It used to be that a victory in the BellSouth Classic, which this week returns to the Tournament Players Club at Sugarloaf in Duluth, Ga., was worth the last automatic berth in the Masters.

These days hoisting the trophy still means plenty, namely one of the first berths in the next edition of THE PLAYERS Championship.

The first major of 2004 quickly approaches, but there's still important business to attend to this week two hours west of Augusta, Ga. The BellSouth Classic, the 14th of 48 official events on the PGA TOUR, offers a $4.5 million purse and the opportunity to get acclimated to long, narrow fairways, swift and undulating greens and a walk over rolling topography.

Previous winners at the 7,292-yard, par-72 TPC at Sugarloaf layout have fit neatly into a power profile: Tiger Woods, David Duval, Phil Mickelson, Retief Goosen, and two-time winner Scott McCarron. The only exception is defending champion Ben Crane, who shot lights out 64-63 on the weekend.

"You have to drive well anywhere, but you have to hit it longer with accuracy at Sugarloaf," McCarron said. "I'm not saying it's mandatory, but it sure helps."

The inclination here is to pick Adam Scott, who is coming off an impressive victory at THE PLAYERS Championship. Obviously, his current form is aces, and he hits it high and long fitting the aforementioned winner's profile. But TI thinks he (and runner-up Padraig Harrington) might hide in the brush in preparation for another Georgia event the week following.

The TOUR Insider's top five picks for the BellSouth Classic:

Hank Kuehne: Imploded at the TPC at Sawgrass with a second-round 82, but returns to the site of his career-best finish, a tie for third he earned last year on a sponsor's exemption. Again leads the PGA TOUR in driving distance. Struggles with accuracy (hitting less than 50 percent of his fairways), but he's among the 30 best putters, which is great complement to his power.

Stewart Cink: Duluth resident has five top-10 finishes at Sugarloaf, including joint sixth last year. Coming off a closing 69 at THE PLAYERS Championship should provide a boost of confidence. Cink has added seven yards to his driving average this year. TI keeps waiting for him to break out.

Mike Weir: It's been feast or famine for the Masters champion at the BellSouth Classic, with two top-5 finishes, including runner-up in 2001, and a tie for 17th at one end of the spectrum. At the other end are two missed cuts in his other starts.

Phil Mickelson: Sugarloaf has been awfully good to Lefty, despite the missed cut last year when he was coming off a long layoff and showed his rust. Prior to 2003 Mickelson had finished, in reverse order, third, joint third, first, and joint seventh.

Scott McCarron: The two-time winner ranks 11th in total driving. Both his victories were preceded by a poor performance, and last year McCarron missed the cut, which is a good omen. Both wins also featured good putting, something McCarron hasn't done well this year (he isn't ranked among the top 100), but maybe good memories will help.