Wilson going for his third title this season

TOUR NEWS:MARK WILSON believes a rediscovered excitement for golf is the key factor in his excellent start to the 2011 season.

The 35-year-old has enjoyed a memorable start to the year after doubling his number of USPGA Tour titles with wins in last month’s Sony Open in Hawaii and the Phoenix Open earlier this month, after a disappointing 2010 which saw him finish 123rd on the money list.

And Illinois native Wilson, who goes in search of another title in the Northern Trust Open at the Riviera Country Club in California today, admits his poor form meant he could not wait for the off-season to end.

He said: “The thing that stands out is that I was really excited to get started for the year, and that’s very rare for me. I really like being home and I really enjoyed November and December, and maybe it was because I didn’t have a great year last year.

“I finished 123rd on the money list and I was just really anxious to do better.

“So I think that was the thing, that I was anxious to get going, to play golf, and when it’s fun your scores seem to be better.”

Former world number one Tiger Woods is not competing at Riviera after his disappointing performance in event in Dubai, but Phil Mickelson is being tipped by many as a potential winner on the par-71 layout that winds its way through the Santa Monica Canyon.after finishing in a tie for ninth at Pebble Beach.

Players have always been drawn to Riviera Country Club for the quality of the course as much as the lure of winning, and this week is no different.

Five members of the world’s top 10, and 12 of the top 20, are competing in the Northern Trust Open and Wilson is itching to tee off in today’s opening round.

“The golf course is a great challenge,” said Wilson. “There’s a lot of interesting golf holes. They’re all unique and different. It’s a fun tournament because you know you can go around and shoot just a couple under par every day and actually make up ground on the field.”

Riviera, which hosted the US Open in 1948 and the USPGA Championship in 1983 and 1995, is located just off Sunset Boulevard and has a long association with nearby Hollywood.

From the 1930s through the 1950s, the course hosted the Los Angeles Open which in those days was considered one of the USPGA Tour’s premier events.

Actors such as Douglas Fairbanks, Clark Gable, Mary Pickford, Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn flocked to the club to watch the professionals compete.

The par-four 12th has a large sycamore guarding the left side of the green named Bogey’s Tree in honour of former member Humphrey Bogart.

World number eight Steve Stricker, who won last year’s title by two shots from Britain’s Luke Donald, will be defending his title this week.

World number six Paul Casey, fellow Englishman Donald (ninth) and Jim Furyk (10th) are also taking part.

Other leading players in the field include Pádraig Harrington, former world number one Vijay Singh of Fiji, British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa and Australian Geoff Ogilvy.

Meanwhile, Shiv Kapur and fellow Indian players such as Jeev Milkha Singh and SSP Chowrasia will all be aiming for home success at the Avantha Masters at the DLF Golf and Country Club in New Delhi, which starts tomorrow, and is jointly sanctioned by the European Tour, the Professional Golf Tour of India and the Asian Tour.

Paul McGinley and Gareth Maybin are the only Irish representatives in the event, won by Australian Andrew Dodt last year.

Northern Trust Open

Course: Riviera Country Club

Length: 7,298 yards. Par: 71.

Prizemoney: €4.8 million, €862,000 for the winner

Field: 141.

Defending champion: Steve Stricker

First played: 1973.

Most wins: Fred Couples, Corey pavin, Phil Mickleson, Mike Weir (all twice)

On TV: Sky.

Weather: Showers forecast for all four days, particularly Friday and Saturday, but wind speed is not expected to go over 10mph