Golf: US TourStar power has been turned on full wattage for the LA Open, with 17 of the game's top 20 players set to do battle over the Riviera Country Club course in the heart of Hollywood fantasy land.
But the absence of Tiger Woods has cast a shadow over the the PGA Tour event where world number two Phil Mickelson and British Open champion Pádraig Harrington are joined by European Ryder Cup stalwarts Lee Westwood, Justin Rose and Luke Donald.
Defending champion Charles Howell III has confessed that while a tournament without the Tiger-factor gives everyone a better chance, something is missing.
"You always want to beat him and win an event that he's in," said Howell, who beat Mickelson after a three-hole play-off last year. "Like it or not, he is the guy that moves the needle the most. He is our biggest star. On the flipside . . . his winning percentage is pretty high these days, so it does free that up a little bit."
Augusta native Howell (28), spoke about the difficulties of challenging Woods. "Tiger always talks about winning, and how winning handles everything. A guy who is going to challenge Tiger on a consistent basis is going to have to win a lot.
"With the depth of the fields, you have to remember that if you throw Tiger Woods out of the way, Phil Mickelson is the greatest golfer we've ever seen besides Jack Nicklaus.
"If Phil isn't there, you look at Vijay Singh; look at all the tournaments he's won in his 40s. People today and the media today are so impatient that they want great results from you yesterday.
"Sergio Garcia, he's a failure. Really? The guy's had a hell of a career, but in a lot of people's eyes, he hasn't won a major, so he needs to hang it up and quit."
Harrington is one of a handful of players who have taken on Woods in his pomp and beaten him. But he doesn't agree that it is any tougher now for the chasing bunch than it was back in the 1980s
"Look, it was even tougher for the guys back in the 80s when there were even more great players around," said Harrington, who has been battling the effects of a head cold since Sunday. "What was it like when you had (Nick) Faldo, (Greg) Norman, Seve (Ballesteros), (Sandy) Lyle and Woosie (Ian Woosnam) and all those guys?"
Reasonably pleased with his share of 14th place at Pebble Beach last week, Harrington is focused on getting his game in shape for the Masters in April as well as fine-tuning a swing change. "This is a two-month programme to get myself ready for the Masters and last week at Pebble Beach was a reminder of all the stuff I have done over the winter and where it has got me," Harrington said.
"There is a distinct difference between technical practice and tournament play and it showed up last week. I wasn't tournament sharp. What I am trying to do is hold the ball off in flight. It is a lower spinning shot, held off, with a straighter flight - a bit like the way Monty played.
"If I had six months to go away and work on it, it would all be fine. But the fact that I have to play golf now interferes a little bit with that. But I am happy enough with the way things are going."
Ernie Els is the other major absentee from the strongest field in world golf so far this season.
The South African was the talk of the range yesterday following reports from WGC-Accenture Matchplay executive director Michael Garten that he is "strongly considering" playing in Arizona next week after all.
Henrik Stenson is also missing from the field.
LA Open details
Venue: Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades, California.
Prize money: €4.25 million, winner gets €795,000.
Course length: 7,279 yards.
Par: 71.
Defending champion: Charles Howell (defeated Phil Mickelson in a three-hole play-off).
Irish in action: Pádraig Harrington (led for the opening two rounds last year).
