Things begin to get interesting on the PGA Tour this week as both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will be in the field at the Farmers Insurance Open. There are also plenty of other top players in the field this week, but the story lines will center around these two golfers.

Mickelson is coming off a mixed review for his first start of 2014 last week in Abu Dhabi.

He raved about his new driver and how confident he was to unleash it in tournament play. After a shaky first round of one-over par 73, he shot a two-under 70 on Friday to make the cut.

Phil then became Phil, posted a third round nine-under par 63 and put himself among the leaders in the HSBC Abu Dhabi. It looked like the tournament would come down to a contest between Rory McIlroy and Mickelson.

In the end, however, Mickelson’s driver let him down. He pulled his tee shot on No. 13 badly into a bush. While attempting to hit it right handed, he double hit the ball and incurred a one-shot penalty. He went on to make a triple-bogey seven. Ouch!

The final result was that he finished just one shot behind the winner Pablo Larrazabal, but he thrilled the crowds in Middle East desert and earned his big appearance fee.

Woods has had a fair amount of success in the past at Torrey Pines. He is the defending champion this week and has won the Farmers Insurance Open seven times.

Woods also won his last major championship title, the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.

His last start was a runner-up finish to Zach Johnson at the Northwestern World Challenge at the beginning of December.

Woods did not travel to Abu Dhabi this year, this will his first start of the season for him. Golf fans will be watching to see if he can duplicate his five-win season of last year, plus add some more major hardware to his trophy case.

Woods struggled with some minor injuries last year and now at 38-years-old. Will his body allow him to pursue Jack Nicklaus and his 19 major championship titles.

Torrey Pines is one of America’s best golf courses and will provide an excellent back drop for a Woods/Mickelson early season duel.