Weekly PGA Preview: Phil's at Home in Houston

Jason Day is a beast. Jason Day is one of the best golfers in the world. Jason Day is a highest-ranked golfer in the world. All true, yet all come up a bit short when trying to explain just how good Day is playing now.

How about this: Jason Day is doing something now that we haven't seen since Tiger's heyday. What is he doing exactly to deserve such high praise? He's wasting no time in backing up a tremendous season with another.

Jordan Spieth was the player of the year last season, and though he's had his moments this year, he hasn't lived up to expectations ... yet. Rory McIlroy ended the previous season as the unquestioned best player in the world, but failed to build on that last year. The year prior it was Tiger on top of the golf world, and we all know how he followed that. I could go on and on; trust me, I've checked the numbers, nobody since Tiger was Tiger has followed a season like Day had last year, with a start like he's had this year.

Why these parameters, though? Why not judge a golfer on his entire season? The answer is, when a golfer has a great year, we get the feeling that he might be something truly special. The first litmus test is the following season and we want to see that guy pick up right where he left off. It gives us hope that maybe, just maybe, this golfer is everything we think he could be. To this point in the season, Jason Day is keeping the dream alive while others aren't. He's the only one of the "top 3" who has played like it.

Jason Day is the best -- and if he keeps this up, we'll have to come up with another way to describe him.

This week: Houston Open - Golf Club of Houston, Humble, Texas

Last Year: J.B. Holmes shot a final-round 64 on his way to a playoff victory over Jordan Spieth and Johnson Wagner.

PLAYERS TO CONSIDER

Phil Mickelson

Mickelson won this event in 2011 and hasn't finished outside the top 20 here since. Gone are the days of saving Mickelson for majors, so this could be the best spot for him all season. Factor in his form this season and the pick seems fairly obvious.

Cameron Tringale

Tringale's form has been suspect most of the season, but he did post a T27 in his most recent start, and his track record at this event is impressive. He's definitely worth a look this week. Tringale has four consecutive top-20s here, three of which are top-10s.

J.B. Holmes

I'm generally not a fan of taking defending champs, but Holmes obviously has a feel for this course. He won here last year and finished runner-up at this event in 2009. Between those finishes, Holmes also has a pair of top-20s.

Hunter Mahan

Mahan has been a non-factor this season, but if he's going to snap out of his current funk, this might be the week. Mahan won this event in 2012 and has three other top-10s since 2007. He hasn't played his best golf the last couple years, but the talent is still there, it's just a matter if he can find it or not.

Johnson Wagner

Big-time sleeper this week, but if you are in a spot where you've burnt some big names already and need a golfer who's off the radar, then Wagner could be your guy. He's extremely unreliable, but he has a win and a runner-up showing here in nine starts.

PLAYERS TO AVOID

Charl Schwartzel

Schwartzel will no doubt be using this week's event to get tuned up for the Masters next week. That doesn't necessarily eliminate him from consideration this week, but his results here do. He has one good showing here, but one top-10 in six tries is simply not enough.

Ernie Els

Els has never missed a cut at this event, but he's also never cracked the top 10. If his game were in better shape heading into this week, I would probably avoid putting him on this list, but he hasn't shown good form lately. There's no reason to take him this week.

Padraig Harrington

Similar to Els, Harrington has a fabulous record here in regard to making the cut, be he also has had trouble here on the weekend. Harrington has made eight of nine cuts at this event, but only once has he cracked the top 10.

Geoff Ogilvy

Ogilvy got off to a smashing start here after the change in venue. He posted top-10s in his first two starts at the Golf Club of Houston, but since then he's really struggled, missing three consecutive cuts. Considering the state of his game, a turnaround this week is highly unlikely.

Stuart Appleby

Generally, this list contains golfers you might consider using, otherwise, there's little value in such a list. With that in mind, I have to justify Appleby's inclusion. He won this event in 2006 and finished runner-up in 2007, which might be enough to sneak onto a sleeper list this week, but I would advise against that as he's missed the cut the last four times here.

ONE AND DONE GOLFER

Last week: Matt Kuchar (T9) - $152,000; Season - $5,040,867

This week: Phil Mickelson - This pick came down to two players this week, Mickelson and Tringale. I'm going with Mickelson because of his form. I tried to justify using Tringale instead, but he's missed four cuts in his last six starts. Mickelson also has a history of playing well the week before the Masters, so that can't hurt.

YAHOO PICKS

Points: 1599
Rank: 31,556

This Week:

Group A: Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth

Group B: Henrik Stenson, J.B. Holmes, Brooks Koepka, Charley Hoffman

Group C: Louis Oosthuizen, Jamie Lovemark

SURVIVOR PICK

Last week: N/A (N/A); Streak - 11

This week: Charley Hoffman - I made this pick based on three criteria. First, I need a guy who's generally reliable. Second, he must have a good track record here. Third, I need someone who will not get caught looking ahead to the Masters. Check, check and check.