 season. This will be just his third ever start at the Buick and the last two were not very memorable. He finished 53rd in 2004 and missed the cut in 2003. He didnt finish very strong in his win last week but he played well enough to pull it out.

The one non-American to keep a close eye on is Luke Donald. Donald will be making his 2006 debut this week and if history is any indication, he will be playing for the win on Sunday. He has been the runner-up the last two years at Torrey Pines, including a playoff loss in 2004 to Daly, and he has three top seven finishes in his four career starts. He has not won on the PGA tour since the 2002 Southern Farm Bureau Classic.

Jesper Parnevik has some momentum on his side as he finished 62-67 over the weekend, which vaulted him from a 42nd into a tie for 2nd. In his final 36 holes, Parnevik hit 28 of 36 greens in regulation and took just 50 putts. He missed the cut here last year but has a tie for 2nd and a tie for 4th in his last five starts under his belt. Its been a long drought as he hasnt won since the 2001 Honda Classic, a span of 124 events.