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There is only one thing on many people's minds regarding the upcoming Memorial golf tournament: Tiger isn't there.

As is the case in most tournaments without Tiger, the Memorial won't have the same feel that it normally does. That doesn't mean there isn't a positive storyline.

That was made yesterday when Phil Mickelson came back from two shots down to win The Colonial in Texas. Now Phil goes for back-to-back wins and can take over Tiger for first in the Fed-Ex Cup if he does so.

With the absence of Tiger and the momentum for Phil, he has to be the favorite heading into the tournament after withdrawing last year. But with all the other top players there besides Adam Scott, it won't be easy.

One guy to play close attention to is Sergio Garcia. Garcia hasn't played on tour since his win in The Players Championship and it will be interesting to see if he still has some momentum.

Ernie Els and Vijay Singh will also be there and likely in contention to the end. Els has made 14 straight cuts here.

Don't look past top five golfers Stewart Cink and Geoff Ogilvy to be on the leaderboard when its over.

However, the past few years have seen players in the middle of the pack win or place second. Watch out for a red-hot Kenny Perry and last year's runner-up Ryan Moore to make a move. Don't forget about Rod Pampling, who is fresh off a solid performance yesterday and finished in the top five last year.

A few other guys to keep an eye on this week are Tim Clark, Aaron Baddeley, Luke Donald, Hunter Mahan and Ian Pulter (can't miss him).

If you are a casual fan looking for someone to watch, I suggest Bubba Watson and J.B. Holmes. These two guys can hit the ball unlike any other on tour.

I have a sneaky feeling that among the top three at the end, two will be lesser-named players to go along with a big gun like Phil or Sergio.

In the end, I am going to go with Sean O'Hair to take the title. He finished in the top 10 last year and is always dangerous when on.

Tags: memorial tournament, pga tour, phil mickelson, sergio garcia