Tiger, Phil face off at Torrey Pines

09:55 AM ET 12.30 | Tiger Woods will likely make his first start of the season in three weeks at the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, Calif. Anticipation's high, because all signs point to Woods' game rising toward another unprecedented peak in a year where the majors are aligned favorably for him to make a run at winning the Grand Slam. Anticipation of Woods' first start is heightened by the fact that Phil Mickelson will likely tee it up at Torrey Pines, too. At Torrey Pines, we get an early look at how Woods and Mickelson set up in 2008. Woods has never looked more comfortable with the swing changes he sculpted with Hank Haney's help. He won the Target World Challenge two weeks ago by seven shots. He's looking ahead to a year when the majors go from Augusta National for The Masters, to Torrey Pines for the U.S. Open, to Royal Birkdale for the British Open and then Oakland Hills, outside Detroit, for the PGA Championship. UM grad on 'Big Break' University of Miami graduate Tina Miller will be among the 12 players featured in The Golf Channel's Big Break: Ka'anapali, with the first show expected to air sometime in the spring, possibly the week after The Masters. Miller, a Futures Tour player, also models. She was featured in the Golf Digest World Ladies Calendar, published by Golf Digest Japan. She was the featured October player. Thompson repeats Coral Springs' Alexis Thompson, 12, came away the big winner last weekend at the Doral Publix Junior Championship, claiming her second consecutive title in the girls' top division. The other locals with the best finishes were: Pinecrest's Christopher Ingham, second place, boys' 14-15 division; Parkland's Sebastian Darmo, tie for third, boys' 8-9; Jupiter's Peter Mathison, tie for fourth, boys' 10-11; North Palm Beach's Clancy Waugh, tie for sixth, boys' 12-13; Coral Springs' Carly Ray Goldstein, tie for fourth, girls' 12-13; Parkland's Zora Gittens, sixth place, girls' 7-and-under.

South Florida Sun-Sentinel