SAN DIEGO — For the first time in six years, the Buick Invitational has the prime spot on the West Coast schedule.

It's the week after the Super Bowl, a quiet time in the world of sports, before pitchers and catchers report, the green flag drops at Daytona, before March turns mad.

This is the week for snowbound folks to change the channel to the PGA Tour and witness the spectacular combination of blue surf and green turf.

What they won't see is another familiar sight at Torrey Pines — Tiger Woods.

Woods has been winning at Torrey Pines since he was a teenager, and he practically owns the public course along the cliffs of La Jolla. He has won the Buick Invitational six times, including the last four in a row, and saved his biggest impression for last summer when he won an epic U.S. Open by playing 91 holes on one good leg and beating Rocco Mediate in a playoff.

"We miss our defending champion," said Larry Peck, the Buick-Pontiac promotions manager.

Just his luck, the tournament can't even sell the other half of the U.S. Open duel because Mediate withdrew.

Golf is off to a solid start this year, even if the audience was small.

Major champions won the first two tournaments of the year, with Geoff Ogilvy going wire-to-wire to win by six shots at Kapalua, and Zach Johnson winning in Honolulu.

The birdies returned to the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, where Pat Perez clinched his first PGA Tour.

Then came 48-year-old Kenny Perry, winning a playoff outside Phoenix for his fourth victory in 15 starts.

But even some golf fans don't pay attention until Woods shows up.

The Buick Invitational traditionally has the highest TV ratings on the West Coast because that's where Woods has made his debut the last three years, and it didn't hurt that he won.

"I think that this tournament certainly misses his presence," Phil Mickelson said. "He's been such a mainstay of this event. He's played so well here. Plus, he had just won the U.S. Open here, as well as last year's tournament. I miss the opportunity to compete against him. We all do. And we hope that he gets back out soon."

Woods has not hit a meaningful shot since tapping in for par at Torrey last June to beat Mediate on the 19th hole of the playoff. He had season-ending surgery on his left knee a week later, and while he is in full practice mode in Florida, he still is not ready to return.

Someone pointed out to Mickelson that he was the only past champion at Torrey Pines this decade (2000, 2001) who is playing this year, a statistic skewed by Woods winning five.

"I didn't realize that," Mickelson said. "I wasn't really reading through the fine print in the program."

Along with Woods, also missing is the suspended John Daly (2004) and Jose Maria Olazabal (2002), who is recovering from rheumatism.

Making his PGA Tour debut this week is Padraig Harrington, the player of the year in 2008 with victories in the British Open and PGA Championship.

Torrey Pines looks beautiful as ever, with sunshine filling an endless sky and weather that feels more like summer than it did during the U.S. Open. But clouds are gathering, and if that's not enough, it's supposed to rain this weekend.




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