World No. 1 Luke Donald in Northern Trust Open field

Luke Donald, ranked No. 1 in the world, will make his United States and PGA Tour debut next week when he plays in the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club.

Defending champion Aaron Baddeley will try to become the seventh player in tournament history to win back-to-back titles. The last man to do it, Phil Mickelson (in 2008-09) is also in the field.

Fan favorite Fred Couples will also be in the tournament and trying to win for his third time (he won in 1992 and 1994).

2011 PGA Tour rookie of the year Keegan Bradley is also in the field and will make his second career start at the Northern Trust Open. Bradley burst onto the scene in 2011 with two victories, first at the HP Byron Nelson Championship and then again in dramatic fashion at the PGA Championship. He became the first player to win in his first-career start in a major championship since Ben Curtis at the 2003 British Open and the first rookie to win twice on TOUR, including a major, since Todd Hamilton in 2004. Bradley missed the cut last year in his first start at the Northern Trust Open.

“On the eve of the 2012 Northern Trust Open, we’re thrilled with the way our field has taken shape,” said Executive Director Jerry West. “Our defending champion Aaron Baddeley will have a tall task in his attempt to repeat, as the field features many of the biggest names in golf."

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-- Diane Pucin

Photo: Luke Donald plays a shot on the first hole at the Abu Dhabi Championship on Jan. 28. Credit: Shijilesh Ulleri / Associated Press

Humana Challenge: Third round over; Phil Mickelson makes cut

The wind-delayed third round of the Humana Challenge is now complete in La Quinta with Mark Wilson holding a three-shot lead over Brandt Snedeker, Zach Johnson, Ben Crane and Robbert Garrigus.

Wilson is at 21 under par entering the final round, which began at 10:10 a.m. Garrigus shot a third-round 61 to move into contention while Snedeker birdied his last six third-round holes, including the five he played Sunday.

And while two-time champion Phil Mickelson probably can't make up 14 shots, he did birdie his final hole Sunday morning to get to seven under and make the cut, which came at six under and leaves 75 players to try to finish the final round today.

Groups are going off in threesomes from both the first and 10th tees at the PGA West Palmer Private Course.

The final group of Wilson, Johnson and Garrigus will go off the first tee at 12:10 p.m. Crane, Snedeker and Long Beach's John Mallinger are in the second-to-last group.

Golf Channel will offer extended coverage Sunday, coming on the air at noon Pacific time and running until play concludes. If the tournament doesn't finish Sunday, Golf Channel would also have coverage Monday.

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-- Diane Pucin, reporting from La Quinta

Photo: Mark Wilson hits his tee shot on the ninth hole during the wind-delayed third round of the Humana Challenge on Sunday morning. Credit: Chris Carlson / Associated Press

Humana Challenge: Play halted because of high winds

Play has been halted on all three golf courses in use Saturday for the third round of the Humana Challenge because of high winds.

Gusts of more than 25 mph began around 12:30. Play was halted first at La Quinta Country Club, but golfers have also been brought off the PGA West Nicklaus Private and Palmer Private courses as well.

Mark Wilson, the Wisconsin native who famously wore a cheesehead last year while he was winning the Waste Management Phoenix Open, is the tournament leader. He is at 21 under par for the tournament and five under today through 15 holes at La Quinta.

Second-round co-leader Ben Crane is in second, three shots back through 12 holes at La Quinta, and John Mallinger of Long Beach is one of three golfers tied for third at 16 under.

Two-time tournament winner Phil Mickelson is in danger of missing the cut that will come after today's round even though he is four under on the day. He is five under for the tournament and said, "I would like to play tomorrow."

Mickelson is still hoping to pile on some more birdies. The cut is being projected at about six under right now.

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-- Diane Pucin

Photo: Mark Wilson watches his tee shot at No. 13 on Saturday before wind gusts forced golfers off the courses at the Humana Challenge. Credit: Stephen Dunn / Getty Images

Humana Challenge: Phil Mickelson unlikely to make cut

Phil Mickelson, a two-time winner of the Humana Challenge golf tournament in La Quinta, formerly known as the Bob Hope Classic, has a double bogey, a bogey, three birdies and four pars on the first nine holes of his second round Friday.

Mickelson is playing the PGA West Nicklaus course, and his tournament total of two-over-par leaves him, so far, tied for 135th and not looking good to make the cut after Saturday's third round, much less to win his opening tournament of 2012.

Ben Crane, who has finished in the top 10 here only once in eight appearances, has the hot round of the day so far. He's six-under through 13 holes on the PGA West Palmer course and is 13-under for the tournament, two shots ahead of David Toms, who was a co-leader with Camilo Villegas after the first round. Villegas is one-under so far and is now three shots out of the lead at 10-under for the tournament.

Harris English, a PGA Tour rookie who earned his card by finishing tied for 13th at the tour qualifying tournament, is also working on a round of six-under. He's through nine holes on the PGA West Nicklaus course and is tied for eighth overall.

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-- Diane Pucin in La Quinta

Photo: Phil Mickelson. Credit: Stephen Dunn / Getty Images.

Humana Challenge: Double heart transplant recipient on leaderboard

Erik Compton, the 32-year-old who has had two heart transplants, is playing his first full season on the PGA Tour. Compton, from Miami, finished tied for 67th at the Sony Open in Hawaii last week. The tournament had two cuts and Compton was in danger of missing both.

He finished with a birdie-eagle to make the first cut then made a 10-foot birdie putt on Saturday to make a final cut that allowed him to play the fourth round.

Compton is tied for ninth through 11 holes at the first round of the Humana Challenge Thursday. Compton is playing on the Nicklaus Private PGA West Course in La Quinta. Here is a Times story from last year on Compton and his relentless ability to fulfill his golf desires even in the face of difficult physical challenges.

Camilo Villegas, a 30-year-old from Colombia, so far holds a two-shot lead over the field with his seven-under through 12 holes. He's also playing the Nicklaus Private Course.

Two-time winner Phil Mickelson, making his first appearance here in five years, is tied for 25th and two-under through 11 holes at La Quinta Country Club.

-- Diane Pucin in La Quinta

Photo: Erik. Compton. Credit: Marco Garcia / Associated Press.

Matt Kuchar has new sponsors, later start in season

The Humana Challenge golf tournament -- formerly the Bob Hope Classic -- begins today in La Quinta at the Palmer Private Course at PGA West, the Nicklaus Private at PGA West and La Quinta Country Club. The new sponsor, Humana, has filled the days leading up to the tournament with free clinics and lectures on how to live healthy. There was even a demonstration Wednesday on how you could ride a special bike and make smoothies at the same time. And who doesn't like smoothies.

Also omnipresent is former President Bill Clinton, whose Clinton Foundation will also be a beneficiary of money raised this week. Clinton has been schmoozing with golfers and hosting dinners, and now he'll be mingling.

Overlooked in this story of change is the fact that some good golfers are here. Clinton's personal phone calls drew Greg Norman and Phil Mickelson, but world No. 8 Dustin Johnson is going to try out his surgically repaired knee, and world No. 11 Matt Kuchar decided to kick off his 2012 season here instead of Hawaii.

In the past Kuchar, 33, has come to practice in the desert, then gone to Hawaii to start the PGA Tour season. "This year I took extra time off," Kuchar said, "because the off-season was extra short because of the President's Cup being in the middle of November. I've been out here a week now and I'm excited."

Kuchar didn't start playing golf until he was 12. He was a tennis player and a huge fan of Boris Becker when he was growing up in Orlando. His parents got an upgraded membership at a country club that included golf, and Kuchar discovered he was more likely to be like Jack Nicklaus than Becker.

This is Kuchar's sixth consecutive appearance here. His best finishes here came as a tie for second two years ago and a tie for seventh last year.

Kuchar was set to tee off this morning from the first tee at PGA West with pro Jerry Kelly and amateurs David Grieve and Julius Erving.

Mickelson, a two-time winner here, teed off at 8:50 from the first tee at La Quinta Country Club with pro Steve Marino.

Actors Craig T. Nelson and Morgan Freeman and singers Michael Bolton, Alice Cooper and Smokey Robinson are among the notable amateurs playing.

Kuchar is the fourth-highest ranked American golfer in the world, and he has signed on with a new sponsor, Grey Goose Vodka,  which is also the sponsor  of a new Golf Channel show, "Grey Goose 19th Hole." The talk show, hosted by Lara Baldesarra, will debut Jan. 26, and Kuchar will be a guest.

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-- Diane Pucin in  La Quinta

Photo: Matt Kuchar. Credit: Dean Lewins. European Press Agency.

Dustin Johnson joins Mickelson, Norman at Humana Challenge

Big-hitting Dustin Johnson, a two-time winner of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am who tied for second at the British Open last year, will play next week at the Humana Challenge.

The tournament, held on three courses in La Quinta, has already announced that Phil Mickelson and Greg Norman will be in the field.

Johnson, currently ranked eighth in the world, will make his 2012 season debut at the Humana Challenge. Johnson had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in November. This will be his third appearance at the event. He tied for 12th in 2008 and tied for 66th in 2009.

Even with his knee troubles, Johnson ended his fourth full PGA season last fall with a fourth-place finish at the FedEx Cup. Also last year Johnson won his fifth PGA Tour event at the Barclays tournament, a FedEx Cup event that was shortened to 54 holes because of Hurricane Irene.

He also finished third last year at the Farmers Insurance Open in Torrey Pines.

The Humana Challenge begins Thursday.

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Photo: Dustin Johnson reacts after sinking a par putt to halve the 18th hole and finish tied in a Presidents Cup match in November. Credit: Scott Halleran / Getty Images

Phil Mickelson, Greg Norman to play Humana Challenge

Phil Mickelson and Greg Norman were announced Friday as being in the field for the 2012 Humana Challenge golf tournament on Jan. 19-22 in La Quinta.

Norman, a two-time British Open champion, and Mickelson ,who has won four major tournaments including three Masters titles, the most recent in 2010, join a field that will also include defending champion Jhonattan Vegas, 2011 FedExCup champion and 2010 event champion Bill Haas, 2001 PGA Championship winner David Toms and 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson.

Norman has played in the tournament previously known as the Bob Hope Classic just once, in 1986. He last played in the Coachella Valley in the 2001 Skins Game, in which he shut out Tiger Woods, Colin Montgomerie and Jesper Parnevik to take home the event’s entire $1-million purse.

Mickelson won this tournament in 2002 and 2004, both times in playoffs, and he is one of only seven players to have won it more than once.

For the third consecutive year, the $5.6-million tournament will take place entirely within La Quinta, where players will compete for a $1.008 million winner’s check at La Quinta Country Club and the Palmer and Nicklaus Private Courses at PGA West.

The purse and winner’s check are the largest in event history. The event has been shortened from 90 to 72 holes.

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Photo: Phil Mickelson hits out of bunker during Presidents Cup play in Australia. Credit: Quinn Rooney / Getty Images / November 20, 2011

Phil Mickelson elected to World Golf Hall of Fame

Four-time major winner Phil Mickelson has been elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame. Mickelson, who became eligible after turning 40 last year, received 72% of votes cast.

"My thanks go to those who voted me into the World Golf Hall of Fame," Mickelson said. "It really is a tremendous honor to be mentioned alongside the greats of a game that's centuries old. The Players Championship week always has been special to me and the induction ceremony next May will make it even more so."

The induction ceremony will be May 7 at the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Fla., the week of the Players Championship, which Mickelson won in 2007.

"It seems Phil has been destined for this honor for some time," PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said. "From his days as one of the world's premier amateur players to his seamless transition to professional star, Phil has always performed at the highest levels of the sport and this recognition is well deserved."

A winner of 39 events on the PGA Tour, Mickelson has won three Masters and a PGA Championship.

A golfer must be named on 65% of ballots sent in by a panel comprising golf journalists, historians and golf dignitaries to be inducted. This year's results:

Phil Mickelson, 72%; Fred Couples, 38%; Davis Love III, 29%; Mark O'Meara, 29%; Macdonald Smith, 27%; Ken Venturi, 27%; Tony Lema, 22%; Fuzzy Zoeller, 17%; Dave Stockton, 16%; Harold (Jug) McSpaden, 12%; Miller Barber, 10%; Don January, 9%; Jim Furyk, 4%; Loren Roberts, 1%.

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-- Houston Mitchell

Photo: Phil Mickelson. Credit: Stephen Morrison / EPA.

Who is the best golfer playing today? [Updated]

Writers from around Tribune Co. attempt to determine who is the best golfer out there today. Check back throughout the day for more responses and weigh in with a comment of your own.

Bill Dwyre, Los Angeles Times

The best golfer in the world is resting at home in Florida with ice packs on his bad knee. His 14 major championships are enough said.

Battling for the position of 1-A in Tiger Woods' absence are Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood and Steve Stricker. We eliminate McIlroy because he is just a kid and showed that when he whined after the British Open about not liking to play in bad weather. Is he really from San Diego and just didn't tell us?

It's not Donald because he can't hit enough big boomers off the tee. We eliminate Westwood because he always seems to eliminate himself when expectations are high. We eliminate Stricker because best-players-in-the-world win majors.

That brings us to Mickelson, who showed with his run in the British Open that he is mature enough to learn how to play decently on bumps and mud and in monsoons. Little has changed. It's Tiger and Phil and lots of guys still trying.

Masters 2011 tee times: Late starts for Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson

Tiger Woods can sleep in Thursday. And really sleep in Friday.

Woods will tee off Thursday at the Masters in the 7:41 a.m. (all times Pacific) group with reigning U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell and Australia's Robert Allenby. His Friday tee time is 10:48 a.m., the next-to-last group.

Defending Masters champion Phil Mickelson gets the opposite treatment, with a 10:48 a.m. tee time Thursday and 7:30 a.m. Friday. He's paired with Geoff Ogilvy and 2010 U.S. Amateur champion Peter Uihlein.

Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus will get the action started Thursday with ceremonial tee shots at 4:40 a.m.

Full tee times after the jump.