Stars come out at Torrey

LA JOLLA -- Tiger Woods wore a light brown sweater and Phil Mickelson wore a dark blue shirt for their pro-am rounds Wednesday. So much for the fashion update.

But any way you color the $5.2-million Buick Invitational, which starts today at Torrey Pines, there’s one primary hue. It’s the first showdown of the year featuring the PGA Tour’s reigning superstars and also a preview of what may lie ahead on the course that plays host to the U.S. Open in June.

Woods hasn’t played since the Target World Challenge in mid-December, where he packed a new golf ball and a new five-wood into his bag.

And there’s something else too: expectations that seem lofty, even by his standards. Woods, who said recently on his website that winning all four majors is “easily within reason,” backed up his assertion when asked about it Wednesday.

“For most of my career, I’ve won more than four tournaments a year, and all I have to do is win the right four, and I’ve done those a few times,” Woods said.

“I think if you put it all together, have luck on your side, all the stars will line up, and it certainly is possible.”

As for Mickelson, he’s not so much concerned about a potential grand slam as he is about getting off to a good start. Mickelson has been fighting a respiratory problem and said Wednesday it may be bronchitis.

His layoff has been longer than Woods’ -- since the second week of November, when he won in Shanghai.

Comparisons to Woods are familiar territory to Mickelson, who was asked how he stacks up with Woods.

“I don’t know if I could answer that relative to Tiger,” he said. “That’s kind of a separate entity.”

Meanwhile, there’s Torrey Pines South to consider, a beast of a course that was stretched to 7,569 yards by course architect Rees Jones in 2002 in preparation for this year’s Open.

Woods said he thinks he can see how the fairway lines will be set up for the Open.

“I think that overall the lines are slightly different, but not by much,” he said.

Woods said the rough is spotty and the greens aren’t nearly as fast as they will play in June.

One huge surprise in store for the Open, but not in play this week, is the new tee for the 541-yard, par-five 13th hole. If it is used for the Open, the hole will be 613 yards with a 240-yard carry over a canyon.

Woods was impressed.

“I don’t know if we’re going to play the tee box back there on 13 or not,” he said. “That certainly will be interesting when it’s raining out here.”

If there is anything close to resembling a home course advantage, it’s the South course and how it suits Woods. He has won the Buick (where the North Course is also used the first two days) five times, the last three in a row. The new, lengthened design hasn’t affected him at all. But Woods has a long history at Torrey Pines -- he won the Junior World there in 1991.

Woods said there’s a certain comfort level playing the place.

“The success I’ve had here . . . I’ve seen it bone dry, I’ve seen what can happen that time of year, and I do feel comfortable on this golf course. It’s a matter of having my game show up at the right time.”

Mickelson knows exactly which game he wants to show up with right away. It’s the one he had early in 2007, when he won at Pebble Beach and the Players and was edged out in a playoff at Riviera. He also finished fast, with victories at the Deutsche Bank and at Singapore.

The problem was the middle part of the year, after he injured his wrist while hitting out of the rough and preparing to play the U.S. Open at Oakmont.

Mickelson said he has worked with Butch Harmon on shortening his swing and picking up more explosiveness to gain additional distance and accuracy. Mickelson averaged 298 yards on his drives last year, but that ranked 29th on the PGA Tour.

He has won the Buick three times, but not since Jones’ redesign. Mickelson thinks he has helped himself by taking notes on the way putts are breaking in practice sessions. While he has been off, Mickelson said he has played Torrey Pines every week.

“I think I’m getting a much better understanding of the greens,” he said.

They’re completely poa annua, by the way. Just in time for the U.S. Open.

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thomas.bonk@latimes.com