The PGA Tour continues this week with the Northern Trust Open, beginning on Thursday at the Riviera Golf Club in Pacific Palisades, California. World No. 4 Phil Mickelson heads the odds and has some competition even with Tiger Woods sitting this one out.

Mickelson has underperformed despite his flattering odds. His last win was the U.S. Masters at Augusta last year. He did finish tied for ninth at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am last week and has a good history at the Riviera Club. The lefty is a two-time winner of the Northern Trust Open in 2008 and 2009, but finished 45th last year and isn’t worth backing until he gets another tour win under his belt

World No. 8 Steve Stricker will be defending his Northern Trust Open title after a solid 2010 season. Before last year’s win, he finished 11th and runner up at the Riviera Club. He has better value than Mickelson with a 2011 season that already includes a tie for fourth at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions and tie for ninth at the Sony Open.

Luke Donald is another golfer to keep on your radar for this one. A runner up here last year, Donald has five top 15 finishes in six appearances at the Northern Trust Open. On top of that, he hasn’t finished outside the top six in his last three visits. He ended the 2010 season with top 10 finishes in seven of his last eight appearances. His odds are stretched because this is his first tournament of 2011 so he is a safer bet to place.

Dustin Johnson hasn’t had a great start to 2011 but also has a decent record at the Riviera Club. He came in third in 2009 and 10th in 2010. Other than that, Hunter Mahan is coming off a runner up finish at Pebble Beach and sixth place finish in the Farmers Insurance Open. Matt Kuchar has finished among the top 10 three times already this year. Paul Casey won the Volvo Golf Champions but then missed the cut at the Qatar Masters. It’s a strong field for Stricker to defend his title.

Northern Trust Open Outright Odds (provided by Eurobet)

Phil Mickelson: 8/1

Steve Stricker: 12/1

Dustin Johnson: 18/1

JB Holmes: 20/1

Luke Donald: 20/1

Matt Kuchar: 22/1

Hunter Mahan: 25/1

Paul Casey: 25/1

Anthony Kim: 33/1

Rickie Fowler: 33/1

Jim Furyk: 35/1

Geoff Ogilvy: 40/1

Justin Rose: 40/1

Retief Goosen: 40/1

Tim Clark: 40/1

Bill Haas: 45/1

Bubba Watson: 45/1

Padraig Harrington: 45/1

Robert Karlsson: 45/1

Brandt Snedeker: 50/1

D.A. Points: 50/1

KJ Choi: 50/1