It's the first time he hasn't been in the Riviera field since 2002 and it's likely to have a big impact in both the TV ratings on CBS (Woods almost always boosts the numbers, except when he's not in contention) and in the gallery gate. One mitigating factor will be the presence of popular Phil Mickelson, who will be playing here for the first time since 2002. No reason was given for Woods' decision to skip the Nissan event, but one possibility might be his poor performance in L.A. over the years. He hasn't won here in 11 tries and he's going after his eighth straight win on the U.S. PGA Tour. Maybe he figures he'll have a better shot the following week at the World Golf Championships Accenture Match Play. Bloomberg