The West Coast swing ends this weekend with what is possibly the finest of all the courses on the first fifth of the PGA Tour schedule -- Riviera Country Club.

Can Bubba Watson defend? Can Nick Watney get back over the hump? Will Dustin Johnson or Jordan Spieth give the end of the tour de California the oomph it needs?

There are a lot of questions to be answered this weekend at the Northern Trust Open.

Let's take a look.

What: Northern Trust Open
Where: Pacific Palisades, California
When: Feb. 18-21
How to watch: Click here for a full breakdown

Participants and odds

Dustin Johnson: 10-1
Bubba Watson: 11-1
Jordan Spieth: 11-1
Jimmy Walker: 16-1
Brandt Snedeker: 22-1
Hideki Matsuyama: 25-1
Bill Haas: 28-1
Jim Furyk: 28-1 
Charl Schwartzel: 33-1
Harris English: 33-1
JB Holmes: 33-1
Webb Simpson: 33-1 

Field strength: B-

A sneaky good field at a sneaky great course. There's not a ton of star power other than Bubba and Spieth, but you have a bevy of pure hitters like English, Garcia and Haas.

Things will really start to crank up as the tour turns to Florida next week, but this is a solid exclamation point on the west coast swing.

Story to watch: You know how many PGA Tour events Sergio Garcia has won since 2005? How about two.

For a sweet-swinger like him, Riviera will be a paradise and he could turn up the "really, no REALLY, this could be Sergio's year" talk with a win. 

Could this be Sergio Garcia's year? (Getty Images)
Could this be Sergio Garcia's year?  (Getty Images)

Will it happen? Probably not, but I could easily see him winning this thing.

Past winners

2014: Bubba Watson
2013: John Merrick
2012: Bill Haas
2011: Aaron Baddeley
2010: Steve Stricker

A good list but not a great one (John Merrick?!) Riviera is a series of tricky greens, but par-5s that allow birdies. Double digits under par has won this event eight of the last nine years.

Let's pick this event.

Expert picks 

PlayerPickAnalysis
Winner Hideki Matsuyama is locked in right now. He finished T23 here last season in his only start at Riviera, but two of his last four appearances on tour have been top five finishes. I'm feeling another one this weekend. Odds: 25-1
Top 10 Dustin Johnson's last five appearances here: three top fives and two missed cuts. If he makes the cut, he's good. Odds: 10-1
Sleeper Justin Thomas at 45-1? Sign me up. Plus, he had success here when the NCAAs were held here in 2012. Odds: 45-1

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