ESPN Golf

No Tiger? No problem.

Though Tiger Woods is eschewing the Nissan Open for only the second time as a professional, 12 of the world's top 15 players will be competing at venerable Riviera, where Rory Sabbatini will be defending his title.

Who's going to contend? Who's going to win? Our experts give their predictions for this week's event.

Nissan Open experts' predictions
	Bob Harig ESPN.com contributor	Jason Sobel ESPN.com golf editor	Ron Sirak Golf World executive editor	John Antonini Golf World senior editor
Horse for the Course	Weir The "other lefty," Mike Weir, won this tournament in back-to-back years after struggling at Riviera in his first few years on tour. But he has not won on the PGA Tour since the second of those wins in '04.	Pavin OK, so at 5-foot-9, 155 pounds, Corey Pavin may be more pony than horse, but with two career wins at Riviera, he could be primed for a big week.	Scott Adam Scott was second and first in the last two years at Riviera. He'll be in the hunt on Sunday.	Weir Riviera's a quirky course. It's tight, but long in spots. Someone like Mike Weir, who succeeds on tougher venues, should do well.
Birdie Buster	Mickelson When Phil Mickelson is on his game, he can make a ton of birdies. He led the field in greens in regulation and was fourth in driving accuracy at Pebble. And when he eliminates the big numbers, watch out.	Glover A stat you don't hear much about? Birdie conversion percentage, which is how often a player makes birdie after reaching the green in regulation. Lucas Glover currently leads the tour in this one.	Weir Two-time winner Mike Weir went low with a 17-under 267 in 2004. He may not win, but he'll post some good numbers.	Watson Tight, long, whatever. Bubba Watson, the tour's co-leader in total birdies, can overpower any course.
Super Sleeper	Allenby Robert Allenby shouldn't be a sleeper, but he's had 31 top-10s since his last victory in 2001. He won the Nissan that year.	Quigley Really? Is this right? Brett Quigley has never finished better than T-22 in seven starts here? Strange. Seems like his kind of course.	Pavin UCLA alum Corey Pavin has a couple of Nissan trophies at home, and he's coming off a T-6 at Pebble Beach. He can putt these California greens.	DiMarco With a strong field (eight of the World Ranking's top 10), Chris DiMarco gets lost in the shuffle. He should bounce back after missing the cut last year.
Winner	Els All of a sudden, the big guns are winning tournaments again. Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh and Retief Goosen have won somewhere around the world this year. Now it's Ernie Els' turn.	Immelman He's already No. 12 in the world, but Trevor Immelman will jump into the top 10 with a win among the star-studded field this week.	Singh Vijay Singh has been consistent all year. Look for him to pick up win No. 2 on his way to a big year -- in the events Tiger doesn't play.	Donald Luke Donald started the year strong before running into a bit of trouble at Pebble Beach. He should bounce back nicely.